5 Ways You Can Protect Your Portable Sanitation Business from Equipment Theft
Just like any other business, even sanitation businesses can struggle with equipment theft. This is even more true with businesses that entirely revolve around their equipment, like sanitation businesses. After all, without vacuum trucks, a portable sanitation business essentially grinds to a halt. With no equipment, operations completely cease, and getting your business back up and running again requires a lot of time and money that you may not necessarily have readily available.
That’s why it’s vital to your business to have a security protocol in place. Taking every avenue possible to protect your investment can be the difference between a thriving, successful business or a complete money pit.
Are you looking to beef up security and protect your business’s vacuum trucks? Here are some tips that might be able to help:
1. Make use of GPS tracking devices and companies.
GPS devices and theft monitoring companies are more popular and easily accessible than ever before. When you lose an item, it’s now easier than ever to use a different device to find where you last left your item. This includes checking your laptop to find where you left your phone or your headphones. Using a GPS tracking system in your equipment is the same idea: using a different device to monitor where your equipment has gone.
If someone attempts to steal your vacuum trucks or other equipment, using a GPS tracking service makes it simple to locate. Many GPS services also allow you to set a kind of alarm so that you’re notified if the equipment leaves a certain area. Having this information quickly and readily available helps law enforcement to find your missing equipment quickly, and may even be able to help prevent any more loss or damage.
2. Keep an up-to-date inventory.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but you aren’t able to know if something was stolen if you don’t know what you have in the first place! Keeping a detailed inventory of all your vacuum trucks and other equipment is vital for loss prevention. This is the same concept that’s employed by retail stores and other small businesses and why they do regular inventory checks of their stock.
For large equipment models, like vacuum trucks and other heavy machinery, keeping a detailed log of all inventory to include information like serial number, production year, VIN numbers, and more is going to make it easier to identify your goods should something happen. This is also important for insurance purposes, so that you know exactly what vehicle or piece of equipment was taken so that you’re compensated fairly should you not be able to recover it.
3. Use methods to disable inventory if it is stolen.
Inventory that doesn’t work is no good to steal or resell, so using different methods of disabling it can also help with loss prevention. Try installing precautions like emergency wheel locks, ignition locks, or other deactivation devices. Some of these devices can be employed before leaving the equipment for the night, but other methods can be enacted should the equipment leave a certain area, like when grocery carts stop working a certain distance from the store.
These disabling methods aren’t for everyone, and depending on the type of equipment your businesses use, might not be feasible. If you are able to use these, however, it’s worth it to have an added sense of security!
4. Use fences, lighting, and security cameras.
Do you know why, when you walk into a store like Wal-Mart or Target, they have the little television screens right at the front with the sign saying, “Smile, you’re on camera”? This is because when people know they’re being watched, they’re less likely to do things like steal or destroy products.
When you employ the same tactics in protecting your vacuum trucks and other equipment, you might be surprised at how much of a deterrent it truly is. Combine cameras with bright spotlights and fences, and you’ve got a great chance of deterring a lot of the thefts that may occur. Of course, no security system is going to be completely foolproof, but very few thieves are going to want to attempt a heist while they’re potentially going to be caught on camera and lit up in high definition.
5. Build a relationship with local law enforcement.
Reach out to local law enforcement to get more information about what you should do in the case of a robbery. Get details on who you should contact, if it’s possible to get additional patrols near your place of business over holiday weekends, and more. If you take the time and effort to reach out to your local law enforcement to build a rapport with them, they’re going to be more likely to bump you and your business to the top of the list in case of an emergency. Plus, it’s never a bad idea to get insight from a cop on how to deal with a potential break-in!
Protecting Your Flowmark Vacuum Trucks
Just like any other business, purchasing vacuum trucks and other equipment is a huge investment, and you should treat your equipment with the respect and importance it deserves. Creating security protocols and taking precautions to prevent any kind of threat or destruction to your livelihood is paramount to continuing a thriving, successful business.
Through a combination of solid security protocols and Flowmark’s incredible vacuum trucks, your sanitation business is sure to thrive, no matter the circumstances. Our team of experts are sure to lead you in the right direction in order to help you figure out exactly what is best for you and your business.
Our showroom floor is always available for interested clients, and we’re happy to go over the ins and outs of purchasing a vacuum truck with Flowmark. If you’re interested in seeing if Flowmark can help take your business to the next level, contact us for more information today!