Buying a camera-based safety system touches operations, IT, security, the workforce and the budget at once, and every demo is built around the best clip. These questions are written so they apply to any supplier.
Most terminals, yards and distribution centers already have IP cameras and a recorder or video management system (VMS), installed for security. Some safety systems use those feeds; others need their own cameras. Either can work, but it changes the cost, the timescale and what IT has to approve.
Ask how the system takes video (standard RTSP or ONVIF streams, a VMS integration, or its own hardware), and what happens where an existing camera is not good enough. Position, angle, resolution and lighting all matter, and so do night shifts, fog, rain and glare off the water. A supplier who checks each camera's view and tells you which ones will not work is more useful than one who says yes to all of them.
Systems differ: some analyze video on a device at the site (edge), some on your own servers (on-premises), and some in the supplier's cloud. Each has trade-offs for bandwidth, security review and who holds the footage.
Ask where processing and storage happen, which country the data sits in, how long footage and event clips are kept, who at the supplier can see them, and whether faces can be blurred. Check these answers against your own data, privacy and security policies, and any state privacy laws that apply to you.
If the supplier provides cameras, ask who makes them. Section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 restricts federal agencies, and companies that contract with them, from using video surveillance equipment from certain named manufacturers, and many private buyers now apply the same test. Ask the supplier to state compliance in writing, or use cameras you have chosen yourself.
At a facility regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act, talk to your facility security officer before adding cameras or network connections; they will know how it fits your facility security plan. In hazardous or exposed areas, check the housing rating as well. This is a list of things to check, not legal advice.
Camera monitoring does not make a site compliant. What it can do is show what actually happens: whether people stay out of vehicle lanes, whether PPE is worn where it is required, and whether the controls you put in are being used. That is evidence for your safety program. It does not replace the program.
The OSHA standards most often relevant to the sites this guide is for are:
Ask the supplier which of your own rules and procedures each detection maps to, and how you would use the record in an inspection, an investigation or a toolbox talk.
Every supplier lists what it detects. Fewer say what it misses, how often it flags something that turns out to be nothing, and whether a person checks events before they reach you.
Ask for detections described in your terms: people in lanes used by yard tractors (hostlers), reach stackers, straddle carriers and lift trucks; people too close to moving equipment; entries to restricted zones such as crane working areas or the quay edge; hard hats and safety vests; people on top of trailers and loads; speed. Then ask what it does not do: crane and suspended-load detection, stop compliance at intersections, in-cab warnings. Not every system covers these, and it is better to know before the pilot.
A system that floods the safety team with false alerts soon stops being looked at, whatever its accuracy on paper.
A system that floods the safety team with false alerts soon stops being looked at.
Detection is the start. Ask the supplier to walk you through one event: who sees it, how quickly, what comes with it (time, location, clip), whether it becomes a record, and how you would know two months later that the fix held. Reports by zone, shift and time of day are what turn single events into decisions about layout, staffing and training.
Many suppliers are not US companies. That is fine if the setup and support work for your hours. Ask whether setup is remote or on site, who supports you during your shifts, how long it takes from camera access to the first events, and whether the supplier will add a detection your site needs.
A demo shows what the system can do somewhere else. A pilot shows what it sees on your site.
If several suppliers are in the running, give them the same area and the same rules, and compare the written results.
References from your own sector are worth more than logos. A container terminal, a shipyard and a distribution center share hazards but not layouts or shift patterns. Ask to speak to a safety lead at a comparable site, and ask what changed after the first month, not just what the system found.
Camera monitoring is not the right first answer for every site.
Monitoring earns its place where the question is what actually happens across shifts: whether the controls are used, and where the near misses cluster.
| Question | Our answer |
|---|---|
| Existing cameras | RoboK SiteLens works with a site's existing IP cameras and recorders over standard RTSP, and supports ONVIF cameras. Detection quality depends on each camera's view and lighting: we check every view during setup and tell you where it will and won't work well. |
| Where video goes | Processed and stored securely; where it is held is set out in your contract. Footage is kept for 30 days as standard, and clips flagged as hazards for the length of your subscription; both can be changed in your contract. Faces can be blurred on request, and access is limited to named user accounts. |
| Camera rules | For US sites, RoboK SiteLens runs on the site's own cameras, so you choose hardware that meets your procurement rules. |
| OSHA | A record of what happens in vehicle lanes, restricted zones and PPE areas, by zone and shift, for your safety program. It does not replace the program. |
| Detection | Near misses between people and vehicles, people in vehicle lanes, entries to restricted zones you define (for example around crane working areas), hard hats and safety vests where required, people working at height on vehicles, trailers and loads, and smoking in areas marked no-smoking. Speed monitoring is also available. It does not detect crane lifts or suspended loads, and it does not warn drivers in the cab. |
| After detection | Each event comes with the time, the zone and the clip, and a risk level. Reports by zone, type and time of day, and regular reports by email. |
| Setup and support | Remote or on site. Support covers US hours. Typically one to two weeks from camera access to the first events. New detections can be added on request. |
| Pilot | A free two-week Safety Mapping trial on one of your own cameras, ending in a written report and a review call. |
| References | Ports and terminals, logistics and manufacturing sites in the UK. Ask us to put you in touch with a comparable site. |
Whether it works on your existing cameras, where video is processed and stored, whether its cameras meet your procurement rules, how it supports your OSHA program, what it detects and misses, what happens after an event, how setup and support work in your hours, how to run a pilot, and who in your sector uses it.
No. Compliance comes from the safety program, training and controls. Camera monitoring gives a record of what actually happens, which helps show whether those controls are working and where they are not.
Not always. Some systems run on existing IP cameras and recorders, subject to camera position, image quality and lighting; others need their own hardware. Ask the supplier to check your cameras' views before you commit.
Yes, if setup and support fit your hours. Ask whether setup is remote or on site, who answers during your shifts, and how long it takes from camera access to the first events.
Run the same pilot with each: one area, the same cameras, agreed event definitions and a written result. Then compare false alerts, missed events and how easily the safety team could act on what it found.
Yes: Choosing AI safety monitoring for a UK site covers UK GDPR, workforce consultation and HSE guidance.
Whether the new system can use your existing cameras and recorder, how to run both side by side fairly, what you can take with you from the current supplier, and the contract dates. See Switching or adding an AI safety camera supplier.
The fairest test of any of these systems is one area, two weeks, on one of your own cameras, and a written report you can hold it to. Safety Mapping: a free two-week trial on one camera.
Last checked November 2026