By the SightShield team · · 6 min read
Start with zones, not a number
The most common question we get from factory owners in Peenya, Bommasandra and Jigani is “how many cameras do I need?”. The honest answer is that the number falls out of the zones you need to cover. Count the zones first, decide what each camera must see, and the camera count follows.
For most factories the zones are the same: the main gate, the boundary wall, the open compound and parking, the production floor, stores, dispatch and loading, and the admin block.
What each zone usually needs
These are the starting points we use on a site survey. Your layout decides the final count.
| Zone | Typical cameras | What the camera must do |
|---|---|---|
| Main gate & security cabin | 2–3 | Identify every person and vehicle going in and out, day and night |
| Boundary wall | 1 per 30–50 m of wall | Detect anyone climbing in, especially at corners and blind sides |
| Compound, yard & parking | 2–6 | Wide coverage of vehicles, materials and movement |
| Production floor | 1 per line or bay | Overview for safety, incident review and process monitoring |
| Raw-material & finished-goods stores | 1–2 per store | Clear view of entry and stock handling |
| Dispatch & loading bays | 1 per bay | See goods and vehicles at each bay to settle shortage disputes |
| Admin block & server room | 2–6 | Reception, entry and the server or cash room door |
Typical totals by factory size
A small workshop or single shed usually lands at 8–16 cameras. A mid-sized unit with a compound, two or three sheds and a stores building is typically 24–48 cameras. Large plants with long boundary walls, several production halls and a busy dispatch area often need 64 to 100+ cameras.
At this size, IP cameras on a PoE network with an NVR are the practical choice. They give sharper images, carry power and video on one cable, and scale to hundreds of cameras across buildings using fibre links.
Industrial CCTV for factories →How many days should a factory record?
Most factories keep 30 days of 24×7 recording. Units with frequent stock disputes or audit requirements often go to 60 or 90 days. Storage grows with the number of cameras, the resolution and the number of days, so it is worth deciding this before the recorder and hard disks are bought.
As a rough guide, a 4MP camera recording continuously uses around 20 GB a day. Thirty-two cameras for 30 days therefore need close to 20 TB of storage.
Try the CCTV estimator →Mistakes we see on factory sites
- Cameras pointed at the gate from too far away, so faces and vehicles are unreadable.
- Indoor cameras used in dusty or hot areas, which fail within a year.
- No coverage on the boundary wall corners, which is exactly where people climb in.
- Recorders sized for 7 days when management expects a month of footage.
- No maintenance — dusty lenses and failed hard disks discovered only after an incident.
Get it planned on site
A walk-round of the factory is the only way to fix the count properly. We mark every camera on a layout, size the recorder and storage, and give you a written proposal with a GST invoice. An AMC then keeps the system recording year after year.
Book a free factory site survey →Quick answers
How many CCTV cameras does a small factory need?+
A small workshop or single shed typically needs 8–16 cameras covering the gate, compound, production area, stores and dispatch.
How long should factory CCTV footage be stored?+
Most factories keep 30 days; units with stock disputes or audits often keep 60–90 days. Storage is sized to the camera count and resolution.
Should a factory use IP or HD cameras?+
For anything beyond a small shed, IP cameras on a PoE network are the better choice — sharper images, one cable for power and video, and easy expansion across buildings.