Site security covers the places that are open, busy and hard to lock: building sites, warehouses, logistics yards, factories and mines. Materials, copper cable, fuel and stock are easy to carry off once the working day ends, and the site is full of strangers by day. Guards, cameras on solar towers, gate searches and a patrol vehicle are usually combined. Send one request with the site, its size and its hours, and PSIRA-registered security companies that work in your area quote you directly. It is free and there is no obligation.
Securing a building site
A construction site changes every month, so the security plan has to move with it. Most contractors start with night and weekend guards on the main gate, a lockable site container for tools and fittings, and a solar camera tower that covers the stores and the gate. Material control matters as much as the fence: a gate register for deliveries, a signed delivery note for every load, and a count of high-value items such as copper, cement and fittings. Ask the guard to record vehicles in and out in the occurrence book.
Warehouses, yards, plants and mines
Industrial sites run longer hours and have heavier traffic. A logistics yard needs a guard at the weighbridge or gate who checks seals, drivers and delivery notes, and searches trucks leaving according to the site's written procedure. A plant or mine needs a larger guard force with supervisors, a control room and often a perimeter detection system, such as an electric fence with zones that report to a panel. Theft of copper cable and stock is a common concern, so cable runs and stores deserve cameras and lighting of their own.
Guards on these sites may work alongside patrol vehicles that check the boundary between gate visits.
Safety rules and inductions for guards
A site's own safety rules apply to security staff too. Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the principal contractor or site owner usually requires an induction for every person who enters, and guards should receive it, along with a briefing on emergency exits, fire points and the muster area. Ask what protective gear the guard must wear, such as a hard hat, hi-vis vest and safety boots, and who supplies it. Check where the guard can shelter and how the guard will call for help if alone at night. Our page on security equipment lists the kit.
Contracts and cost
Guards are charged per 12-hour post per month, so a site with a night guard and a day guard at the gate is two posts. As a rough 2026 guide, a post at a construction or industrial site costs R14,000 to R28,000 a month, depending on grade, supervision and whether the guard is armed. Short projects suit month-to-month or fixed-term contracts, while a permanent plant suits a longer one. Camera towers are usually hired by the month. See the security price guide for how other items compare.
What to include in your request
- The type and address of the site
- Working hours and who is on site after hours
- Valuable stock, materials or cable to protect
- Gates, fencing and lighting already there
- Start date and expected length of the project
Site Security for different sites
- Homeowners and families: a guard at a home under renovation, with materials locked in a container
- Estates, complexes and body corporates: guards and gate checks for contractors building inside a residential estate
- Offices, shops and retail centres: after-hours guards for shopping centre refits and new retail units
- Factories, warehouses and yards: gate and weighbridge guards, truck searches, perimeter detection and a control room
- Building sites and contractors: night and weekend guards, a locked container and a solar camera tower at the gate
- Farms and smallholdings: guards at a packhouse or solar farm under construction, with cameras on the store
- Events, venues, hotels and lodges: guards on a lodge or hotel build, with deliveries logged at the gate
- Schools, clinics and churches: guards at a school or clinic building project, with the site fenced off from users
Frequently asked questions
Are you a security company?
Do I need guards on a building site over weekends?
Can the guards search trucks and bags?
Who is responsible if a guard is hurt on site?
Site Security by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg