.svg)
.webp)
The 6am concrete pour doesn't wait for anyone to write down plates. By smoko the paper gate log has three blanks and a plate nobody can read, and the vehicle you most want on record, the one that came through at midnight, isn't in it at all. Number plate recognition on a construction site fixes that by making the log build itself.
Here's how a gate camera logs every vehicle, how you link plates to deliveries and subcontractors, and how the same log flags a ute nobody recognises.
Number plate recognition on a construction site uses a camera at the gate to read every plate and log it with a time, date and photo, in and out. You match those reads against your fleet, subcontractors and booked deliveries, so known vehicles become a searchable record and unknown vehicles trigger an alert. Siteguard's solar-powered ANPR unit does this without mains power or a cable to the gate.
Trades change weekly, the gate moves as the job progresses, and whoever holds the clipboard has another job to do. An ANPR camera at the gate captures each vehicle, reads the plate and stores it with a time, date and photo. Siteguard's number plate recognition does this for every vehicle entering or leaving, whether or not anyone was watching.
Which tipper left at 3:40pm? Was the plumber's van on site the day the copper went missing? Each question becomes a search in Siteguard's searchable vehicle database, which finds any plate, date or time in seconds. For how the camera reads a plate in the first place, see our guide to ANPR technology.
A log you trust starts with camera placement. Put the unit where vehicles have to slow down and line up: the main gate or a single-lane entry. Two lanes side by side let one truck hide another's plate. Mount it close to in line with the lane, high enough to clear a bull bar.
.png)
Log the exit too. Two reads per vehicle show how long each truck was on site, and a rear-plate read is a backup for a front plate hidden by a tow bar. Siteguard's unit pairs advanced night vision with built-in lighting; our article on number plate recognition at night covers what to check before you rely on a 2am read.
Power is the usual blocker. Trenching mains to a gate that moves twice before lock-up is money wasted. Siteguard's ANPR is solar-powered and weatherproof, with no cabling or mains power, on a highly visible tower that doubles as a deterrent.
Drive a muddy tipper, a ute with a tow bar and a trailer through after dark, then search each plate next morning. Whatever it missed tells you what to fix.
Trucks in and out all day on an active build?
See how Siteguard sets up cameras, monitoring and reporting for construction sites, from the moment your crew leaves to the moment they return.
Siteguard for constructionA plate on its own is six characters. The log gets useful when each plate is tied to a company, a trade or a booking. Build the list from your own fleet, subcontractor vehicles from induction paperwork and your suppliers' carriers. Give one person the job of keeping it current.
| Vehicle type | What you link the plate to | What the log tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Your own fleet | Driver and crew | Who opened and closed the site |
| Subcontractor utes and vans | Trade and company | Which trades were on site each day |
| Delivery trucks | Supplier or docket number | When a delivery arrived, or if it did |
| Tippers | Haulage contractor | Load counts to check against invoices |
| Floats | Hire company and asset | When hired plant arrived and left |
Deliveries pay off first. "It never arrived" becomes a search, not an argument. Spoil and quarry loads are billed by the load, so if the invoice says 64 and the log says 51, you have a conversation backed by records. Siteguard's Vehicle Log (truck counting) service is built for that count, and our article on how to count trucks entering a construction site compares manual tallies with camera logs.
When a trade claims an extra fortnight on site, the plate log settles it faster than a diary written from memory. For what the record must capture, see keeping a construction site gate log.
Every read is checked against your lists. A known plate at 10am is routine. An unknown plate at 2am isn't. Siteguard's system sends an instant alert the moment a vehicle arrives on site, so it doesn't wait until Monday.
On a temporary site the alert matters more than a barrier. Pair it with 24/7 control room monitoring and an Australian-based operator verifies the event, issues audio warnings and escalates to the relevant authorities when required. The log also catches the quieter case: a ute that has turned up three times this week with no reason to be there. For allow lists and boom gates, see ANPR site access control.
Want every plate at your gate read, logged and searchable?
Siteguard's solar-powered ANPR unit captures every vehicle in and out, day or night, with instant alerts and a searchable vehicle database.
See Siteguard ANPRA week of footage is no help if finding one truck means scrubbing through it. With a licence plate recognition camera on a construction site, every read is already a record. The records sit inside Siteguard Foreman, with live view, playback, alerts and event reports in your browser, and AI Reporting adds event summaries and anomaly alerts that leave a clear audit trail. The night the fuel goes missing, every vehicle at the gate is one search away.
Good records hold up when it counts. As Dave, Manager at Canberra Temporary Fencing & Security, puts it: "The NPR systems from Siteguard are pro-level for when you want to get maximum prosecution evidence. The only proper number plate recognition system in my opinion." Pair the gate unit with solar camera towers on the perimeter and the gate and the fence line are covered on the same site.
A plate linked to a driver or a subcontractor's roster can become personal information. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner says the Privacy Act covers government agencies and organisations with annual turnover over $3 million, which must tell people their image may be captured before recording and keep it secure. State and territory surveillance laws apply on top.
Rules differ between states, so check yours. Most operators put clear signage at each gate, keep the list of people who can search the log short, set a retention period, and mention the camera in inductions. This is general information, not legal advice.
A camera at the gate captures each vehicle, software reads the plate, and the system logs it with a time, date and photo. Reads are checked against lists you set, such as your fleet, subcontractors and booked deliveries, so known vehicles are recorded and unknown vehicles trigger an alert.
Yes. Siteguard's number plate recognition is solar-powered and weatherproof, running off-grid with no cabling or mains power, so it suits temporary gates that move during a build.
Build a list from your fleet, each subcontractor's induction paperwork and your suppliers' carriers, then tie each plate to a company, trade or docket. Every read is then a record of who was on site and when, and delivery or load disputes become a search in the vehicle database.
Siteguard's system sends an instant alert the moment a vehicle arrives on site. Paired with 24/7 control room monitoring, an Australian-based operator verifies the event, issues audio warnings and escalates to the relevant authorities when required.
Obligations vary by state and by organisation, but clear signage at each gate saying vehicles and plates are recorded is common practice, along with limiting who can search the log and setting a retention period. Check the rules that apply where your site is.