Site survey services

Here we’ll go over everything you need to know about site survey and readiness - including a site survey checklist to think about pre-deployment.

What is site survey and readiness?

A site survey is carried out before the deployment of any hardware. The aim is to collect all data related to customer’s sites as a way of planning for minimal disruption during and after deployment.

The site survey process consists of engineers who will complete questionnaires that help gather all the data required. This typically relates to the network closet, existing cabling, existing power, HVAC conditions and any space that’s available in the network racks for new hardware.

After carrying out this comprehensive onsite survey, customers get first-hand information about all the pre-deployment work that needs to happen before new hardware is deployed. This is all based on the data gathered by engineers.

Site survey & readiness checklist

Before carrying out a wireless site survey, it’s essential that the right preparations are made. Below, we’ve listed all of the top things you need to think about before you proceed.

• Your Network Adapter: a lot of the data you collect is done so via your network adapter. It’s vital that you not only have one that’s recommended and proven to work well, but also one you trust and understand. Get to know your adapter so you’re aware of how it works and how you can interpret the results with more accuracy.
• Use multiple adapters: following on from this, it benefits you to use more than one adapter as you can carry out multiple surveys at the same time, rather than having to do them one after the other.
• Importing your floor plan: you must import your floor plan, so it’s got a good enough resolution to see all the details you need to see. Also, try and minimize white space as this just takes up screen space and makes it harder to see the area.
• Calibrating the floor plan: you must calibrate the imported floor plan to ensure that everything is accurately calculated when conducting the survey. Our tip is to use the largest measurement on the site as it reduces the risks of errors if you’re slightly off with the dimension accuracy.
• Choose the path you walk: make sure you plan the path you walk when conducting an onsite survey as this will significantly influence your data collection. Two top tips are to walk the edges of the room and walk either side of obstacles.
• Select your scan pattern: use your survey software to choose the right scan pattern that works for you and the site you’re surveying. Think about whether or not you should scan using all the channels available or just selected ones. This will vary depending on the location and the user behavior of the people that tend to work on the site.
• Signal propagation: lastly, ensure that you set the right signal propagation value to fit the specific site. This essentially helps figure out how far your survey software assumes that any reading it receives is applicable. It’s impossible to walk every single inch within a site because of obstacles, etc. So, this value helps to create a heatmap of sorts that offers more accuracy when conducting the survey. It’s essential to do this before you start carrying out your site survey.

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‍Common Site Readiness work

Site readiness is performed to ensure that the area is ready for you to carry out your telecom site survey. Here’s the typical work that goes into doing this:

Installation of racks: it’s a good idea to use professional installers as they know how to position and install the racks without causing any damages.

Dmarc Extensions: this is essentially a transmission path that starts at the interface of the access providers side of a telecoms circuit and ends at the termination point before the interface of the customer's premises equipment.

Low Voltage Cabling: this is structured wiring that helps support different digital technologies and must be installed on site.

Backboard installation: these are the backbone of telecom rooms and are fire resistant. They’re used as a protective barrier between the wall and any installed equipment.

How can Field Engineer help businesses in site survey & readiness?

Field Engineer can help businesses find site survey engineers via our extensive pool of qualified and experienced on-demand engineers. All you have to do is post a site survey & readiness job via our platform, and we’ll find the best engineers for you. It’s a way for you to utilize the best of the local workforce without going through all the trouble of posting job adverts, conducting interviews, and choosing who to hire.

We do all the hard work for you, and all of our registered engineers are vetter and background checked. You only pay the engineers for the time they need onsite, meaning you can save a fortune as well.

So, if you need someone to carry out site survey and readiness, then join Field Engineer today and post a job to be connected with an expert engineer.