Tool Theft

[Jim Diesel]

I noticed in a couple of other threads theft seems to be a common problem across alot of work places / workshops. I have been fortuneate to work with mostly honest blokes, however still always lock my tool boxes when im away from them.

Im just currious to see if theft has affected your tools and what have you or your employer done to prevent it or minimise it?

 

[maxpower_hd]

Well my tools at the work shop are always locked along with the garage. But some people do have access. I have lost things that are left out by mistake. Not very often and never anything too expensive to worry a whole lot about. But My tools are owned by me and I am a vendor so the company does nothing for me except provide me a key to the garage and allow me to store them there if I wish to.

I have had more issues with things stolen from my truck when I am out and about.

 

[no1steelsmith]

In general, I trust my fellow mechanics/employees until I find out there is a thief on board. I don't hire on at shops that have high turn-over, so we all know each other to a point. It is a given; anybody caught stealing is going to get pounded for that kind of behavior.
Most of my employment has been as a welder/fabricator.

 

[CoogarXR]

The only place I had a problem with theft was when I was in school for industrial electricity. Some punks came in and actually meticulously disassembled the tool lockers and then punched the pins out of our toolbox hinges. About 10 of us got robbed. They got caught and our stuff got returned, but still. A locked box in a locked locker still wasn't safe.

The only thing I had similar was a place I worked that had company-issued tools. I kept my tools in perfect shape. If I took a day off, people would trade their ****** tools with mine, and when I'd come in, I'd have a bunch of banged up ****** tools. I would ask people, and they'd be like "no, I've always had this nice tool". Horseshit. I eventually got issued new tools and marked them all. People would still switch them! And I'd be like "dude, that has my name on it". And they'd be like "oh, I must have picked it up by mistake". At least I'd get it back.

 

[Rileysan]

Like many other maintenance mechanics/millwrights, we don't spend a lot of time in the shop. As such, my toolbox sits unattended - sometimes hours at a time. Most of us don't lock our toolboxes during our shift because we know each other well. That's not to day that everyone is honest. Over the past 10 years, I have had a couple of things stolen - including a very expensive Snap-on ratchet. My company has since installed CC security cameras and theft has virtually ended.

My most infuriating incident happened when someone broke into my truck and stole a 5 drawer tool chest full of S-K and Craftsman tools - probably $1500 worth. I never filed an insurance claim (lack of coverage) and had to eat it. I installed an alarm system in my truck after that ...

Brian

 

[espyking83]

Stuff dos t get stolen here, though at least one person has borrowed without asking on occasion. We have cameras here, I always try to park my box right under them when I can.

 

[Brownsfan]

I was sub contracting at a local shop for a few weeks and had my Innova scan tool , Kobalt 3/8 socket metric socket set ,and a unibit stolen in those few weeks. I was so pissed and I have an idea who did it but can't prove it.

 

[Greg85mcss]

Things got stolen all the time at my old shop. It was usually when the same guys were working. They had a full time job at another shop & worked at mine nights & weekends. They had boxes full of random mismatched tools & I even saw one of them grinding markings off a shop supplied impact gun. I lost a so ratchet & several hf grinders plus a bunch of small stuff. It's so nice to be in a shop without that problem & be able to have nice tools.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[maxpower_hd]

Like many other maintenance mechanics/millwrights, we don't spend a lot of time in the shop. As such, my toolbox sits unattended - sometimes hours at a time. Most of us don't lock our toolboxes during our shift because we know each other well. That's not to day that everyone is honest. Over the past 10 years, I have had a couple of things stolen - including a very expensive Snap-on ratchet. My company has since installed CC security cameras and theft has virtually ended.

My most infuriating incident happened when someone broke into my truck and stole a 5 drawer tool chest full of S-K and Craftsman tools - probably $1500 worth. I never filed an insurance claim (lack of coverage) and had to eat it. I installed an alarm system in my truck after that ...

Brian

I'm in the process of setting up a trailer for PM's at work and I am considering adding tool insurance to my premium just for that reason. Vehicle insurance I am told will not cover tools stolen if they are "work tools". I'm more worried about someone steeling the whole trailer if I leave it at the terminal I work at than someone taking one item.

 

[MrJason]

I insure the tools, that the guys have in my shop. I just add them as an "additional insured" under my General Liability Business Insurance Policy.

It costs the business owner, nothing and it just requires that the employee keep a quarterly inventory of their tools, that are resident on the property.

I've got colleagues in heavy-line maintenance, who have done this and it works perfectly.

Jason

 

[1badbird]

Never had an issue with theft at work, if I did I would be looking for a new job real quick. My current job supplies the tools and they are all engraved with a number so no worries there. My previous job was working at a local dealership doing bodywork and I have never meet a group of nicer and honest guys! Both the bodymen and mechanics were super professional and it was like a big family. With all the headaches of repairing cars I feel bad for the people who have to worry about theft on top of that.

