What size surveillance system does my jobsite need?
Direct answer: Size to sight lines, not acreage: a compact site with one approach fits a 10–12 ft tower (SiteFortress Mini, $695/mo); a typical construction site or yard wants an 18–20 ft mast with 360° cameras (SiteFortress 360, $995/mo); long sight distances, high asset value or evidence-detail needs justify PTZ (PTZ Pro, $1,695/mo). L-shaped or obstructed sites sometimes need two smaller units instead of one big one.
The four sizing questions
One: how far is the farthest thing you care about from the best placement spot? Under ~100 ft favors the Mini; 100–250 ft favors the 360; beyond that, PTZ zoom starts earning its keep. Two: can one spot see everything, or do buildings and stacks block quadrants? Obstructions argue for height — or a second unit. Three: what is the value density? A lot with $2M of inventory justifies more system than one with scattered materials. Four: do you need to recognize or just detect? Detection needs pixels; identification needs more of them, which means height, resolution and zoom.
Rules of thumb by site type
Patterns we see across DFW deployments:
- Custom home / small roofing project → Mini, placed at the drive gate
- Typical commercial construction site → SiteFortress 360 mid-site or at the gate
- Contractor yard under ~1 acre → Mini in the working corner
- Equipment yard 1–3 acres → 360, add LPR at the gate
- Distribution/trailer yard → PTZ Pro along the main rows
- Dealership lot → PTZ Pro + LPR, mast over inventory rows
- L-shaped or multi-pad site → two Minis often beat one big unit
When in doubt, survey
This is what the site survey is for: we walk placement options, check sight lines and sun exposure, and commit to an agreed coverage map — backed by the Deployment Promise (if we can’t verify the agreed coverage at deployment, the deployment fee is waived). Oversizing wastes budget; undersizing wastes the whole exercise. Ten minutes on site settles it.