Site superintendents, builders and project owners · Quebec and Ontario
Temporary surveillance and connectivity for construction sites
A construction site has materials worth stealing, an office that needs a connection and neither walls nor permanent services. Vega Security installs cameras, an alarm and a network that work from the first day and move as the building rises.
A site with no walls, no network and tools worth taking
For most of its life a building under construction is an open lot with a fence. Copper, tools and appliances arrive before there is a door to lock, the layout changes every month, and the people who need to see the progress are rarely on site.
This page concerns the period of the work itself, and it is written for the superintendent, the builder and the owner's representative. Everything described here is temporary: it is installed for the length of the project, moved when the site changes and removed at the end.
The permanent systems of the same building, delivered as one subcontract, are described on our page for general contractors and new buildings.
- Theft at night and at the weekendMaterials delivered on Friday are an easy target until Monday, and the fence stops nobody.
- No Internet at the site officeThe permanent service is months away, and drawings, schedules and video meetings cannot wait for it.
- An owner who wants to see progressInvestors, lenders and the head office ask for pictures, and someone has to go and take them.
- A site that changes shapeA camera that saw the whole excavation sees a concrete wall three months later.
- Finished floors before handoverAppliances and finishes are in place, the trades still have access, and the permanent systems are not yet running.
Temporary systems that move with the work
Each can be ordered alone, for the length of the project. They are installed on poles, trailers and temporary power, and relocated as the phases advance.
- Video surveillanceCameras on poles or on a neighbouring roof that watch the gate, the storage areas and the perimeter, with a live view for the project team, a timelapse of the site and a finished timelapse film of the whole project at the end.
- Intrusion alarmWireless detectors on the site office, the containers and the closed floors, with no permanent wiring, alerts to the superintendent's phone and a connection for a monitoring station.
- Long-range wireless bridgesA radio link that brings a connection to the site from a nearby building before any permanent service exists, and carries the cameras at the far end of the lot back to the site office.
- Enterprise Wi-FiWi-Fi in the site office and the trailers, extended to the floors where the trades use tablets and drawings.
- Structured cabling and LANA small cabinet and outlets for the site office: computers, printers, phones and the recorder.
- Access controlA card reader on the gate and the site office, with cards by trade and by period, cancelled when a subcontractor has finished.
- Intercom and phone entryA weatherproof station at the delivery gate, answered from the site office or from a phone, so that the gate stays closed between deliveries.
- VoIP and business telephonyPhones for the site office with a number that follows the project team, and extensions on mobiles.
- Cellular signal boostingMobile coverage in the underground levels once they are enclosed, where the crews and the equipment that relies on the cellular network lose service.
Installed at mobilisation, removed at handover
Temporary systems follow the site plan, not the drawings of the building. They are reviewed at each change of phase.
- A look at the site plan
We see the lot, the fence, the gates, the location of the site office and the crane, the temporary power and the neighbouring buildings that could carry a radio link or a camera.
- Set-up at mobilisation
Poles, cameras, the link and the site office network are installed as soon as the fence and the temporary power are there, and the alarm is armed as soon as its detectors are in place.
- Moves as the phases change
When the structure rises, the hoist is installed or the storage area moves, cameras and detectors are relocated and the views are checked again with the superintendent.
- Removal, and the film of the project
At the end, the temporary equipment is taken down, the site is left clean, and the timelapse film of the whole project is delivered.
What the superintendent and the owner can count on
- A live view of the site for the people you name, from a computer or a phone
- Recorded footage that can be searched by date and by camera when something goes missing
- Alerts to the phones of the people responsible when the alarm is triggered
- A working network in the site office early in the project
- The timelapse film of the whole project, delivered at the end
Sites we equip
- New building construction
- Major renovations and additions
- Projects in several phases or towers
- Vacant buildings awaiting work
Related industries
Vega Security holds all the licences required for its work.
Questions from site superintendents and builders
How is this different from your work for general contractors?
This page is about temporary systems, for the period of construction. The permanent low-voltage and security systems of the building are a separate scope, described on our page for general contractors. One company can do both, and the people who know the site at the start are the ones who commission it at the end.
What do you need from the site to start?
Temporary power at the positions of the equipment, a place to mount it and a line of sight for the radio link when there is one. We tell you after the first visit what is missing, if anything.
Can the cameras be moved during the project?
Yes, and they have to be. We plan the positions for the first phase, then return when the site changes: excavation, structure, envelope, landscaping.
Who can watch the live view?
The people you designate: the superintendent, the project manager, the owner's representative. Each has an account, and access is removed when someone leaves the project.
Is there a connection if the lot has no service at all?
In most cases, yes. A radio link from a nearby building is the usual answer, when there is a line of sight and an agreement with its owner. A path study confirms it before anything is ordered.
Can the temporary equipment stay in the finished building?
Usually not: it was chosen to be moved, not to be built in. The permanent systems are designed for the finished building, and they take over at commissioning.