In the world of construction, protecting your assets is vital to ensuring a project remains delay-free, avoids penalisations and costly financial losses.
Thieves and organised crime groups (OCGs) will often utilise vehicles to support them in their criminal activities, making it important for security to be in place to prevent and capture evidence of those involved.
We explore mobile ANPR vs manned gate checks, comparing their accuracy, cost and compliance, as well as other key features.
What is Mobile ANPR?
Short for Automatic Number Plate Recognition, mobile ANPR involves the use of high-quality, cutting-edge software that helps to identify vehicle license plates, often to assist with evidence gathering.
These camera types scan number plates and instantly check them against a database record of vehicles.
From here, the Police can take action to stop vehicles in relation to this to prevent crime and support in the investigation of an incident also.
ANPR cameras can be used for various applications within construction, including:
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Access Control - ANPR cameras can help manage access to and from your construction site to automatically identify any unauthorised or suspicious vehicles you should be aware of.
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Theft Prevention - The monitoring and recording capabilities of vehicles helps to prevent theft of materials and equipment, as well as following up any thefts that have already occurred.
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Gate Management - ANPR cameras can streamline traffic flow at site entrances and exits, reducing delivery delays and improving efficiencies.
ANPR cameras can be provided on their own, or often as part of a security package.
What Are Manned Guard Checks?
Manned guard checks refer to the routine patrols, inspections and verifications completed by security guards that help to ensure the safety and security of a property or location.
They combine the physical presence of guards with security monitoring. This both deters any potential criminals from accessing your construction site whilst also intercepting live incidents if they were to occur.
Their role will depend on your requirements, but often manned guard checks will be provided with a patrol route that they will need to complete at certain intervals.
Most construction businesses will utilise them during out-of-hours times when there are no workers present, however, they can also be used at any time when you feel they are required.
What are the Differences Between Mobile ANPR and Manned Guard Checks?
There are clear differences between mobile ANPR and manned guard checks, even though both offer security protection of your construction site.
Below we explore these differences in more details, including accuracy, cost, compliance and more.
Technology vs Human Judgement Accuracy
Both technology and humans make errors, however, when it comes to your construction site’s security, a lapse in surveillance could cost you a project and leave you with a hefty bill at the end of it all.
Accuracy is crucial to the effectiveness of your security, as without this, there could be a loss in coverage, threats go amiss and your site is then left completely vulnerable to security risks.
Manned guard checks rely on the security personnel to visually verify the number plate identified at or near your construction, helping prevent unauthorised access and document the relevant information.
Although, security guards can judge suspicious behaviour such as, loitering, they are prone to lapses in concentration, fatigue and bias.
Manual checks generally are more likely to miss small details, especially during busy or long shifts where fatigue will occur.
There’s also a higher chance of inconsistencies; different security guards will interpret situations differently or have varying levels of visual awareness.
These inconsistencies can create discrepancies with enforcement and in the reporting of events. Evidence gathering is based on memory and this may not always be completely accurate upon recollection.
However, in comparison to this, ANPR cameras are designed to provide consistency and accuracy.
Often utilising high-quality cameras and advanced software, these units quickly capture and cross-check number plates to identify the vehicle.
Unlike manned guards, ANPR cameras don’t face risks such as tiredness, lack of concentration or bias.
Factors like, dirty or damaged number plates, illegal fonts and extreme weather conditions can reduce accuracy, in most circumstances, modern ANPR systems achieve high accuracy rates.
Technology will always face risks, however, with the introduction of AI advancements, it’s only expected that ANPR systems will increase in identification effectiveness.
Cost Efficiency
In most cases, cost will be an important factor considered in the process of deciding the access control measure you use to protect your construction site.
Whilst both require an initial investment, the payment structure works differently, from the upfront costs to the ongoing fees.
To understand the bigger picture, we’ll breakdown the expected costs involved with both mobile ANPR and manned guard checks:
|
Cost |
Mobile ANPR |
Manned Gate Checks |
|
Upfront Costs |
Higher initial investment normally due to cameras, software and deployment. |
Lower initial costs as minimal equipment is required and training will have often taken place beforehand if using an agency. |
|
Ongoing Costs |
Low to no costs depending on the package provided. Some companies will offer a service that covers ongoing support, product maintenance in some cases and technological developments. |
High costs due to the ongoing training, benefits, insurance and salary costs that you will be expected to cover as a business for all security guards you employ. |
|
Hidden Costs |
Product repairs (depending on fault) which will be minimal in comparison to labour. |
Absenteeism, staff turnover, human error and missed checks can all incur costs to your construction company. |
|
Return on Investment |
Strong ROI due to lower ongoing costs, higher deterrence rate and smaller increases over time. |
Poor ROI because of increasing minimum wage of security guards, rising costs when scaling up and high ongoing costs. |
|
Overall Efficiency |
Cost-effective for many construction site types, especially large sites or those that are likely to require flexible security. |
Suitable for smaller sites with low traffic, otherwise it can become costly as you scale. |
In fact, with CCTV Towers, you can save up to 88% in security costs in comparison to security guards, especially if you rent them to suit the length of the construction project you’re working on.
Data Security
Within the construction industry, there are many regulatory standards and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that must be complied with, and that includes any third-party security measure you use.
