Automatrics Limited achieve success with their award-winning security products
Automatrics Limited, have this year achieved what was believed impossible with the protection, tracking and recovery of stolen breaker attachments.
Plant security protection, with reliable electronic tracking devices, for construction machinery attachments, such as concrete breakers, crushers and buckets, has proven extremely difficult to fit due to the harsh work environments. The theft trends for this vulnerable, yet highly prized equipment, are on the way up, with attachment resale values achieving thousands of pounds. Attachments are often left unsecured and, once stolen, can be virtually impossible to trace. Criminals are therefore free to sell on stolen attachments with a somewhat lower risk of capture than, say, selling a stolen vehicle. This all makes machine attachments very attractive to criminals.
Automatrics have, in response to the construction industry security needs, launched two new standalone security tracking devices. One model, the 'Automatrics MTrack Proactive' was the first ever Thatcham Certified product to feature an 18-30 month rechargeable battery. This model was further designed to incorporate a triple GSM, GPS and RF location tracking layer to ensure an ability to recover stolen assets if hidden from GPS satellite view. The product was reviewed by the construction industry and won the prestigious Plantworx Security Innovation Award 2013. Automatrics then took all their new security tracking products through the Secured by Design membership accreditation program in August 2014 and have since been contacted by increasing numbers of UK attachment manufacturers to supply their unique theft recovery tracking services.
The first Automatrics contract was awarded by an established, yet innovative, UK attachment manufacturer to supply 180 units to a national plant hire company in June 2015. Within the first 16 weeks of protected attachments being deployed, four stolen attachments have been successfully recovered. The first and third stolen breaker attachments were recovered by Automatrics, working with DC Nathan Ricketts from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS). The second stolen breaker was located by Automatrics, working with DC James Elliott from the Plant and Agriculture National Intelligence Unit (PANIU). The fourth stolen breaker was recovered on 12 November 2015 by an Automatrics radio finder at a private residence near Heathrow. The recovery of this breaker was achieved with the support of the Metropolitan Police.
All the stolen breakers were found using 'Timing Advance GSM Cell Site Triangulation', a method of tracking the Simcard, combined with a 'UHF Ultra High Frequency Radio Beacon'. This is an accurate method of detection tracking that uses radio waves, which can penetrate concrete walls or squeeze through small air gaps. The tracking unit UHF radio signals can be detected using a handheld radio direction receiver. Signals can be picked up from more than two kilometres away and then systematically homed in on to an accuracy of less than one metre. Such additional technologies are needed when tracking companies are trying to locate any stolen asset that's been hidden from standard GPS tracking devices which will fail to locate in situations where either a GPS jammer is used or, as in this case, the criminals hide their stolen assets inside vans or trailers to physically block GPS signals from satellite view.
Automatrics Managing Director, Richard Taylor, commented, "These initial recoveries are extremely encouraging. We have achieved an industry first, making an, until now, believed impossible tracking service work. This is a great rubber stamp for the quality and performance of Automatrics' tracking services and shows a return on our investment in both Thatcham and SBD membership. This new security tracking service will be especially reassuring to a whole new sector of potential clients who can similarly benefit from having their high value attachments protected by a professional Police Preferred Specification security tracking company."
You can view video clips of all four recoveries mentioned, along with other Automatrics live recovery video clips, here: www.trackersecurity.co.uk/YouTube.html
For more information about Automatrics, please visit: www.trackersecurity.co.uk/