CCTV
Commercial CCTV installation for businesses in Kent
CCTV for businesses across Kent, from a single retail unit to a yard, a warehouse or a multi-site operation. Systems specified around what the business actually needs to see, and who needs to see it.
- Free estimates
- Insurance work undertaken
- Domestic & commercial
Commercial CCTV is a different job to domestic
The cameras are often the same. Almost nothing else is. A house has a handful of approaches and one household using the system. A commercial site has vehicles, deliveries, staff, stock, public access and, usually, somebody who needs to review footage without being on site.
The consequences are different too. On a house a gap in coverage is a nuisance. On a commercial site it can mean an insurance claim that cannot be substantiated, a health and safety incident with no record, or a dispute with a supplier where the delivery either happened or it did not. Those are the questions a commercial system exists to answer, and they should shape where the cameras go before anybody discusses megapixels.
What business sites actually need covered
The list below is where we start on a commercial survey, because it is where the real questions come from.
- Entrances and exits, including the ones staff use rather than just the front door
- Loading bays and delivery points, where most disputes actually originate
- Yards, car parks and perimeters, which usually need different cameras to the building
- Stock areas and anywhere high value sits
- Tills and counters in retail, positioned to see the transaction rather than the top of a head
- Vehicle access, where ANPR earns its place on sites with a barrier or a gate
Coverage over megapixels
The most common fault we find on commercial systems is not poor cameras, it is cameras in the wrong places. A site with twelve cameras that all watch the same yard from slightly different angles has spent twelve cameras' worth of money to answer one question.
Resolution matters, but only once a camera is pointed at something worth recording and mounted at a height where it captures a face rather than the top of a head. A camera at four metres looks impressively out of reach and identifies nobody. That is a survey decision, and it is the difference between footage that supports a claim and footage that just proves something happened.
Multiple sites, and who can see what
Where a business runs several sites, the useful system is one where a manager can review any of them without travelling, and where staff at each site can see their own and not the others. That is a permissions question rather than a camera question, and it is worth deciding before the recorders are configured rather than after.
The same applies to who can export footage. On most sites that should be a short list of named people, because an export is a copy of personal data leaving your control.
Data protection, staff and signage
A business operating CCTV is a data controller, and that is a heavier duty than the one on a householder. It means signage that tells people they are being recorded and who operates the system, a retention period you can justify, and a route for someone to ask for footage of themselves.
Cameras that cover staff working areas need particular thought. Recording a shop floor that staff happen to work on is ordinary. Pointing a camera at a specific workstation to watch an individual is a different thing, and it needs a reason you would be comfortable explaining. We will raise it at survey rather than fitting whatever is asked for and leaving you to find out later.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
How many cameras does a commercial site need?
Fewer than most people expect, if they are in the right places. We work from the questions the system has to answer, meaning who came in, what left, and what happened at the loading bay, rather than counting doors. A small industrial unit is often well covered by six to eight cameras positioned properly. Twelve badly placed ones will answer less. We survey and tell you what the site genuinely needs.
Can we view multiple sites from one place?
Yes, and it is one of the better reasons to have a system professionally specified. A single login can bring several sites together for a manager, while staff at each location see only their own. That is set up in permissions when the recorders are configured, so it is much easier to decide before installation than to retrofit later.
Do you install ANPR?
Yes. It earns its place on sites with vehicle access you want a record of, or where a barrier or gate should open for known vehicles and not for others. It needs a camera positioned and lensed specifically for plates, at a point where vehicles slow down, so it is not something you add to a general-purpose camera afterwards. Worth deciding at survey.
What are our legal duties for business CCTV?
You are a data controller, which means signage saying recording is taking place and who operates the system, a retention period you can justify rather than whatever the recorder defaulted to, and a way for someone to request footage of themselves. Cameras covering staff working areas need a reason you would be comfortable explaining. We raise all of this at survey, because it is far cheaper to design in than to correct.
Do you maintain commercial systems?
Yes, and on a commercial site it matters more than on a house, because there is more to go wrong and more riding on the footage existing. Larger sites are usually better on two visits a year. We also take on systems installed by other companies, which on commercial premises is common when a building changes hands or a managing agent changes.
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No up-selling, just simple honest advice. Domestic and commercial work across Aylesford, Maidstone, Medway, Sittingbourne, Gravesend, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Dartford, Bromley.