Construction Site Security
in Sioux Falls
General contractors and project owners across Sioux Falls hire Red Obsidian Security to keep equipment, materials, and worksites safe through nights, weekends, and holiday windows. Theft of copper, fuel, tools, and equipment is the line item every GC sees on every job — we make it a much smaller line item with documented patrols, randomized routes, and same-day deployment when the call requires it.
What Actually Walks Off
Construction Sites
Construction theft is not random. It targets specific items, at predictable hours, by people with a route. A documented patrol presence breaks the route.
Copper & Wire
Active wire bundles, spooled cable, and exposed grounding are the highest-margin theft target on any site. A single overnight loss can wipe a week of GC margin. Patrols at variable hours interrupt the cutting window.
Fuel
Diesel out of equipment tanks and fuel cells is a recurring loss on rural and edge-of-city sites. Patrol presence around fuel storage during the 11 PM – 4 AM window cuts incidents sharply.
Tools & Tool Trailers
Locked tool trailers are not theft-proof. Documented patrols at randomized intervals plus a marked vehicle in the lot is what actually moves the needle. Trailer thieves want privacy — we remove the privacy.
Equipment Joyrides
Skid-steers, mini-excavators, and lifts are operated, damaged, or stolen by trespassers more often than most GCs realize. The damage cost often exceeds the equipment value. Patrol presence and locked-cab verification limit this risk.
Vandalism & Graffiti
Empty job trailers, fresh concrete, and clean signage attract vandalism. Cleanup costs and re-pour costs are direct out-of-pocket for the GC. Random patrols disrupt the after-hours window when this happens.
Trespass & Liability
An injured trespasser on an active site is a six-figure exposure even when the GC was not at fault. Documented patrol presence and signed visit logs strengthen the GC’s defense in any subsequent claim.
What Goes Into a
Construction Patrol Plan
A two-week rough-in coverage plan looks different from a six-month commercial pad. The components below are the menu. Project type, site value, and prior-incident history determine the mix.
Night Mobile Patrol
Randomized vehicle and foot patrols of the active site between dusk and dawn. Each visit includes perimeter walk, equipment yard check, material laydown inspection, fuel storage check, and trailer verification.
Weekend Stationary Post
Dedicated officer on-site for full weekend coverage when the site is closed but materials and equipment remain. Most theft happens on weekends — this is where the fix is most measurable.
Vacant Lot Coverage
Patrol coverage for cleared lots and pre-build sites holding fencing, materials, or staging equipment before formal construction begins. Lower-frequency, lower-cost coverage that still creates a documented record.
Lockup & Open
End-of-day site lockup — gates secured, tool trailers verified locked, equipment cab doors checked, fuel valves verified. Reverse the process at the next morning’s start. Independent line item, priced per cycle.
Alarm Response
If your site has a monitored alarm, we are a faster, cheaper, lower-risk response than dispatching the GC from home or paying a false-alarm fee to police. Verified human arrival, on-site assessment, documented report.
Inventory Verification
For high-value sites, we add a per-visit equipment and material verification step against a GC-supplied list. Photos and presence-confirmation are filed in the visit report. Useful for insurance documentation.
From First Call
to First Patrol
Construction is the one service where we routinely deploy same-day. The onboarding compresses to fit the timeline.
Phone Brief
15-minute call with the GC contact. Site address, project type, valuables on-site, GC schedule, after-hours contact procedure, and access for our patrol vehicle. Enough to deploy that night if needed.
Same-Day Site Walk
The owner walks the site with the GC contact within hours of the call. Maps gates, equipment yard, material laydown, fuel storage, trailer locations, and access roads. Recorded on a site-specific worksheet.
Written Post-Order
Within 24 hours, you receive a written post-order document specifying patrol cadence, what each visit covers, what the report contains, and emergency escalation. Sign-off is electronic.
Patrols Begin
First night’s patrol is shadowed by the owner. Reports go to the GC contact (and any second contact you specify) by email within hours of each visit. We adjust the post-order if the first week reveals anything we missed.
Three-Tier
Volume Discount
GCs running multiple active sites — or single high-frequency sites needing many monthly visits — qualify for the same volume discount available to all our commercial clients. The more visits per month across all sites, the lower the per-visit rate.
Standard With Every
Construction Contract
- Marked patrol vehicle. Branded, lit, visible. Deterrence the moment we pull up.
- Uniformed officers. Standard uniform, badge, ID. Trespassers know who they are dealing with.
- GPS-tagged reports. Every visit produces a time-stamped, location-verified report by email within hours.
- Randomized timing. Patrol times vary within an agreed window. No predictable patterns for thieves to learn.
- Card payments. Stripe processing for major credit and debit cards. Net-terms ACH for established accounts.
- Same-day deployment. Calls before 4 PM typically deploy that night. Construction does not wait for paperwork.
- Owner accountability. The owner of Red Obsidian walks the site, signs the post-order, and signs the reports.
- Insured & bonded. Full general liability and bonding in place. COIs available on request.
Construction Site Security
Common Questions
Can you start tonight? +
Often yes. Construction site security is one of the few service categories where we routinely deploy same-day. If you call before 4 PM, a marked patrol vehicle is typically on your site that night. We carry capacity for emergency deployment because construction theft does not wait for a contract review cycle.
Do you cover remote and rural construction sites? +
Yes. We patrol sites throughout Sioux Falls, Brandon, Harrisburg, Tea, Dell Rapids, and the surrounding counties. Drive distance from Sioux Falls is factored into the per-visit rate. Rural sites with no surrounding lighting or witnesses are exactly the type of property that benefits most from documented patrol.
Do you provide armed officers on construction sites? +
Both armed and unarmed coverage is available. Most construction GCs choose unarmed visible-deterrence patrols with documented incident reporting and law-enforcement coordination — that is the right answer for the majority of sites. Armed coverage is reserved for high-value equipment yards, post-incident response, and owner-directed armed posts.
What is the smallest project you will work? +
There is no minimum site size. We patrol single-family rebuilds, small commercial pads, and active subdivisions equally. Smaller sites typically use a drive-by check format at lower per-visit cost. Larger commercial sites typically use a foot-patrol mobile format with longer per-visit duration.
Can you coordinate with the GC and subs? +
Yes. Every site receives a written post-order document specifying GC contacts, sub-contractor schedules, restricted zones, and report distribution. Officers carry the post-order on every visit. If a sub leaves equipment overnight that the GC was not informed about, we document and report it before deciding whether to remove or secure.
What does a typical site report contain? +
Each visit produces an electronic report with arrival time, departure time, route walked or driven, condition of perimeter fencing or barriers, presence of materials and equipment, signs of trespass or attempted theft, photos of incidents or property issues, and officer notes. Reports are emailed to the GC contact within hours of each visit and are designed to be forwarded directly to insurance carriers if needed.
How is construction site patrol priced? +
Construction patrols are priced per visit, with the rate depending on visit type (drive-by check, foot patrol, or stationary post), site distance from Sioux Falls, and visit frequency. Volume discounts apply at 40, 80, and 120 visits per month. The online estimator produces a complete written quote in five minutes.
Do you handle weekend and holiday coverage? +
Yes. Weekends and holidays are when most construction theft occurs because the site is closed but the equipment and materials remain. Weekend stationary posts and intensified mobile-patrol cycles are both standard offerings. Many GCs ramp coverage on Friday afternoon and reduce it Monday morning.
More From
Red Obsidian
Stop Watching Tools
Disappear at Night.
Documented patrol presence at randomized hours is what actually deters construction theft. Marked vehicle. Trained officer. Time-stamped report. Same-day deployment available on most calls.