The true experts are the consumers in our WTSS security system design community (and the security experts and system integrators who ought to join it). To create effective tools that assist you in creating and delivering the best surveillance solutions, we draw on our experience and collaborate with the best video surveillance experts in the industry.
We’ve discovered five best practices that our community employs when developing security system design for security camera systems as a result of our collaboration with hundreds of security experts. We’ll go through all five of them with you below, along with some tips on how WTSS can help you carry them out more effectively, precisely, and creatively.
Practice 1: The Site Walk
The most crucial procedure that experienced system integrators and installers adhere to is performing a full site walk, regardless of whether you have the option of visiting the location in person or are constrained to a virtual site walk. All of the customer or stakeholder requirements that are necessary for an appropriate system design are gathered during a site walk or site survey.
Taking a lot of photos while on a site walk is standard procedure. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, and for those involved in the security system design and selection of the various security camera types used in your monitoring, this is especially true. You’ll need to get hold of a floorplan or other type of digital map of the site in order to make the most of your site walk (and the several stages that follow). A fire escape plan is an excellent alternative if you cannot access a floor plan. If you have no other access, even Google Maps’ satellite imagery can be useful.
Once you have some sort of digital map, import it into a platform for digital system design, such as WTSS security system design, so that it may serve as your central repository for all site survey data. You can take notes, leave feedback for other people, and keep track of the features of each device you intend to use during your site survey using WTSS.
Practice 2: Setting the scale for security system design
Setting the scale is our second professional practice, which is notoriously difficult for integrators to do accurately if they’re utilizing pen and paper to outline their projects.
Why is setting scale crucial for security system design? Because evaluating the capabilities and coverage area of any specific security camera and camera position depends on having an exact scale.
For instance, you already know the angles and ranges that various CCTV cameras can cover (because the specifications of each camera make this information available). However, if you’re using a non-scale model of a building, you won’t be able to verify that such angles and separations correspond to actual requirements.
Without the right scale, you can find it difficult to locate the right cameras or develop unanticipated blind spots in your video surveillance system, which could compromise physical security and necessitate expensive repairs. You can decide the size to support your customer’s desired application demand, from person recognition to new analytics applications, as well as the distance, resolution, and other requirements.
An updated, professional floor plan would be ideal for you to have, but we are aware that this is not always possible. Capturing a floor plan or digital map is becoming simpler thanks to digital tools. By importing a JPG, PDF, or PNG as well as setting the scale based on a dimension that you are familiar with, such as door width, WTSS, for instance, can help you compile a digital floor plan for an effective security system design plan. Other alternatives include using Google Maps with auto-scaling or taking a snapshot of a floor layout. To sum up, there are a variety of quick and simple ways to get started and set the scale.
Practice 3: Application of the right technologies and camera
The next step is determining which kinds of cameras are ideal for a particular security camera system. Consider several camera categories, each having its own optimum usage scenarios, advantages, and disadvantages.
We shouldn’t instruct security experts where to employ fixed cameras, PTZ (pan tilt zoom), multi-lens cameras, or fisheye cameras because each has its own applications and security goals. Understanding what the client company or stakeholder is attempting to achieve and solve for is crucial, just as with any technology. One constant behavior we observe among security professionals using our platform is that they take the time to plan out which camera types go where depending on the particular demands of their clients, and they have data and justification to support those decisions when clients press for additional information.
It is now simpler than ever to visualize and determine the best camera for an application thanks to the efficient technologies and solutions offered by WTSS.
Practice 4: Collaborating with clients, associates, and suppliers
Collaboration is an essential part of our fourth professional activity that helps in increasing the productivity of security system designs. Integrators and security experts are redesigning security systems in a different way, driven by expanding opportunities and even needs for collaboration.
Collaboration between parties may be increased to produce better results across the board while saving time and money, fostering greater buy-in and more unified designs, and keeping everyone up to date with the quickly evolving state of technology. Integrators who use a secure collaboration platform save process time by 35% and increase their win-rates for sales by 20%.
Practice 5: Automating the Bill of Materials and streamlining budget estimation
Improve your customer-consultative budgeting and estimation skills, if at all feasible. Everyone has heard that becoming a “trusted adviser” is where you can provide your clients the true value. They turn to integrators for assistance for this reason, ideally not only to buy items.
What if throughout the system design process you could make real-time, visible trade-offs with a client and have those adjustments instantly reflected in the budget estimate? You can, but not with a design process that uses paper. With WTSS, list pricing and labor expenses may be loaded into the platform, and when you interactively drag and drop cameras and equipment onto the floor design, the budget range can be shown.
You will assist your consumer in making compromises in real-time if they indicate they have $30k to spend, give or take. Priceless!
Before leaving the site, have the design and budget generally approved or verified by your client. This will save you time and hasten the decision-making process. In actuality, the client can decide not to put the contract up to bid. They are aware of the ideal solution provider. It is important to note that preparation is necessary so that you can repeat this process repeatedly with minimal changes.
System integrators and their clients may visually analyze costs and create the best security system design with the aid of WTSS. The computerized bill of materials also instructs system integrators exactly what to purchase so they can supply and carry out once the customer has approved the design.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic opportunity to leverage your knowledge and a cutting-edge digital security system design platform to advance things. Success is built on this mix. It will be highly beneficial to embrace secure cooperation and a visual co-design process.