 

[malykaii]

I've never seen theft be an issue. Its usually people borrowing tools without permission. Then they get lost, abused, or most often returned two days later in the wrong drawer and covered in grease.

I find that just lending tools on an ask basis and monitoring their use prevents this b.s.

Plus when I find I need to borrow something no one hesitates to lend away.

 

[Jim Diesel]

Well it seems its the same story across the board. Like i said theft really has not been a drama for me. However when i was working at a base level shop a couple years back, we had around 40 mechanics working most days and people were constantly borrowing tools and simply forgetting to return them. So i started a scheme where if someone wanted to borrow something they would leave their phone, wallet or keys to ensure they wouldn't forget come close of business. Worked really well and never had loaned tools outstanding very long.

 

[bwringer]

There's also the old "paint all your tools hot pink" strategy.

Crude, but it can work wonders to curtail theft.

 

[thecody59]

Not my story but my mom got her tools stolen at work. She is a line manager at a food plant and needs a box of tools to do small repairs on the line and she has been stolen from twice. Once her jacket with her name on it was stolen from one of her co-workers and the second time all her tools were stolen out of her tool box. You can't trust anyone even the people you work with daily!

 

[Hessian]

anyone have luck insuring their tools through their home or auto policy carrier?

asked mine last time i had them on the phone and no one knew where to transfer me or if it was even possible.

 

[jd_1138]

anyone have luck insuring their tools through their home or auto policy carrier?

asked mine last time i had them on the phone and no one knew where to transfer me or if it was even possible.

i am guessing only commercial/business insurance would cover your professional use tools.

 

[IUEC Medic]

I don't work in a shop setting, I'm in new construction. On big jobs, my company provides and transports the crews' big lockable gang boxes, as they'll generally be on-site for 6 weeks or more... The boxes are locked whenever the crews are away from them, but sometimes tools will get stolen off of an unattended cart by someone from another trade. The problem is much worse on non-Union job sites. (My trade is small and in my local, were about 90% union)


Unfortunately, in my department, we can be on a job site for as little as a week, so we have to be as mobile as possible, meaning no gang boxes. I work out of a van with a lift gate, so either I have to have a lockable equipment room or I load up my personal tools every night into the van and lock the larger company tools up with a chain. I've been lucky and have only had a few tools go missing. Just have to hope that the van doesn't get stolen one day when it's loaded up... Close to 30k of equipment in there (at retail) when it's fully loaded. The company has insurance on their tools and a blanket policy covering my personal tools that covers a minimum of $900.00, wether they're on a job site or parked in the van.



Edit: Vehicle theft is a big problem in our trade. The company vehicles are labeled and the thieves in this area have been targeting them. My fathers van has been broken into in front of his house 3 times, the first time they didn't get too much, but he started locking his personal tools into cases, and locking them all together to the van partition... So then they stole the van, drove it to a secluded area a few miles away and took EVERYTHING. He lost about 25 years worth of personal and some handmade/sentimental tools. His company took care of him and replaced everything (about $2500). Also, they installed an alarm and puck-locks on the van.

 

[Wes J]

Not trying to stir up ****, but if you are a non-union contractor working in a union shop or mixed union and non union job site, you need to take extreme measures. In my experience, anything not locked up tight is gone the next day. It's one of the ways they try to intimidate the non union guys.

I never had an issue in a company facility. Some places I locked up at night, some places I never bothered. Most guys had more/nicer tools than me so there was no point stealing mine...

 

[IUEC Medic]

Not trying to stir up ****, but if you are a non-union contractor working in a union shop or mixed union and non union job site, you need to take extreme measures. In my experience, anything not locked up tight is gone the next day. It's one of the ways they try to intimidate the non union guys.

I never had an issue in a company facility. Some places I locked up at night, some places I never bothered. Most guys had more/nicer tools than me so there was no point stealing mine...

See I've only seen the exact opposite of this... I'm Union and when we go on non-Union job sites, our tools tend to walk away much more frequently than on Union job sites.

 

[Wes J]

See I've only seen the exact opposite of this... I'm Union and when we go on non-Union job sites, our tools tend to walk away much more frequently than on Union job sites.

It surely goes both ways depending on who is in the majority. The union guys have a détente with each other. The non union guys are the enemy.

I'm sure the opposite is true in a non union contractor is in charge of a job and some of the subs are union, but that seems like a rare situation.

(I don't work in construction. That situation might be much more common in that line of work. I work in industrial settings. Usually if a shop is union, part of the deal is that the company must hire union contractors. It gets ugly if a company has to hire a dealer service tech or some kind of specialist who is not in a union.)

