There are many reasons why businesses decide to install a CCTV system and as the technology has become much more reasonably priced in recent years, it makes it an option for anyone who needs to “keep an eye on” their premises.

Having researched different surveillance capabilities on the market to get a better understanding of what could be needed, the next step is to talk to a professional CCTV provider and have a site survey. This is a key step when investing in security equipment for any business, especially anyone who has complicated requirements. But what’s involved in a CCTV site survey?

What is a CCTV survey?

As with any business-critical activity, when considering CCTV installation, it’s important to find a supplier that will conduct a thorough assessment of your requirement and objectives. There are no set standards for this as requirements will differ between sectors, business size and type of business premises.

Therefore, any recommendations and installations should be tailored to your business and premises. A CCTV survey is a site visit carried out by a professional provider of security systems to get an in-depth understanding of the business’ bespoke requirements, recognise system objectives and identify potential challenges.

What is the CCTV survey process?

For a CCTV site survey, there are many steps and considerations that a supplier needs to cover. These can be divided into three categories; pre-assessment, assessment and post-assessment.

Pre-assessment

The aim of a pre-assessment is for a potential provider to have a better understanding of the business and its potential problems before visiting a site. Therefore, a pre-assessment could involve:

• Reviewing the business online to understand the brand.
• Ensuring what needs to be assessed is clear, such as buildings, grounds and car parks.
• Identifying key assets and ranking these in a critical order.
• Researching key pain points commonly faced within the industry.
  

Assessment

Once on-site, the CCTV installer should conduct a thorough assessment to be able to best guide a business with the next steps. Consequently, a provider should look to address the following aspects during the survey:

• Indication of typical light levels.
• Surveillance zones.
• Requirements for remote monitoring and video motion detectors.
• Analytical requirements to detect advanced events.
• IT network assessment.
• How the CCTV system will operate including if it will be viewed 24/7 or called upon following an event?
• Assessment of the mains power supply.

Post-assessment

Once a site survey has been completed, the security supplier should produce a detailed report and accurate costings of the recommendations for the CCTV requirements so your business is fully informed before making a decision. Any recommendations provided to your business should include camera locations and position as well as taking into consideration scalability and future-proofing of your proposed installation.

Why use TouchStar?

Utilising over 50 years of experience, at ATC we can offer your business our expertise based on real-life experience to implement, support and maintain a CCTV security system tailored to your business. Some of the key benefits of partnering with us include:

• Our CCTV systems are based on top reliable technologies from leading manufacturers to give you peace of mind.
• We can offer a cost-effective upgrade solution to the latest tech without the need for a full system replacement.
• We have a variety of analogue HD, IP and thermal cameras, perfect for internal and external use.
• For larger installations, we can integrate both control software capabilities and monitoring by working with prominent providers.  

Find out more

To learn more about TouchStar ATC’s CCTV surveys, check out our buyer’s guide or get in touch to speak to one of our expert team.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – LYNDEN JONES

Lynden joined Touchstar ATC (formally Feedback Data) in a sales role for Access Control in 2010.  Prior to joining the company, Lynden held both Production and Account Manager roles, gaining wide technical and commercial experience within the electronics market.  

In 2013 Lynden was promoted to Sales Director and in 2017 he took overall responsibility of the business as Managing Director. As well as running Touchstar ATC, Lynden still remains extremely active in the sales and key account management aspects of the business. When not involved in the business, Lynden is a keen performance car enthusiast.