On March 15, 2012, several technicians were onsite performing work related to an SVE test on the west side of a retail station building and an unknown person entered a fenced storage area from the south and attempted to take a bag of safety gear that had been stored inside the storage area. One of the technicians entered the storage area from the west and noticed an unknown person holding the safety bag. The technician yelled at the person from a distance and the unknown person immediately dropped the safety bag and left the area through the southern gate. The technician initially handled the situation correctly by not directly confronting the unknown person and the result of yelling resulted in no theft occurring.

The workforce initiated Stop Work to discuss the situation and the southern gate was locked. The workforce vehicles were moved to locations within direct sight of the work area (onto the north side of the Site and inside the gated area).

LESSON

In a theft situation, there is no need to confront the perpetrator and put your own personal safety in jeopardy. An indirect confrontation like a yell is the appropriate approach and if a theft occurs, contact the police department listed in your site-specific HASP.