I work as an independent contractor doing repairs on machine tools and CNC machines. Of course I'm not in a union since I am self employed. I never worry about my stuff in an open shop. When I go into a UAW or machinist union facility, it can be good and it can be bad. I generally won't answer any questions about my employment status.

 

[DemoFly]

Borrowing without asking is almost worse than outright stealing. At least in my opinion. If I don't know you on a real personal level, that **** is a big no-no.

I end up wasting time asking around for my tool, generally getting progressively angrier as time passes to where it just messes up my whole day.

Nothing has ever been stolen from my box. I have had items stolen that were left out. Unfortunate that we live in a society where such a thing happens, but I can't blame anyone but myself for leaving them out.

 

[Ricky112]

I've had very few tools go missing, likely left on/in a customer car (like my $50 bluepoint flashlight!!)

I try not to ever accuse anyone because if it does show up due to my carelessness I'm gonna look like a real knob. I've returned a bunch of tools to people and hope that they would return the favor. Regardless, I hate stealing and won't stoop that low. I earn my money and my tools!

 

[metaldad]

we had 4 gang boxes, left open, unlocked. tools on multiple carts. two year project in a large refrigeration plant. thousands of $$$$$$.
nothing missing, except an occasional item, that was borrowed by someone else, and 'left' where ever they put it down. every damn tool was accountable, at job end
and since it was brought up............ all union.

 

[OldIronLover]

I worked as a maintenance superintendent in a large equipment shop 24x7 operation with 60 mechanics. We did not have a lot of tool theft but one incident stands out. One of my best mechanics reported to me that he was missing an expensive set of large end wrenches and he knew who took them. I confronted the thief and he had ground the owners name off all the wrenches and said he bought the wrenches at a swap meet. His workmanship at stealing was as bad as his workmanship as a mechanic. He had left some shadows of the owners name on some of the wrenches so if you looked closely there was no doubt who the real owner was and that he was the thief. So I went to my boss, the maintenance manager, and told him what happened and this was a zero tolerance issue for my shop. He looked at the tools and for some bizarre reason he "could not see" the owners name still visible on some of the tools so he told me I can't fire the thief. It was in a very small town and I think he and the thief went to the same church. At that point I said, "no problem, it will be handled another way". We quietly let word get around the shop and mentioned that if anyone wanted to form their own opinion they should take a look at the thief's new wrenches. Within two weeks the thief had decided it was best to go to work elsewhere. Ironically, when he packed his tools to go, his new set of wrenches was gone. Afterwards, the original owner seems to have found his wrench set. It was a pretty close knit shop so I imagine he was visited by a committee of mechanics at his home and had his future explained to him. I did my heart good to see frontier justice work without any shoot-outs.

 

[IUEC Medic]

It surely goes both ways depending on who is in the majority. The union guys have a détente with each other. The non union guys are the enemy.

I'm sure the opposite is true in a non union contractor is in charge of a job and some of the subs are union, but that seems like a rare situation.

(I don't work in construction. That situation might be much more common in that line of work. I work in industrial settings. Usually if a shop is union, part of the deal is that the company must hire union contractors. It gets ugly if a company has to hire a dealer service tech or some kind of specialist who is not in a union.)

I work as an independent contractor doing repairs on machine tools and CNC machines. Of course I'm not in a union since I am self employed. I never worry about my stuff in an open shop. When I go into a UAW or machinist union facility, it can be good and it can be bad. I generally won't answer any questions about my employment status.

In my trade it's extremely common. I build elevators and somewhere around 85% of all elevator constructors are Union (at least in CA)... So when a non-Union contractor bids a job with an elevator, they have to hire a union sub. This is especially true in CA (with the exception of single family residential.) In order to work on any public/commercial use elevator, in fact even to enter an elevator machine room, you have to be licensed by the state...

Anyways let's not get too off topic.

Tool Thieves are the the lowest of the low. Followed by people who steal packages from porches.

 

[rlitman]

...You can't trust anyone even the people you work with daily!

I guess that depends on where you work.
In my case, tools are not central to my profession every minute of the working day, but when I'm not at a keyboard, it can be very important that the tool I need is there when I need it.

We happen to have cameras everywhere (and lots of areas with restricted access), and have not had any tool theft issues. No big surprise.

I can't say I'm expected to have my own tools here, but it's worked out that way for the best. My good tools are at home, but I've brought plenty of decent stuff here that I keep locked in a jobox in the back. Two other people keys to it. I've never found anything missing, but I have had some things show up. For me, having it locked is more about knowing where all my tools will be when I need them, not about losing them,

For specialty tools that I don't own (or cheap things that I don't own two of, and don't feel like storing one of mine at work), I've had the company purchase them.
They sit on my desk, and at any moment, there could be several grand worth of stuff sitting there, and I have absolutely NO worries that any of it would disappear. I guess I'm lucky that way.

