Contractors should call the shots to stop plant theft

European Union contractors are in control when it comes to plant security, because they have contracted out of plant theft.

They refuse to hire or allow unsecured machines on their sites, and refuse to
accept responsibility for the security of machines hired to them. They do not sign hire conditions that make the hirer responsible if a hired in machine is stolen.

European contractors specify the security they want on the machines. The
hire companies pass their customers' requirement to the manufacturer, who
supplies the specified security. In the UK a procedure whereby the contractor can specify the security and safety features he requires would present UK hire companies and manufacturers with some difficult choices.

In the past two years UK contractors have indirectly spent about £250M to replace the 11,000 machines that were stolen and not recovered. How can UK contractors manage resistance from their suppliers?

• Evaluate how much money your company has paid out in the past three to five vears because of machine theft. downtime, crosshire, admin, safety claims, insurance excess and increased premiums.
• Ask security system suppliers what their product does, get customer references and demand to see the product demonstrated on your machines.
• You need a flexible, fit for purpose anti-theft system. Electric immobilisers only disable a machine's wiring with coded electronics and relays. A machine with a diesel engine can easily be started by
supplying power directly to the starter circuit. It takes less than 90 seconds to isolate and hot-wire bypass, without using a key, cutting a wire or damaging the machine in any way, and thieves know this. Think about asking for an immobilisation system that shuts off the diesel fuel supply, hydraulics and machine electrics.
• 92 percentage of stolen plant is never recovered. Trackers provide super asset management facilities but will not stop your machine been stolen. Nor will a registration or identification system.

British contractors are their own worst enemy. They are the ultimate customer of manufacturers and hire companies, but they need to take control.

Patrick Sheeran is founder & CEO of Kosran.
Taken from May 2011 issue of New Civil Engineer Magazine.

Immobilisers fit for purpose?

(Source James Boley of Construction News)

Not all Immobilisers are appropriate for plant - but guidance means you don't need to be caught out.

Engine immobilisers are recommended by both the Home Office and Thatcham to help prevent theft. But picking the right immobiliser can be a challenge. Some of the options which are available on the market may not be fit for purpose, according to government advice.

The Home Office has previously published official advicein its Security Guidance Document for Agricultural and Construction Plant, which details a range of various systems that are appropriate for securing equipment. According to the guidance, engine immobilisers are probably the "most practical" method of preventing mid-range equipment being stolen. Immobilisers should also be able to withstand attack for at least 12 minutes.

Read more » (700k PDF)

THIEVES RETURN FOR JCB 3CX & FAIL AGAIN

As previously reported on the 7th February last by Glen Crowther Fleet Officer at the CEMEX Castleford Depot in West Yorkshire WF1 2LA, a JCB Backhoe Loader valued at £48,000 was attacked by thieves who failed to steal the machine.

Only two weeks previously CEMEX had commenced installing the Kosran ECV Immobilisation Tracking System on their fleet and this was one of the first machines to be secured.

But this all adds up. Insurance & Police PANIU Statistics published for the period Oct 08 – Sept 09 stated that the JCB Backhoe Loader is the most stolen machine in the UK.

Wait for it - on 23rd May the thieves returned again to Glen Crowther’s CEMEX depot and tried again to steal the same machine serial number 328999/fleet number B019 without success.

Kosran predict that the thieves will not return to this depot. The Kosran ECV integrated Security, Safety & Asset Management ECV System pays for itself in 40 days and then makes you money – we can assume CEMEX agree!

Ask FM Conway, they have been using Kosran for four years and have never had a machine stolen.
Find out more at www.kosran.com

Health & Safety

There were 52 Deaths in the 12 month period to April 2009 on UK sites.

The Health & Safety obligations of the owner and hirer of a machine under the Corporate Manslaughter & Homicide Acts 2007 include:

Directors and their companies can now be charged with

– ‘Gross Breach of Duty of Care’
- ‘Disregard for life’
- ‘Recklessness - void of any assessment for safety of operator’

THE SOLUTION EXISTS:
ONLY AUTHORISED USERS OPERATE KOSRAN SECURED MACHINES.

This Financial Times article published on February 15th 2010
Explains what could happen to you and your company.
View it via our site at http://www.kosran.com/health.asp

PANIU report Kubota recovered with ID markings removed. - Do u own this machine & Would a CESAR sticker have made any difference? (NO)

From Hire Association Europe at www.hae.org.uk, December 2009

Missing a Kubota KX Series Mini Digger?

We have had information from a Detective Sergeant in the Met Police Stolen Vehicle Unit (who also has responsibility for the Plant & Agricultural National Intelligence Unit, PANIU) and have been asked to distribute it amongst our member companies. 

Last week, the Metropolitan Police assisted their colleagues in Sussex in a police operation whereby they recovered a Kubota (KX series) mini digger, orange in colour. This machine is undoubtedly stolen as it has had the engine number (stamped in and sticker) removed and the VIN number (again stamped in and VIN plate) also removed in a clear effort to disguise its true identity.

The only possible means to identify the true owner of this machine seems to be that it has one of our HAE 'Do Not Use This Excavator As A Crane' stickers still on it.  It also has a black stencilled number, which they believe to be a fleet number, painted on the lower part of the boom arm, near the King Pin. The lettering is black capital letters 'KRE 91'.

Are you missing a Kubota mini digger fitting this description?

Kosran ad broke rules says ASA

By Colin Sowman of ContractJournal.com, 30 July 2009
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint by Kubota about a Kosran advert in which the immobiliser manufacturer claimed Kubota’s immobilisation system could be overcome in 90 seconds.

In its defence Kosran submitted a DVD showing a Kubota machine apparently being ‘hot wired’ in 74 seconds but the ASA dismissed this saying: “…there was no independent verification to show whether the immobiliser had been operating correctly or that the process shown was accurate of real-life conditions.”

The ASA also partly upheld a complaint about a phrase in the advert …Electronic immobilisers on plant - unbelievable price - unbelievable if it stops your plant being stolen! Kubota said its immobiliser was a standard fitment, came at no additional cost and it was unaware of any protected items being stolen.


For its part Kosran said no-cost was an ‘unbelievable price’ and its aim was to draw attention to the effectiveness of electronic immobilisers. It also highlighted police records that showed between October and December 2008 there were 926 items reported stolen in the UK, of which 62 were Kubotas.

While the ASA agreed the wording did not imply a high price for immobilisers, it said there was no evidence about how the 62 machines were stolen, adding: “…Kubota’s electronic immobiliser was certified by Thatcham as a Category P2, which we understood was the generally accepted industry standard that meant that it could resist attack for 15 minutes.”

The ASA said the advert must not appear again in its current form. It also told Kosran not to denigrate competitors in future and not to make claims without robust substantiation.
Richard Harrison, sales and marketing manager for Kubota UK said: “We’re absolutely delighted we won our two major points. We were not happy to have our products unfairly denigrated in the press.”

Kosran’s chief executive officer Patrick Sheeran said: “We are not impressed by the ASA’s diligence and technical expertise and are considering a judicial review.”

Plant theft: bogus firms can be outsmarted

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