Compliance isn’t a box-ticking situation, but a key element in protecting your construction site, your workers and any visitors that enter.
Whether it’s manned gate checks or mobile ANPR, you must consider these factors and ensure the alignment of them to the existing laws and regulations.
As mentioned, manned guard checks rely on the memory and record-keeping of security guards to ensure compliance. These records will likely be written or entered manually into a digital format.
This method presents several vulnerabilities:
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Risk of tampering - Written logs can be damaged or tampered with more easily without getting caught.
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Lack of consistency and standardisation - Different security guards may follow different procedures or record-keep differently and this makes maintaining compliance more difficult.
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Risk of human error - Record-keeping relies on security guards’ memories which runs a risk for inaccuracies. This can also lead to missed entries, incomplete logs and inconsistencies in record-keeping.
In an industry where rules and regulations are central to safety, your construction site must have a clear audit trail, however, the reliance on manual input will often leave your organisation exposed.
Whereas, mobile ANPR is designed with compliance and consistency in mind. These units automatically create a clear, time-stamped digital record of every vehicle entering and exiting your construction site.
This removes the risk of human error and missed entries, and ensures an audit trail that can help meet any regulatory requirements and legal expectations held against your construction site.
Automating record-keeping also saves time and places all records within one location, making it safer for data protection purposes and ensures an easy reviewing process if required.
Security Coverage
No matter your construction site size, coverage is key, especially in those blind spots and hiding spaces that can be utilised by thieves and unauthorised personnel to access your site.
Vehicles may utilise various routes to evade capture, therefore, whether it’s manned guard checks or mobile ANPR, they need to be able to cover all areas for you site and workers’ safety.
Manned guard checks are good for covering both vehicle registrations, as well as establishing suspicious behaviour, both of which pose a threat to your construction site. However, there are coverage gaps they may be faced with.
They require breaks, shift changes, holidays and at times, sick days. And during peak hours or over large locations, there can be increased vulnerabilities.
Also for 24/7 coverage, multiple guards across multiple shifts can become extremely expensive which for temporary projects may not always be the most cost-effective measure.
With mobile ANPR operates 24/7; no need for shift changes, breaks, holidays or lapses in attention.
These units can cover locations of all types and have the ease of capability to scale your security as they can be deployed across multiple locations, extending coverage without the need for additional staff.
Therefore, for construction sites with high traffic or where continuous coverage is a must, mobile ANPR is ideal for these location types.
Evidence Gathering
Having crystal-clear, reliable evidence is often underestimated until an incident occurs on your construction site and you have no footage of the vehicles or individuals that have committed the crime.
This can prevent the possibility of any criminal proceedings and can lead to large financial losses depending on the theft or damage caused.
With the rise in metal and copper prices, tool theft and other crime related to this has increased and recovery rates are low. Gathering evidence is sometimes the only way to recoup tools and materials, as well as reducing the financial impact of such crime.
As mentioned, manned gate checks rely heavily on human-documented records that are typically typed or written by the security guards involved.
This method of evidence gathering leaves room for errors and omissions.
Details may vary depending on what the guards captured, their memory of events and how they perceived the dangers presented to the site regarding the vehicle captured.
Paper logs can be easily lost, forged and challenged, potentially lowering the trust in those records and making data retrieval more difficult.
Mobile ANPR records hard digital evidence of all vehicle movements in the specified location, logging all the relevant information and with a time stamp of the event.
Advanced units will capture high-resolution images and videos of any number plates and store them securely for your construction company to review and assess for protection purposes.
Due to the digital record-keeping, footage will often be encrypted to reduce the risk of cyberattacks or data manipulation in which you are responsible for.
All footage captured aims to be usable evidence in cases of criminal proceedings, providing all-round protection, even after an incident may occur.
Which Option is Best for You?
Following the comparison of mobile ANPR and manned gate checks across accuracy, cost, compliance, security coverage and evidence gathering, you may still be asking: which option is right for your construction site?
There are various factors like site type, budget, site size, traffic levels and surveillance priorities.
Manned gate checks tend to be best suited to smaller environments with lower traffic where human visibility and situational awareness would benefit most.
However, with mobile ANPR, these cameras generally suit most environments, whether it be a small construction site or large, moving development site.
Their flexibility and scalability allow you to adapt your security to any new or emerging needs.
Therefore, generally, we’d recommend mobile ANPR for most construction sites due to their versatility.
In some instances, a hybrid approach may work, however, the best way to establish this is to establish the factors mentioned earlier to understand where your requirements are truly required.
Make Your Move Towards Mobile ANPR With WCCTV
At WCCTV, our aim is to be easy-to-work with and that includes minimising the need for multiple suppliers to support varying areas of protection on your construction site.
Both our CCTV Towers and Redeployable CCTV can be fitted with ANPR integrations which ensure you have footage and protection against potential offenders and of any vehicles involved with this also.
We cut out the need for additional suppliers, additional costs and additional hassle.
Our ANPR capabilities are backed by our in-house cloud-based ecosystem, Stellifii which helps to check number plate databaes and capture registrations in real-time, whilst our cameras are used to deter and record the incident present.
Construction security must remain constant, consistent and cost-effective, and our solutions provide exactly that, offering rental options that can be suited to your project length.
Speak with one of our experts today to find out how we can support your next project!
