Hijackers, Meet LoJackers

It's 6:00 p.m. Do you know where your heavy-duty equipment is?

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) from 2005, existing figures suggest that heavy equipment theft is getting worse. Some national surveys show that the amount could be as much as $1 billion annually in losses and indirect costs, such as project downtime and overrun penalties. Statistics compiled show that 72% of companies have experienced equipment theft in the past five years, and only approximately 25% of stolen equipment is ever recovered. That does not guarantee that the equipment is whole or undamaged, only recovered.

In a recent survey conducted by Cygnus Business Media in 2005, a typical theft victim had a 10% chance of recovery; 55% of the recoveries took over a week, and less than 35% of the equipment recovered was undamaged.

Heavy equipment theft is growing in popularity with thieves due mainly to the low risk factor. Often there is very little machine or on-site security protecting the equipment, and the high price tag on the equipment means a fast sell with a lot of profit for the thief.

"Some pieces of stolen heavy equipment end up in the hands of professional theft rings, or even in chop shops where they are stripped down to components that can be sold separately on the black market or are shipped overseas," states Kathy Kelleher, national manager, Commercial Div., LoJack Corp., Westwood, MA.

Unfortunately, there are job managers who are willing to buy stolen equipment for cheap in order to save money, and there are also unsuspecting contractors that don't realize they are buying stolen property. According to the National Equipment Register (NER), "If an item is recovered, an arrest may not be made. Where an arrest is made, a conviction may not be secured. Even where a conviction is secured, the penalty is likely to be light."

On top of that, most equipment does not have obvious unique indicators to separate it from other equipment. There is a PIN number, but many of the components on the equipment will also have their own unique PIN numbers which can make it hard to find and prove the equipment's identity. It also depends on how well the site manager is keeping tabs on the equipment. "Without registration or title documents, a theft victim may not have a record of the PIN or serial number, which is the key information needed to recover the equipment. If the owner has a PIN it may be a shortened version such as that on a warranty card or bill of sale that may not be a unique identifier. As there is no standard format for the numbering of heavy equipment, data entry error is common. …An incorrect PIN makes the report almost useless," states the NER.

Also to consider, a single piece of machinery stolen on a Friday night more than likely would not be discovered to be missing until Monday morning, unlike cars that are usually noticed to be stolen within hours. Owners or managers with larger fleets or multi-site operations may not discover the theft for days, weeks or months depending on the frequency the machine is used. The time lapse plays a major role in the ease of theft and difficulty of recovery of heavy equipment.

Hidden informant

Now, companies are fighting back by installing theft protection solutions into their equipment, or purchasing equipment that is already equipped with anti-theft. It is comparable to computers and spam blockers. People don't like to buy the added spam blockers; they expect the computer to come with the program already installed.

LoJack Corp. created the stolen vehicle recovery category over 20 years ago, and since has recovered more than 200,000 machines worth over $4 billion. The LoJack system is available in areas with a high population density, a large number of new vehicle sales, and the highest amount of vehicle theft. Currently, LoJack works in 26 states and the District of Columbia, as well as in 29 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere.