Construction site alarm, Kent WA and the South Sound
Construction site security
for ground with no power and no internet.
A temporary intrusion alarm that goes up in an afternoon and comes down when the job ends. It detects someone in the laydown area, photographs them, sounds outdoor sirens and puts the alarm on your superintendent's phone. No trenching, no power drop, no site internet.
Rivas Technology Group installs temporary construction site alarms across the South Sound. A solar alarm tower detects intrusion, photographs each alarm and sounds outdoor sirens, reporting to the Ajax app over its own cellular connection. It needs no mains power and no site internet. It is an intrusion alarm with photo verification rather than a camera tower: it does not record video. Priced by quote after a site walk.
- What it detects
- People and vehicles in the area you choose, by motion, with a photo of each alarm
- Power
- Solar. No power drop, no generator, no trenching
- Connection
- Its own cellular. No site Wi-Fi, no contractor's hotspot
- Deterrent
- Outdoor sirens at the tower, on every alarm
- Who gets told
- Everyone you name. A superintendent and an owner see the same 2 a.m. event
- Not video
- Photo verification, not recording. If you need footage, that is a permanent camera system
- Moves with the job
- Relocates between phases; comes down when the job ends
- Response
- Call or text back within one business day
What does a construction site alarm actually do?
It tells you someone is on your site while they are still on it. A detector picks up movement in the area you chose, photographs what it sees, and the outdoor sirens sound where the intruder is standing. The alarm reaches every phone you named, with the photo attached, over the tower's own cellular connection.
That is a different job from a camera. A camera tells you what happened after it happened, which is useful for a claim and useless at 2 a.m. An alarm with photo verification tells you now, and gives you enough to decide whether to call the police or go back to sleep.
Why job sites are the hard case
Because everything a normal security system assumes is missing. There is no mains power until late in the build, and what power exists moves with the phases. There is no internet beyond somebody's phone. The ground changes shape every few weeks, so a system bolted to a fence in month one is pointing at nothing by month four. And the site is empty and unlit exactly when it is worth robbing.
Copper, tools, fuel, appliances and equipment all leave a site the same way: through a gap in the fence, at night, in a truck. By the time anyone notices, the gap has been there for hours and the truck is long gone. What changes that outcome is knowing while it is happening, which is the one thing a site with no power and no internet cannot usually do.
What we put on a site
A solar alarm tower, and as many as the ground takes. Each one carries four outdoor detectors with photo capture, one facing each side, two outdoor sirens, and an Ajax Hub 2 on cellular. It runs on a 25 W solar panel and an 80 Ah battery, stands 57.5 inches on a raised base, and weighs about 109 lb, so it drops where you want it and does not need a crane.
The full equipment list, the verified specifications and what the tower does and does not do are on the solar alarm tower page. One tower usually covers a yard, a compound or a container row. A long fence line or several separate areas needs more, which is what the site walk settles.
What it does not do
It does not record video. There is no footage, no retention plan and no live view. For a lot of contractors that is a feature rather than a gap, because continuous recording of your own crews raises questions you may not want to answer. If the job genuinely needs recorded video, say so at the site walk and we will design a camera system instead.
It also does not put a person on your site. The sirens sound and your phones ring. If nobody answers at 3 a.m., nothing further happens unless you add verified monitoring, where a central station reviews the photo and dispatches. That is an option, quoted with the system, and it is the honest answer to "who is watching".
Where we work
From 415 Railroad Ave S, Kent, WA 98032, about 30 minutes from most South Sound sites. That covers Kent, Renton, Tukwila, Federal Way, Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley, Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Tehaleh, University Place and Gig Harbor. The Olympic Peninsula and sites farther afield are by appointment and quote.
A general contractor running several sites across the South Sound is the case this is built for: one login, one contact, and the same people who will design the permanent system when each building is finished.
Questions from site superintendents
How do you secure a construction site with no power and no internet?
With a system that brings both. A solar alarm tower carries its own panel, battery and cellular connection, so nothing depends on a power drop, a generator or somebody's hotspot. It goes where the risk is, not where the electricity is, and it moves when the phases move.
Is this cameras?
No, and the difference matters on a job site. This is an intrusion alarm with photo verification: the detector sees movement, photographs it and the sirens sound. There is no video recording and no live video. A lot of sites prefer that, because it does not put continuous footage of your crews on a server somewhere. If you need recorded video, that is a permanent camera system and we build those too.
What stops it going off every time the wind blows?
The photo. Every alarm arrives with an image of what triggered it, so you can tell a person in the laydown area from a tarp in the wind before anyone drives out at 2 a.m. That is the whole reason to choose photo verification on a site that is empty at night.
How much of a site does one cover?
One tower suits a yard, a compound, a container row or another defined area. Each detector covers roughly 3 to 15 m, about 10 to 50 ft, with one facing each side. A long perimeter or several separated areas takes more than one. We would rather tell you two than sell you one that half covers the site.
What does construction site security cost?
By quote, after a site walk. Site size, how many areas need covering and how long the job runs all move the number, and a quote written without walking the ground is a guess. Buying and leasing are both options, and monitoring is an add-on rather than an assumption.
Can we move it as the job changes phase?
Yes, and most sites do. The laydown area in month two is not the laydown area in month eight. We relocate it and re-confirm coverage, billed at our hourly rate.
What happens to it when the building is finished?
It comes down, and the permanent system goes in. The owner who takes the finished building needs cameras on the doors and the lot, access control on the entries and a monitored alarm. That work is on business security, designed by the same people who covered the site during the build.
Request a site walk.
Tell us where the site is, how long the job runs and what is worth taking. We walk the ground, place the coverage where the risk actually is and send a quote. We call or text back within one business day.