29 Apr Three Ways to Prevent Employee Theft of Your Precious Metals

Precious metal refining is rife with opportunities for loss and waste that will take a cumulative toll on your bottom line, chief among them is the danger of employee theft.

You should be guarding against this potential weak spot in your operations through a shrewd combination of preparation and prevention. Here are three key strategies that will prevent employee theft from getting the best of you and your business.

#1 Know What, And Who, You’re Dealing With

a. Secure storage Your precious metals are valuable. You should store them accordingly, in a secure area. Sort your metals by type, following the method that makes the most sense to you. Preventing theft requires the discipline to stay apprised of what you have, where you’re keeping it, and being able to supervise that storage.

b. Careful recruiting Choosing a refiner and managing contract procurement are tasks you should assign to employees with proven, honest track records. But you should also carefully review the backgrounds of all your employees. Ideally, you will have your choice of individuals with a long employment history, whom you would trust with the keys to your company’s valuables.

c. Shrewd organization Uses separate teams and records for sorting precious metals and for transporting them to the refiner. There will be fewer opportunities for valuable metal to go missing if separate teams are responsible for turning over exactly what they take responsibility for.

#2 Spell Out The Rules, In Plain Sight

a. Let them know you know Make sure your employee handbook explicitly acknowledges the possibility of theft of scrap metal, that the company owns scrap and precious metals used and refined during the company’s operation. Explicitly state that taking the material is theft.

b. Remind workers of the trust invested in them Post declarations outlining valuable materials safeguards in the workplace, conspicuously. This will emphasize the company’s strict position against theft, and prevent employee disregard for such crime.

c. Treat valuable material accordingly Label scrap metal bins and storage, “scrap metal,” and “restricted,” to make it clear to those inclined to rationalize theft that removing pieces for side projects is stealing and will be considered such.

#3 Limit Employee Access And Opportunity

a. The buddy system Some companies use a two-person approach to access of restricted areas where the risk of loss to theft is high. Two employees with the same access privileges, ideally from different departments or supervised by different managers, should be required to enter high-risk areas, and they also should be required to leave the area together.

b. Trust, but verify Hand-held and walk-through metal detectors will also limit an employee’s ability to leave restricted areas with valuable precious metals. Security cameras are also valuable tools, both in presenting a disciplined attitude to theft and as a deterrent.

c. Put their names on it Require employees handling valuable material to sign for it. This will reinforce the expectation that they’re handling property they’re responsible to account for. The practice also creates a paper trail for investigators to follow in the event of a serious breach. Employees who fail to follow this rule self-identify as someone to watch more carefully.

QML Inc. is dedicated to getting the highest return from your scrap from start to finish, so you can reap the monetary benefit every time we process your shipment.

Call now to arrange for a free assay of a sample of your materials: 888-424-6781