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A West Midlands security specialist is enjoying a fruitful partnership with one of the world’s leading construction companies. Working in partnership with GR8 Security, Dudley-based Zicam Security secured a lucrative contract with Balfour Beatty to oversee operations at four key sites in the West Midlands. More business is expected to follow, with Zicam confident of a long working relationship with the construction giants in other areas of the UK.

Peter Fennell, project manager with Balfour Beatty Construction Northern, said to the security partners: “It’s been an absolute pleasure working with you. I’d like to extend a big thank you from me for all your good work and assistance over the last couple of years”.

Zicam has been providing electronic security solutions for the construction sites of four academy and school sites around the West Midlands, the latest being Thistley Hough High School in Stoke-on-Trent. Zicam’s Paul Whiting says that such has been the effectiveness of the company’s security solutions, no breaches have been encountered at any of the Balfour Beatty sites. He said: “Security is a typical consideration for construction sites, otherwise untold damage can be caused. Our solutions have worked extremely well and there have been no issues whatsoever.

Site crime is estimated to cost the construction industry a staggering £400m a year, with the rising price of materials such as copper proving particularly enticing to thieves. International metals prices have been driven up for over a decade by the demand from China and other burgeoning economies, making sophisticated security solutions a must for construction companies. Plant equipment and tools are also targeted, causing costly disruption to construction. About £1 million worth of plant and construction machinery is stolen every week in the UK and evidence suggests that the majority of these thefts are conducted by organised criminal networks that infiltrate construction sites, creating significant disruption for major building projects. Zicam boasts a wealth of access control solutions, from video entry to biometric readers, which can inform the customer of all comings and goings on site.

The victims of plant theft can incur considerable and unwanted costs, such as that of a replacement machine and the short-to-medium-term hire of replacement equipment. This is coupled with the potential for increased annual insurance premiums and significant loss of productivity and time which often results in financial and commercial penalties.

Zicam’s surveillance and monitoring solutions also play a pivotal role during working hours, as the technology can be utilised from a health and safety perspective. Of all the industries, construction has the highest rates for accidents at work and monitoring solutions enables the customer to record all accidents and assess it accordingly, potentially guarding themselves from costly claims.

Zicam have drawn upon advanced electronic security solutions such as finger print recognition for site entry and high-tech cameras which enable the viewer to monitor the site effectively in the dark. Such is Zicam’s technological offer, the site manager is even able to view the images on his mobile phone. Zicam are market leaders in CCTV design and work with some of the world’s leading camera manufacturers.

Such capabilities have encouraged Balfour Beatty to extend the partnership beyond the schools project. Paul said: “We were introduced to Balfour by GR8. They provide things like the banksman and the cleaning facilities and we provide the electronic security. Typically that comes into its own out of hours, such as between 6pm and 6am and weekends. To have a guard permanently on site would typically cost them around £50,000 per year, whereas an electronic solution would more likely be around £30,000 and prove more effective.” He added: “We all have a good working relationship and hold joint meetings to discuss any issues. Balfour gets a one-stop shop in that respect. It’s an on-going partnership and we’re about to develop it in other areas of the UK.”

With four schools projects on course and another site in the area starting imminently it comes as little surprise that Balfour Beatty have transpired as yet another satisfied customer. He said: “We work all over the UK and we always provide a quality solution. The expertise we can offer can be invaluable.”

Selco Builders Warehouse, the UK’s number one trade only builders’ merchant, has teamed up with Zicam, a specialist in state-of-the-art surveillance and detection systems provider, to safeguard the security of its premises.

Site crime is estimated to cost the construction industry more than £400m per year. And its not just the money that’s the problem, it’s the disruption, the hassle, the delays.

Adpro one of our main suppliers have released their new Fast Trace 2 video transmission unit which has lower bandwidth capability combined with increased functionality.

Also this month we will soon be able to release detail on a new and exciting collaboration between Zicam and Cortech Developments for one of our Key national accounts.  

Zicam have won a three year service contract for security provision with DHL. The business is proud to be continuing its relationship with DHL for a further three years.