We have a cart with supplies that I've stocked with about $10 worth of HF screwdrivers that anyone who has access to the room can use. Some of these have gone missing over the years. Most likely they were lent to customers, and inadvertently pocketed. I doubt they were intentionally stolen (it's like stealing a Bic pen for gosh sakes).

However, when I was asked by the boss (who is NOT one of the people with a key to my toolbox) to make sure there was always a screwdriver available when needed, I picked up three $2 HF 6-in-1 screwdrivers, attached a few feet of chain to each, and put a loop on the end of each chain that is too big to fit into a pocket (think: gas station bathroom key). So far, no "screwdriver of shame" has not gone missing.

...Anyways let's not get too off topic.

Tool Thieves are the the lowest of the low. Followed by people who steal packages from porches.

Too true! It's akin to taking food from my children's mouths.

 

[chipss36]

I have worked with dens of snakes, and if anything was left unattended it was expected to vanish, and was considered my fault? Glad for the most part not to be in that environment anymore.

 

[rhandwor]

They always like high chrome tools like Snap On and might walk by other tools.

 

[TheGrooveking]

I've worked in industrial maintenance and back in 1986 on a broiling hot July night I was working second shift rebuilding a 5 hp PVC & pure titanium pump for pumping hydrochloric acid. The building had 5 acres of weeded lot between it and a major road and the maintenance shop was in the back corner of the building, so while working on that pump some acid flung out when I pulled the impeller out that landed on my arm above my gloves, so I ran to the restroom to wash it off (no sink in the shop at the time). So upon my return to the shop I see a guy walking out the back door with my Craftsman 1/2" drive ratchet, extension, socket, breaker bar and socket! I chased him into the field and caught the *******, the look on the guys face said it all, he was amazed how fast a very large man could run ( I used to run in track 50 & 100 yard as I was one of the fastest in my high school).

All I will say is he become very intimate with that breaker bar and ratchet, I left him laying out there and it started raining. I went back to the shop closed and locked the back door. At the end of my shift I checked and he was gone, just a bunch of blood in the dirt. I show no mercy to anyone caught stealing my tools.

TheGrooveking

 

[Jim Diesel]

Awesome story mate. I completely agree.

 

[finn]

When I was starting my career, the rookie engineers worked along side the development technicians, and had to provide their own hand tools. I brought in some of TH SK Wayne sockets and ratchets my grandfather had given me.

Occasionally I'd leave some of them out, as the pace was quite hectic when we had calibration deadlines to meet.

There was a rash of tool and supply thefts, but I had a pretty good idea as to who the guilty party was.

About a month later, I was promoted and the suspect ended up working for me. A few weeks later the guy blows up a prototype test engine worth probably a couple hundred thousand dollars.

An autopsy of the carnage showed that he screwed up while setting the fuel pump, causing an engine run away, which could have caused serious injuries or worse.

The worst part is that he lied about what happened and falsified the data log sheets.

I fired him on the spot a couple of days later after we confronted him with the evidence.

After he left, the tool thefts stopped.

I'm still pissed about my grandfather's tools after all these years.

The scumbag probably had the last laugh though, as I heard he moved to Hawaii after I fired him.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

When I was working at the steel mill I didn't so much have a problem with tool thefts. My problem was that If I left a tool out it would be ruined. I once left a 1/4 drive Craftsman ratchet & 9/16 deep well socket on a job. The next day the socket was welded to the ratchet & the rachet handle was bent. People didn't like me out there because I got the job straight from high school whereas most others got out there after working another job or two.

 

[gsingh]

I was tearing apart an engine ans had my tools laid out on top of my box to speed things up, around 8pm I covered up my tools and I left and the maintenance guy closed up. Come in the next morning and a ratchet, extension and torx universal are missing. I know that was my mistake leaving my tools out, but that was the last time. Don't care how big of a job it is, all of my tools go back and get locked.

Stealing was a big problem at the indy shop I worked at. I was fresh out of college and started working there. Had my SO tools that I bought in college. First week there and I stated missing random stuff. A socket here, extension and then a ratchet. Found em all in other peoples boxes. "Oh i just borrowed it and forgot to return it" was the response.
It was so ****** there guys how had been in the field for 20+ years and didnt have a 10mm or had less tools than the new guy. Part of the reason I left.

 

[NUTTSGT]

When I worked at GE, 90% of the people had their own tools. I hade my named engraved and never had an issue with tools getting stolen, just somebody running into my box with a fork lift. My step-dad who was an electrician there said many times he would leave a tool out somewhere on the floor, it would return in a day or so.