Planning CCTV for an Office or Shop: A Site-Survey Checklist

1. Start with what you need to see

Give every camera a job. Typical jobs are overview (what happened on a floor), observation (what a person was doing) and identification (who it was). Identification needs the camera closer, at the right height and with good light on faces.

2. Walk the entry and exit points

• Main entrance, staff entrance and fire exits
• Gates, driveways and parking
• Loading bays and stores
• Lifts and stairwells in multi-floor buildings

3. Mark high-value areas

Billing counters, cash rooms, server rooms, stock rooms and display cases usually need dedicated coverage — often combined with access control or an intruder alarm.

4. Check lighting at the times that matter

Look at each area at night and with lights off. Strong backlighting at glass entrances, headlights in driveways and dark corners all affect camera choice. Wide dynamic range and good low-light performance matter more than headline resolution.

5. Decide recording and retention

Decide how many days of footage you need to keep and whether you record continuously or on motion. This determines recorder and hard-disk size. Confirm the system overwrites old footage automatically and alerts you to disk faults.

6. Plan cabling, power and network

• Recorder location: secure, ventilated and protected from tampering
• Cable routes that can be concealed and labelled
• Power backup for recorder and network equipment
• Network capacity and secure remote access for IP systems

7. Remote viewing and users

List who needs mobile access — owners, managers, security staff — and what each person may see. Set unique logins rather than sharing one password.

8. Respect privacy

Avoid pointing cameras into neighbouring property, washrooms or other private areas, and display signage where appropriate. Limit who can export footage.

9. Plan maintenance

Cameras get dusty, cables get disturbed and hard disks wear out. Scheduled maintenance checks every camera and confirms recording is working.

Book a survey

Golden Solutions carries out site surveys across Delhi NCR, plans coverage camera by camera and sends an itemised quote before any work begins.