And No Way to Watch It.
Construction sites are among the highest-theft targets in any market. Equipment is expensive, materials are portable, and the site is unoccupied for the majority of every 24-hour cycle. For Cedar Rapids General Contractors, a multi-phase commercial build in Cedar Rapids became a recurring target almost as soon as ground was broken.
The site had no existing camera infrastructure — and installing a permanent system wasn’t practical for a project that would be complete in under a year. Running conduit, pulling permits, and wiring a fixed system would cost nearly as much as the losses they were already taking. They needed coverage fast, without committing to infrastructure that would be worthless the day the project wrapped.
The site supervisor summed it up: “We’d show up Monday morning and something would be gone. Copper, tools, equipment off the machines. It was happening regularly and we had no way to prove anything or stop it.”
⚠ No Existing Infrastructure
The site had no power runs, conduit, or network connectivity to support a fixed camera system. A permanent install would require significant additional construction work before coverage could even begin.
⚠ Off-Hours Vulnerability
The site was completely unoccupied from end of shift until crews returned the next morning — a 14+ hour window with no presence, no lighting, and no deterrence of any kind.
⚠ High-Value Material Exposure
Copper wiring, power tools, fuel, and heavy equipment were staged on-site throughout the project. Portable, high-resale materials with no tracking and no recovery options once taken.
⚠ Temporary Project Timeline
Investing in a permanent camera system for a sub-12-month build made no financial sense. They needed professional-grade coverage for the duration of the project — and nothing more.
No Wiring. No Permits. No Problem.
Fusion Security deployed a solar-powered mobile surveillance trailer to the Cedar Rapids site within 24 hours of the initial call. No trenching, no conduit, no infrastructure required. The trailer arrived self-contained — solar panels for power, built-in LTE for connectivity, and Axis cameras pre-configured for the site layout.
A site design was completed before deployment, mapping each camera’s field of view to the highest-risk zones: the material staging area, the equipment yard, the perimeter fence line, and the primary site entry. By end of day one, the entire site was covered and live.
The system was configured with zone-based AI detection — alerting only on humans and vehicles entering defined areas after hours, eliminating false alarms from wind, animals, and ambient movement. Alerts were routed directly to the site supervisor’s phone via SMS, and live streaming was accessible from any device at any time.
First Test.
The trailer was live by end of day on a Wednesday. That same night, the system flagged an unauthorized entry at the rear of the site — a person on foot entering the equipment yard just after 11pm. The strobe activated, the loudspeaker fired a warning, and the individual left the site immediately. Nothing was taken. No one had to respond in person. The entire event was captured in full resolution and timestamped.
It was the same pattern the crew had been losing materials to for two months — and the system stopped it on the first night without any human intervention.
AI Detection Fires
The camera’s onboard AI classifies the intruder as a human target entering a restricted zone after hours. The classification happens in under a second — and unlike basic motion detection, it doesn’t trigger on wind, animals, or passing vehicles. Only a confirmed human or vehicle target trips the response.
Zone-Based AI Detection — Human / Vehicle ClassificationStrobe + Audio Warning Activate
The high-visibility strobe engages and the loudspeaker issues a warning — the individual is on private property, they are being recorded, and the footage is being monitored. The site goes from dark and silent to lit and actively responding in seconds. The psychological shift is immediate and significant.
Blue Strobe + Speaker Warning — Automated ResponseSMS Alert Sent to Site Supervisor
Simultaneously, an alert is pushed to the site supervisor’s phone with a clip of the event. He could see exactly what happened, review the footage, and make a call — all without leaving his house. No patrol. No overnight staff. No response required unless he chose to escalate.
Instant SMS + Email Alert — Live Footage AccessFull Clip Recorded & Stored
Every event is captured in full resolution — clear enough for identification, timestamped, and stored on the NVR. If law enforcement needs footage, it’s ready. If insurance needs documentation, it’s ready. The system builds a complete record of every incident, attempted or otherwise, for the life of the project.
Full-Resolution Recording — NVR + Remote StorageNot a Single Theft.
From the night the trailer went live through project completion, Cedar Rapids General Contractors did not report a single material or equipment theft. The system intercepted multiple after-hours intrusion attempts — and in every case, the deterrence response was enough. Nobody came back twice.
“First night it was up, something triggered it and whoever it was took off. After that, nothing. We finished the whole project without losing a single thing. I wish we’d had it from day one.”
For a project-based deployment, the math is simple. A single incident — stolen copper, missing equipment, vandalized machinery — can easily run $5,000–$15,000 in losses, delays, and insurance claims. The cost of a rental trailer for the duration of a build is a fraction of that. The protection isn’t just physical. It keeps the project on schedule.
Needs Covering?
We’ll have a trailer on-site and live within 24 hours. No infrastructure, no long-term commitment, no hassle.
Request a Deployment Quote Quad Cities & Eastern Iowa — Same-Day Deployment Available