Pre Bid Site Walk Security Questions: What to Ask the Consultant and Owner

Quick answer: Use the pre-bid site walk to get answers you cannot read in the specification: where the switches and power really are, how far the farthest camera is from them, what the walls are made of, how long video must be kept, which areas are off-limits, and when you can work. Ask the consultant the design and compliance questions and the owner the operations and access questions, write every answer down, and convert each one into a schedule field and a BOM line before you count a camera.

What do you bring, and who answers what?

Bring the drawings, the Division 28 section, a draft camera schedule with tags, a laser distance meter and a camera for photos of every mounting position and telecom room. Mark each question with who answers it: the consultant or engineer of record (C) owns the design intent, the specification and the compliance clauses; the owner’s representative or facilities manager (O) owns the building, its operations, its network and its people. Questions nobody can answer on the day go to the written question period, and your assumption goes into the bid as a clarification. What to measure and photograph is covered in Site Survey for Security Cameras; this article is about what you ask.

Network and power: what feeds the cameras?

These five questions decide the switch count, the cable plan and whether a PoE recorder or a switch layer carries the cameras.

1. (C) Is the camera network separate, a VLAN on the owner’s network, or the recorder’s own PoE ports? A 16-camera job can sit on a PoE NVR such as the CS-N220 P16H-AI (20CH, 16 PoE ports as printed); more cameras or several closets need switches and a decision on who configures the VLAN.
2. (O) Where are the telecom rooms and the head-end, and how far is the farthest camera position from the nearest switch location? A copper channel is limited to 328 ft (100 m); anything longer needs an intermediate switch, an extender or fiber.
3. (C) Which PoE class does each device type need, and what total budget per switch? Sum the spec-sheet power of every device on a switch against its printed budget: the CS-POE33024PF prints IEEE 802.3af/at, 30W max per port and a 400W / 600W total. PTZs that print PoE++ (IEEE 802.3bt), such as the CS-P88 44X, need their own supply or injector.
4. (O) Is there a UPS or generator for the head-end and each closet, and what runtime is expected? UPS units and dedicated circuits are line items; wiring follows the NEC (CEC in Canada); verify the local code with the electrical contractor.
5. (C) What incoming bandwidth will the recorder carry with analytics on, and who provides the internet uplink for remote viewing? Use the AI-on row of the recorder (the CS-N440 P16H-AI prints 400Mbps / 400Mbps, AI on 200Mbps / 200Mbps) and agree on the remote access method before the bid.

Structure and cable paths: where does the cable go?

Structure questions become mounts, boxes, anchors, cable type and most of the labor hours.

6. (O) What are the wall and ceiling types at each camera position: drywall, drop ceiling, concrete, block, metal deck, brick, insulated panel? Each one changes the mount, the junction box and the anchor.
7. (C) Are pathways (conduit, tray, J-hooks) in my scope or the electrical contractor’s, and is plenum-rated or riser-rated cable required? Cable type and pathway labor follow the NEC (CEC in Canada) and the specification; a shared pathway needs a written split of scope.
8. (O) Where may cable penetrate the exterior and who seals and firestops penetrations? Firestop and weatherproofing materials are small lines that stop a final inspection when missing from the estimate.
9. (C) Are mounting heights specified, or do I set them to the evidence requirement? Write the height in ft (m) for every tag; a camera at 14 ft (4.3 m) does not identify a face the way one at 9 ft (2.7 m) does.
10. (O) What access constraints exist: lifts, roof access, hot-work permits, escorted areas, night-only work? Equipment rental and escort time belong in the estimate.

Operations: retention, users and training

Operations answers size the storage, the user setup and the handover labor.

11. (O) How many days of retention are required, for which cameras, at what resolution and frame rate, continuous or event-based? Retention sets the drive count: the CS-N440 P16H-AI prints 4x10TB HDD, the CS-N220 P16H-AI prints up to 10 TB per HDD. Size it with NVR Storage Calculator.
12. (O) Who views live and recorded video, from where, and how many at once? Decides monitors at the head-end, user roles on the recorder and how many CASE Connect users you set up; app features and remote access options are confirmed by model, software version and project configuration.
13. (O) Who exports evidence, and in what format do the police or insurer expect it? Decides the export workflow you train.
14. (O) What training is expected: hours, attendees, shifts, recorded or not? Training is labor; night shifts often need a second session.
15. (C) What are the acceptance test criteria and who witnesses the test? A witnessed test of every camera and function is a full day plus punch-list time.

Compliance and privacy: what must the documents prove?

Compliance answers decide which documents you request and which positions or features you leave out.

16. (C) Which compliance clauses apply: NDAA Section 889 and the FCC Covered List (US), procurement requirements set case by case (Canada), TAA or domestic preference? CASE offers NDAA-compliant options for compliance-sensitive projects. Anabon confirms the exact products and provides the official compliance documentation for each project.
17. (O) Are there areas where cameras are prohibited or must be masked: restrooms, changing rooms, a neighbor’s property, break rooms covered by a labor agreement? Placement and privacy masks follow state laws (provincial laws and PIPEDA in Canada); verify with counsel.
18. (O) