Quick answer: A public works yard is a large, dark, fenced lot full of equipment that is easy to sell and a fuel island that is easy to abuse. Cover it in three layers: one long-range PTZ on a mast for the whole yard, stitched 180° cameras on building corners and poles for the equipment rows, and deterrence cameras with light and audio at the fuel island and the gate. Plate reading is a dedicated LPR camera quoted per project. Because the buyer is a municipality, the documentation pack and the procurement rules decide the bid as much as the layout.
What goes missing from a public works yard?
Ask the fleet supervisor before the walk, and the list is the same in most towns: fuel drawn on someone else’s card or after hours, catalytic converters cut from parked trucks, batteries and copper from the scrap bins, small engines and hand tools from the open bays, and the occasional loader driven through the fence. Add vandalism at the salt dome, after-hours dumping at the gate, and liability claims from contractors in the yard. Each is a camera position with a retention requirement, and the fleet office wants the clip by time and vehicle, not by scrolling.
Large dark yards: where do the PTZ and the 180° cameras go?
Yards are lit at the garage doors and the fuel island and nowhere else. One long-range PTZ on a 30 ft (9 m) mast covers the open ground; fixed 180° units on buildings and fence poles cover the rows the PTZ is not watching.
| Position | CASE SKU | Printed facts that matter here |
|---|---|---|
| Mast, yard center or corner | CS-P48 63X | 4MP, 5.7–359 mm (63X), IR 984 ft (300 m), Auto Tracking, laser up to 1,640 ft (500 m), speaker, alarm 8/2, IP66, −40 °F to 158 °F (−40 °C to 70 °C) with IR off and −40 °F to 104 °F (−40 °C to 40 °C) with IR on |
| Building corners and fence poles | CS-I86V I-180 | 8MP (4+4) stitched 180°, 4640×1728@25fps, PhotonX 0.0009 Lux, IR 98 ft (30 m), white light 98 ft (30 m), mic and loudspeaker, IP67, −31 °F to 149 °F (−35 °C to 65 °C) |
| Fuel island, gate, parts door | CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm | 8MP 3840×2160@30fps, IR 164 ft (50 m), white light 98 ft (30 m), red and blue light, mic and speaker, alarm 1/1, 120dB True WDR (TWDR), IP66, 1 TB slot |
The PTZ earns its mast with presets: the gate, the fuel island, each equipment row and the scrap bins, on a tour after hours, with Auto Tracking following a person who crosses a tripwire. The catalog describes the laser on the CS-P48 63X as an optional, visible beam designed to be eye-safe; it is a deterrent, not an illuminator, and is offered on selected models only. Its AI row prints Tripwire, Perimeter, Loitering, Parking and Face Capture, confirmed per model, firmware, software version and project configuration. CASE PTZ cameras carry a 3-year warranty, and that sentence goes into the bid as written.
The CS-I86V I-180 is the row camera. One unit on a building corner at 16 to 20 ft (4.9 to 6 m) covers the apron and a row of trucks without a seam, and the 0.0009 Lux minimum illumination is printed under PhotonX; low-light and full-color behavior is stated per SKU on the specification sheet and should be confirmed for the site. White light at 98 ft (30 m) and the loudspeaker give an EW response when a person crosses the line after hours; Human & Vehicle Classification is printed, so alerts can be set to people and vehicles rather than on any motion; confirm the trigger behavior per firmware and test it on site. Each row should be seen from two directions.
Fuel island and equipment rows: what do they need?
The fuel island is both a theft point and a classified electrical area. NEC Article 514 (CEC Section 20 in Canada) defines a hazardous zone around each dispenser, so cameras mount on the canopy edge or a pole outside that zone, never on the dispenser; the authority having jurisdiction confirms the boundary. A CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm at each end of the island, 10 to 12 ft (3 to 3.7 m) up, records the vehicle, the person and the pump in one frame, and its 120dB True WDR (TWDR) handles canopy lights against the dark yard. The video is matched to the fuel management log by time stamp, so check the recorder’s time source at every service visit; the camera does not read the fuel system and the proposal should not imply it does.
The CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm prints no operating temperature row, so for a northern yard confirm the range on the SKU spec sheet. Its red and blue light and speaker are the after-hours response at the island and the parts room door; schedule them silent during shifts.
- Equipment rows: one CS-I86V I-180 per two rows, facing along the row from a pole or the garage wall.
- Scrap, battery and copper bins: inside the fence, under a fixed camera.
- Salt and sand dome: one camera on the door and one on the loading face; salt mist attacks hardware, so specify stainless fasteners and an IP67 unit.
- Sign shop and small-engine bay: a camera on each door at face height.
Gates and plates: what is per project?
The main gate needs two views: a camera at 10 ft (3 m) on the inbound side for the driver and cab, and a wide view of the gate line and the pedestrian gate. The CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm takes the driver position with white light at 98 ft (30 m) for color at night. Plate reading is a dedicated LPR camera, mounted for plate height and angle at the stop line, quoted and confirmed per project; it is never a setting on the overview camera. Alarm I/O is printed on the CS-P48 63X (8/2) and the CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm (1/1); what the outputs drive at the gate is confirmed per project.
