Securing Your Construction Site For Christmas Shutdown

It's that time of year again! There are only 15 days to go until Christmas, and many in the construction industry are looking forward to the Christmas shutdown. Construction sites in the UK will often close for around 2 weeks at Christmas, to get a well deserved break from the elements.

Working in construction can be especially hard work at this time of the year, with cold temperatures, poor weather conditions, and shorter days. You need to keep warm outside, and manage winter safety risks.

With all this extra effort needed to survive winter work in construction, the time off over the festive season is a great way to rest, recover, and recharge your batteries.

But when you're away, things can go wrong on site.

Construction site break-ins are not uncommon over the Christmas period, and bad weather can damage fencing and temporary or partially completed structures.

Preparing for your Christmas shutdown can help make sure that you don't have any unwanted interruptions on Christmas day, or any nasty surprises waiting for you when you return to work in the new year.

In a further 21% of incidents sites were simply left unsecured, or were protected only by a fence that was easily scaled by intruders.

With many sites closed over the festive season and until the new year, planning your site shutdown should be high on your list of priorities... even if you still have Christmas shopping and present wrapping to do!

Christmas Shutdown Checklist 🎅🏻

Here's a quick list of checks to make before you break up for Christmas:

• Check the perimeter fencing is in place and secure
• Check all gates
• Lock up all entrance points
• Remove valuable items from the site or put them in secure storage
• Lock up all containers
• Check that temporary structures are stable and able to withstand bad weather conditions
• Store away any materials and equipment on site
• Remove all keys and immobilise the site plant
• Barrier or cover all excavations
• Remove ladders and access to scaffolding and platforms
• Remove waste and flammable materials to reduce the risk of arson
• Consider CCTV or patrols in high-risk areas
• Provide an out-of-hours emergency contact for the site

Check site security

Christmas is generally the longest period of closure for most construction sites. So construction site security needs to be a top consideration to prevent any unwanted visitors or problems while you're off-site.

You have a legal duty to secure your construction site, and prevent unauthorised access. As an occupier, and under the CDM regulations. It might sound obvious, but making sure your site fencing is strong and intact, health and safety signage is displayed, and entrance points are locked, is a must. It's the basics, but can sometimes be overlooked.

Walk the perimeter and check for any weaknesses, signs of damage, or areas of poor security.

For more security advice, read 20 tips for better construction site security.

Take extra steps

When leaving your site unattended for long periods, you should think about extra steps needed to keep it safe and secure.

1. It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.

If you are in a high-risk location, consider patrols and CCTV as a deterrent, and also so that any problems can be caught early.

To reduce the risk of theft, make sure you remove any highly valuable items from the site or at least remove them from view. Lock vehicles and plant within a secure site compound if possible, and lock up tools and equipment within a secure storage area.

Leave the site in a safe condition

You don’t want people to get hurt on your sites, even if they shouldn’t be there. Barrier off or cover excavations, pits, and edges when out of use, and remove access ladders from excavations and scaffolds out of hours.

During periods of shutdown, your site could become a target for arson. Following good practices like locating skips away from the site perimeter and away from buildings can help to reduce the risks. Removing rubbish and waste materials before the shutdown can also remove temptation from someone looking for an easy target.

Find out more in 13 fire prevention tips for construction sites.

Consider neighbours

If your site is located in a built-up and busy area, any problems on your site are also more likely to have a knock-on effect to other premises nearby.

Every site is different and will have its own security risks. For example, sites in city centres, or within occupied premises, might be at an increased risk compared to sites in low-risk rural areas for problems such as trespass, theft, or arson.

But having neighbours can also bring benefits. For example, if adjacent businesses will remain open throughout your shutdown period, they may be able to notice any problems, such as damaged hoarding or signs of a break-in, and report them to you. This allows you to resolve any out-of-hours issues quickly.

Make sure you have a contact number made available and an out-of-hours point of call to handle any issues.

Check the weather

It is also important to remember that the Christmas period can bring with it some bad weather. We might wish for snow, but sometimes we get storms, wind, and rain. And while you don't have to work in the weather over Christmas, your site needs to remain standing for the new year.

In the past, storms have had devastating effects on scaffolding and other temporary structures, such as site fencing. Entire scaffold structures have been ripped down in gale-force winds.

Will your site be able to brave the storm?

Leave your number

You should have an out-of-hours contact number available for emergency situations.

Although you may not want to be disturbed over the Christmas break, displaying emergency contact numbers displayed means people can get in touch with you if there is a problem, and you can attend to any urgent problems quickly before they get worse.

Having someone on call means you can take action if needed, such as fixing any hoarding damage before you get trespassers, or getting scaffolding repaired before it collapses.

Hopefully, you are looking forward to some time off with friends and family over Christmas, and by securing your site and planning the shutdown in advance, you can give yourself a better chance of having a worry-free break.

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Raise awareness of site security with your team by downloading our toolbox talk for site security. Use it as a 10-minute refresher to provide health and safety training to your workforce.