Why Use a CCTV Consultant. If you are thinking of purchasing or updating CCTV and would like professional advice (most of which we provide free of charge) please go to our Buying CCTV section. Only a few years ago, specialist consultants in CCTV were a rare breed and often associated with installation companies. Hardly the place to go for independent and unbiased advice. Now there are quite a number of consultants offering independent advice on many aspects of CCTV. As with all professions, the service provided and their ability varies from the mediocre to the very professional, knowledgeable consultant. For the purposes of this article, it is assumed that the need for CCTV has been established from a thorough analysis of all the options available to solve the particular problem or requirement.

There could be many reasons such as the following. I would like advice on which one will satisfy my requirements. This is quite a common problem, with most installation companies employing very professional sales people, but with varying degrees of technical knowledge. The customer is frequently unable to differentiate the jargon and hype from real facts. A day or two of a consultant's time may represent a tiny percentage of the potential cost but save much heartache later. The consultant should be prepared to analyse your problem and even propose that CCTV may not be the answer to the problems. If it is, then you should obtain a cost proposal for the various stages of consultancy described later.

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Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Resources on the project will look at the WBS dictionary to determine the scope of the Work Package they've been assigned. A free online version of the Building Regulations Approved Document B1 from SpecifiedBy, making it easier to access the information you need. If you are looking for guidance on the purchase of a CCTV system for your Organisation please go to CCTV Installation. If you would like to learn more about the.

Others are convinced by the installer that everything is up to current technology. I've even been told on more that one occasion that it was the customers' fault because he did not describe his requirements properly! The system consisted of seven fully functional cameras. The first problem was that the only possible transmission from remote cameras was by microwave. The areas viewed by the cameras were reasonable well lit, but the 1. KM microwave beam passed over docks. During the winter the docks were prone to drifting fog and mist, the area was also subject to high winds and driving rain.

Hence the varying picture quality. When this was explained to the customer, he accepted the limitations whereas the installer had stated that microwaves were immune to interference. Ultimate Poker Pro Hack Tool Download on this page. Another problem was that the microwaves were mounted on very flimsy mountings with no vertical adjustment, so the other problems were aggravated by a significant amount of movement. One remote pole had two pan, tilt units, one microwave receiver and two microwave transmitters fitted. When the loading was calculated, it was over 5.

In fact, none of the poles supplied were suitable for mounting microwave transmitters or receivers. Then it became interesting! However, camera 7 was connected by a long- range microwave link that, at the time, could not transmit reverse telemetry. Therefore, a radio transmitter was installed for this telemetry link. It was found during installation the Make 'A' telemetry could not be transmitted along a radio link. The installers solution to this was to fit a Make 'B' one- way telemetry controller which was compatible.

So now there are six cameras controlled by one controller and one by another! To view camera 7 it was necessary to connect the video output from 'B' as an input to the 'A' controller. To view and control camera 7 means selecting it on control 'A' and controlling it from 'B'! The report was passed on to the installing company, and eventually most things were corrected including replacing all the poles for more substantial columns. The cost of remedial work was probably nearly as much as the original contract. I receive dozens of alarms but never a picture of an intruder.

This must one of the most common complaints and is always down to faulty design and selection of equipment. Sometimes it is down to bad selection and setting up of video motion detection systems. The other times it is down to utter stupidity in system design, this is where an incorrect passive infrared detector is used to trigger an alarm. I have visited three sites in the last two years where (for example) a PIR with a 5. Metre range and a beam angle of 7. No matter where an intruder arrives from, the PIR will trigger and transmit a frozen frame of nothing, every time.

As in many other instances, the installing company had spent several months blaming equipment such as the telephone transmission. One argument put forward was that the transmission took too long to dial up and therefore lost the captured picture! For instance, you could find all the old wiring condemned then cameras, lenses, monitors, etc. It can be like that terrifying suck of the teeth when the engineer comes to look at your washing machine! A consultant can provide impartial advice on which parts of the system may need upgrading and most importantly, which parts can go on for years.

Integrity test of the cabling is fairly straightforward to carry out. Isn't it strange that when you purchased the camera, CCD devices were indestructible, yet now of course, sensors do have only a limited life. Aric Software Developer more. In every instance, the installer has been at fault, but often with a contribution from the customer asking for variations or additions to the original contract.

In the latter cases, the installer accepted these without realising the implications. In two cases, the problem was the speed versus quality of phoneline transmission systems. In both cases, the customer had seen demonstrations of transmission systems down ISDN lines, but there were only PSTN lines to the premises. The differences had not been made clear to the customer during the demonstrations and the installer did not know that the customer had seen them. The problem originated in the quotations in which, the alternatives for transmission were not mentioned.

Once the conflicting views were brought into the open, it was left to the customers and the installers to arrive at a compromise. The solution here was obvious, but why had the installing company not spotted this?

Probably because the system had been OK during the first six months of summer, but then the winter winds blew. Most installing companies have preferred products for very sensible commercial reasons. It is natural therefore that they should present these in the best possible light.

It can be very difficult for a customer to differentiate between the claims of competing salespeople. Most consultants keep up to date on the performance of various products through experience with installations and trouble shooting.

Not all products that appear equal to the layperson are necessarily so, the consultant can steer you away from products with a poor track record for performance or reliability. The pressure on the customer to differentiate between competing proposals is eliminated. The old saying that time is money to the businessperson has never been truer; the cost of a consultant can frequently be repaid by the extra time released. Unlike the purchase of machines or standard products, CCTV or access control systems are likely to be a new venture by many companies and local authorities. They simply cannot be expected to have the experience and detailed knowledge on which to judge differing proposals.

Multiplex recording, video transmission, colour cameras, detection of movement, etc. Even so, products with apparently similar specifications to the layperson can differ dramatically in actual performance under particular circumstances.

This is especially true today in the case of digital recording and so called digital cameras. Here again, objective advice can be invaluable in the selection of the right equipment for the job. Alternatively you could approach a trade association.

Whatever route you take to find a consultant or list of consultants, you should then establish the following main criteria. In addition, that they receive no payments or commissions of any kind from any such company.