Gate runs often exceed the 328 ft (100 m) Ethernet limit. Plan fiber to the gate pole or a PoE extender with the conduit, and give every pole-mounted camera surge protection at both ends and bonding per NEC (CEC in Canada). The CS-P48 63X prints TVS 6000V lightning, surge and voltage transient protection, the camera’s own layer, not a reason to skip the line protector on the mast. It prints PoE++ (IEEE 802.bt, as printed) or DC36V±25%; the CASE PoE switches print 802.3af/at, so the PTZ gets a bt-class injector or its DC supply, confirmed per spec sheet. Lightning and Surge Protection for Outdoor and PTZ Cameras has the wiring detail.
Public procurement: what changes when the buyer is a town?
Municipal purchasing follows thresholds: small purchases on quotes, larger ones through a formal RFQ or RFP, and in many places a cooperative purchasing contract the town can buy from without a new bid. Ask the purchasing clerk which route the yard project will take; the answer decides whether you quote next week or write a 40-page response. Public-Sector Camera Bids in Canada and the US explains where postings appear and how the two countries differ; Anabon’s bid opportunities page lists current camera bids.
- Compliance documentation: US municipal RFPs can carry NDAA Section 889 language, especially with federal grant money; Canadian procurement sets its requirements case by case. CASE offers NDAA-compliant options for compliance-sensitive projects. Anabon confirms the exact products and provides the official compliance documentation for each project.
- Spec sheets per SKU with the full SKU spelling; an “or equal” table if the spec names another product.
- Warranty stated by category: CASE cameras and CASE NVRs carry a 6-year warranty, CASE PTZ cameras carry a 3-year warranty, CASE accessories carry unlimited warranty, hard drives are supported through back-to-back manufacturer warranty.
- Insurance, bonding and prevailing-wage requirements where they apply (verify with the purchasing clerk), and a maintenance line, because towns buy support contracts.
- A demo path: for approved demo products we provide a 90-day test period under the approved demo return process. This is not a general return policy; it lets the fleet supervisor see a night image before council votes.
Sample camera schedule: a 12-acre (4.9 ha) yard
| ID | Position | CASE SKU | Mount and height | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Y01 | Yard center mast | CS-P48 63X | Mast, 30 ft (9 m) | Presets: gate, fuel, rows, bins; bt injector or DC36V |
| Y02–Y05 | Garage corners and two fence poles | CS-I86V I-180 | 16–20 ft (4.9–6 m) | Rows seen from two directions |
| Y06–Y07 | Fuel island, each end | CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm | Canopy edge, 10–12 ft (3–3.7 m) | Outside the classified zone; TWDR |
| Y08 | Main gate, inbound driver view | CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm | Pole, 10 ft (3 m) | Plates: separate LPR camera per project |
| Y09 | Gate line and pedestrian gate | CS-I86V I-180 | Pole, 16 ft (4.9 m) | Fiber or extender run |
| Y10–Y11 | Salt dome door and loading face | CS-I86V I-180 | Wall, 16 ft (4.9 m) | IP67; stainless fasteners |
| Y12–Y13 | Parts room and small-engine bay doors | CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm | Wall, 9 ft (2.7 m) | Face at the door; lights silent on shift |
Thirteen cameras, with the PTZ powered separately, fit a 16-port PoE recorder or an external switch with room to grow. Keep the fuel island and gate on longer retention than the rows; fuel disputes surface at month-end reconciliation.
What to tell your customer
“We cover the yard in three layers: a long-range PTZ on a mast that tours the yard and follows anyone who crosses a line after hours, 180° cameras on the buildings and poles that cover the equipment rows, with low-light color confirmed on site, and deterrence cameras with light and audio at the fuel island, the gate and the parts room. Plate reading is a separate camera we confirm per project. CASE cameras and CASE NVRs carry a 6-year warranty; CASE PTZ cameras carry a 3-year warranty. Support comes through us.”
FAQ
Can one PTZ cover a whole public works yard?
It covers the open ground and tours presets, but it looks at one place at a time. The CS-P48 63X prints 63X optical zoom and IR 984 ft (300 m), which reaches across a 12-acre (4.9 ha) yard, yet the equipment rows behind parked plows still need fixed 180° cameras such as the CS-I86V I-180 so every row is recorded while the PTZ is elsewhere.
Where can a camera be mounted at the fuel island?
Outside the classified area that NEC Article 514 (CEC Section 20 in Canada) defines around each dispenser, which usually means the canopy edge or a pole, never the dispenser itself; the authority having jurisdiction confirms the boundary. The CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm prints 120dB True WDR (TWDR) for canopy lights against the dark yard and white light at 98 ft (30 m).
Can the gate camera read license plates?
Plate reading is a dedicated LPR camera, mounted at the stop line for plate height and angle, quoted and confirmed per project. The CS-I8XQ II-2.8mm at the gate records the driver, the cab and the vehicle in color at night; it is an overview and identification camera, not an LPR unit, and the proposal should keep the two lines separate.
What does a municipal bid need beyond the camera list?
Per-SKU spec sheets with the full SKU spelling, per-SKU compliance documentation where NDAA language appears, warranty stated by category with the 3-year term on PTZ cameras, insurance and bonding where required, a maintenance line, and an “or equal” table if the specification names another product. Anabon supplies the spec sheets and the compliance documentation for the project.
