it's just ignorant that all the construction employees steal all the tools,

and the company owners have to go to the pawn shop and buy them back again.


it's not illegal for Pawn Shops in SC to sell stolen merchandise. so it's a vicious cycle.


GA had a law, if it was stolen the Pawn Shop had to GIVE it back to it's rightful owner.


but why don't power tools have a rubber/plastic block, about the size of a dog tag, maybe half size of credit card,
and you get a metal punch set, with letters in it, and clamp then all together, to spell your company name.

heat that up with a plumbers torch, and push it in the plastic.

how easy is that? why can't a company that wants $220 for a drill, make it a little bit harder to steal?

 

make the employees supply their own tools...

chain everything to the tool box is another option I have seen....

 

That's a good idea 04 ... a brand for the tools !! Need to brand the thieves if you ever catch them.

I hate being a contractor working at a job site and one of the crooked SOBs decides to light-finger MY tools. Their company ends up replacing them whether they know it or not ... but it still gets my goat.

Cheers,
PISTOL

 

Have you seen this?

http://www.dewalt.com/us/security/

http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/to...ategoryID=1394

Also I forget who makes it... but it is supposedly to be out this summer.your work truck will have a transponder on it and all of your tools will have a micro chip implanted in them...if you leave with out all of your tools it will let you know..

As for the thieves.. cut off the hand they used to steal with..it works over-seas

 

my buddy owns a plumbing business.

they sub-contracted another company to help, full of illegals.

they took $10k worth of tools out of his trailer (used a torch to cut the padlock out of the door)

and left the illegals trailer alone.

then the guy who did, ran back to mexico.

it took them 2 weeks just to do the paperwork for insurance.

it happens to them constantly.

 

you could do somthing simple like heat up the head of a 16 penny nail and melt 3 dots or somthing so atleast You would know they were your tools

 

If youre a company supplying employees tools, why not make the employee 100% responsible for them? Document who has what tools and if they end up missing, employee pays for it.

 

that doesn't prove ownership in a Pawn Shop, or court.

putting your name, or company acronym on it is the only way it's useful.

my dad used to take .22 long rifle casings, and pound them into the end of our rakes & shovels, so we could separate our tools after the whole family worked in the garden.

 

having a kit to heat up & Mold your name into the tool,

could be a $69 item, just like dewalt replacement batteries.

they are losing money, and people are losing tools.

 

A much better way is to use a wood-burner or solder iron and engrave teh last 4 digits of teh Companies federal employee ID number, or for an individual, teh last four digits of your ssn in to the tool. Endure that you use teh SAME number on each tool, or a dash then any secondary number, such as an inventory control number.
This info is unique to an individual/bussiness, will stand up in a court of law, and can be entered into the National Crime Information Computer system, (NCIC). Using these numbers instead of 'creating " one, ensures that it is not forgotten and provides 'documention" of that specific number belonging to that individual or bussiness.
By placing it in a visible spot on the tool , it makes it more unlikely the tool will be stolen to begins with, but if it is, it makes it much much easier to prove ownership.
use an engraver for tools and items with a metal surface, not a stencil or paint. Most Police/Sheriff Depts Community relations or Crime Prevention units have engravers you can use free of charge.

This Crime Prevention Tip brought to you by an old "McGruff" flyer we used to hand out..........

edit: another handy tip for "large " tool inventories is to keep a list of the tools, teh assigned number and the tools serial number:
example:
Item Assigned number Serial number
Dewalt 18V Cordless Drill XXX-01 555111555

this is how we tracked an inventory of over 34 thousand hand and power tools issued to 8 on-site vehicle repair trailers. If a tool box or trailer were ever stolen, we had an instant listing of the contents, numbers and value to provide teh police andinsurance company. It also allowed tracking the sell, disposal and replacement of tools.
it doesnt take long to set a file like that up, you can easily do it on Excell or Works. If you have the tools insured, you will probably find you may qualify for a discount by keeping this list current and providing a copy to your ins company.

 

A guy I work with dropped a trailer off at a weld supply shop with his welder on it. the trailer had the welder bolted to it along with a pipe rack, sheet metal rack, and sealed boxes for supplies. He left the key to the hitch lock with the manager. Two days later the trailer was stolen.
Point being, your buddy was lucky they left the trailer.

 

Your rite i didnt think of that well you could do like they do with cows and get a copany brand

 

this was a tractor trailer container trailer.


his company is plumbing.
they broke into (walked in) to an apartment complex they were doing,
and tore down the drywall, and took the copper pipes out of all the bathrooms.

was a months worth of just labor, they were late on the contract date for that one.

 

I use my dremel to just etch my initials into it, as well as photographs and serial numbers of every single tool.