The Expert Podcast

…Not that we need another reason for construction cost to go up but here's another real world reality of the construction industry and the economy which is going to make. Construction projects and building costs go even higher And that's theft where there's always been pilferage and job site security problems. But the fact that there are changes in laws about prosecuting criminals, but also. A economic landscape which means more people are running short on money. The theft of materials from construction site is going up dramatically. You're finding everything from construction materials lumber boards. Even insulation and roofing tiles. All the way up to tools and think about it. You know four or five years ago a two by four might've cost five bucks or three bucks sometimes even on sale for $2 Now some lumber is six or $7 for a board So if you could back up a truck load 15 or 20 boards on a truck you might've just stolen a hundred dollars. Right. You might sold a $200. In fact. it's something where there's no V there's no serial numbers There's no way to trace it. Those building materials can go south very quickly. It's very difficult to, secure. Job sites unless you have a fence all the way around this locked And even then some things you can just Chuck over the fence. If you have a. secure fence all the way around and also makes it harder for contractors to get in and out during working hours.

So it's a fine line between security. and ease of work at the same time. Even when your job site is open if it's a large spread out job site, you may have the ability for a criminal to get in and steal some smaller items Wire is very very common A spool of wire could be a four or $500 item. And a criminal can steal that and sell it as wire or to sell the copper for scrap. This job site theft. Is something where as a contractor you have to build into your costs. insurance. may or may not cover it. Sometimes insurance covers building materials only within a certain distance of the job site Sometimes a hundred feet. And if you're farther out than that it may not be covered. And you might have to eat the loss as a builder. If you're a contractor or, a building project manager what are your experiences with job site loss Has it gone up. Has it become more common Not only is it more common but each theft is a higher dollar amount. When building materials have seen inflation. Lumber costs lumber prices. And other materials. To where it could be double what it was or triple what it was two or three years ago. One theft of the same items could cost a lot more. Look if you lost. You know, a bucket of paint a couple of years ago it might be a 20 or 30 All right I'm now that bucket of paint could be a hundred dollars and that's a very serious thing to lose not counting the lost time of having to reorder it and wait for that material will show up before you can start building again. let us know in the comments what are your experiences or…thoughts on the law the materials theft issue on your job sites How are you protecting your job sites from it? And how are you making sure you're not having shrinkage either from outside burglars or even. Inside jobs of employees or contractors.