Ever wonder why there are fences around construction areas? It’s not like there’s a lot of tempting things to steal. The machinery has value, but it wouldn’t take a lot to secure them, and a fence wouldn’t stop someone from stealing a piece of construction machinery. The fencing around the construction area is generally known as temporary construction fencing, not the most creative name ever, but a useful bit of equipment. There is a real desire to keep people out of construction sites, because, despite as hard as the job might be for the people who work it, for some people it seems like the ideal location to hang out and play or drink depending on age. Even if someone breaks in after hours, and does things they know are forbidden sometimes the people who own the land can be held legally responsible.
Construction sites aren’t safe places, especially for children. Even when no work is happening they can be dangerous because of exposed materials, machinery and tools. Children can accidentally hurt themselves considerably, and due to the legal principle of attractive nuisance, the construction company might be liable. Temporary construction fencing is the response to this. It also helps prevent teenagers who are more likely to do dangerous and reckless things intentionally. The issue of teenagers and attractive nuisance is a bit more confused since teenagers are generally more capable and intelligent; however, in general it is a great security and safety precaution to put up temporary construction fencing.
While the machinery and equipment might not be particularly desirable to the common person to steal as the tools don’t scream that they have resale value, and most people don’t have a use for heavy construction equipment, the loss to the company if either is stolen or damaged would be high. When making any decision, even the simple decision of putting up (usually fairly cheap) temporary construction fencing, people evaluate the costs and benefits. The cost is always based on the potential cost and the probability of having to pay it. Benefit is always based on the value of the benefit and the probability of getting it. People tend to make these decisions intuitively and don’t do the formal math. This sometimes doesn’t work for them as they make sub optimal decisions, but generally speaking people are good at weighing the options. With temporary construction fencing, assuming there are no legal requirements to put it up (specific regulations vary by district always be wary about what is and isn’t required) the benefit is avoiding the losses incurred by theft, damage, or lawsuit, and the cost is the fairly low price of the temporary construction fencing. The fencing is low cost because since it’s temporary, once you’re done you can just pick it up and move it somewhere else.
