Live video monitoring means a person is watching your job site at the same moment something happens, not reviewing footage the next morning. Secure Defence provides that for construction sites across Vancouver and Metro Vancouver. Trained, licensed operators watch your cameras in real time, 24/7, and act while an intruder is still on site.
We opened in Vancouver 11 years ago, and the Lower Mainland is still our main market. The operators watching your site sit in our Richmond command centre, the same room that covers our sites across all of Western Canada.
Want to know what live monitoring would look like on your site? Book a free site assessment.
Vancouver's Noise Control By-law sets the hours most crews can work on private property: 7:30 am to 8 pm on weekdays, 10 am to 8 pm on Saturdays, and no construction noise on Sundays or holidays (City of Vancouver, Noise Control By-law 6555).
Do the math on that. Your crew can make noise for about 72.5 hours a week. The other 95 or so hours, including every Sunday and long weekend, the site is usually quiet, locked and full of tools, copper and machines. Those are the hours we cover. Most of our Vancouver construction clients pick an evening, overnight and weekend schedule that lines up with the bylaw. Some keep us on 24/7 so someone is watching during lunch breaks and deliveries too.
Plenty of companies sell cameras that send a motion alert to your phone. That's not live monitoring. Here's what happens on a Secure Defence site.
Our people watch the site, not just the alerts. Every camera sits on a video wall in our command centre. Smart detection flags people and vehicles, and an operator sees the clip within seconds. Other staff scan the walls for anything odd before an alert even fires.
The operator talks to the intruder. Through a speaker on site, they tell the person they're being watched live and that police are being called. It's a real voice reacting to what that person is doing, which is why it works.
Then the siren and strobes. If the person keeps going, the site gets loud and bright.
Then Verified Police Response. Once a crime is confirmed, a supervisor calls police with a description and location and stays on the line until officers arrive. Our response is verified within about a minute.
You see it as it happens. Your site team gets photos and short clips in a shared group chat. Afterwards you get an incident report with operator notes and HD video.
Because a person decides every alert, there are zero false alarms. Clients see 98%+ overall crime reduction. More on our live video monitoring page.
Excavation and shoring. Open sites with machines parked overnight. Pole cameras on the perimeter give operators a clear view of the fence line and the equipment.
Structure and framing. Lumber, rebar and tools on every floor. Operators watch hoists, stairs and the crane, and crane climbing detection can alert them when someone starts up the mast.
Mechanical, electrical and interiors. This is when copper wire, fixtures and appliances arrive. Live eyes on the loading area and the doors that stay open during the day.
Cameras move as the site changes, so the operator always has the angle that matters.
Pole cameras on site power are usually live in 5 to 7 days, with a 24-hour backup power system so a power cut doesn't blind the operator. If you already have cameras on site, they can usually connect to our command centre the same day. For a site with no power or internet yet, a solar camera tower can go up in 24 hours and runs on a 2-week battery that holds in winter.
Assessments and quotes come back in 24 to 48 hours.
A guard can only be in one place, and on a large site that's rarely where the trouble starts. Our operators see every camera at once. Clients save up to 70% compared with on-site guards. Guards are still available as a secondary option when a site needs someone on the ground, for example during a crane erection or a big delivery.
Secure Defence is an award-winning company. Both The Globe and Mail and BIV ranked us the Fastest Growing Security Company in Canada in 2025 and again in 2026, and builders trust us with 1,000+ sites across Western Canada for 500+ customers. If live monitoring doesn't prove itself, our 30-Day Performance Guarantee covers you, and the service is insurance-approved.
"Great company to use for data/live monitoring. Wonderful service! "
Related pages: Vancouver security hub, Vancouver construction site security, construction site security monitoring in Vancouver, construction video surveillance in Vancouver and our construction industry page.
It means a trained operator watches your job site cameras in real time. When someone enters after hours, the operator warns them through a speaker, sets off a siren and calls police if a crime is confirmed.
Most clients cover the hours the site is empty. Under Vancouver's noise bylaw, crews on private property usually work 7:30 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 8 pm on Saturdays, with no construction noise on Sundays or holidays, so evenings, nights and weekends matter most. Some sites choose 24/7.
No. Every camera is on a video wall in our command centre, and staff scan for suspicious activity before an alert fires.
Our verified response takes about a minute. Police response times depend on the police and how busy they are that night.
Yes. Your team gets photos and short clips in a shared group chat as things happen, plus an incident report with operator notes and HD video afterwards.
Existing cameras can usually connect the same day. New pole cameras are live in 5 to 7 days, and a solar tower for a site with no power can be up in 24 hours.
Send us your site address and schedule. We'll recommend monitoring hours and a camera layout and send a quote within 24 to 48 hours.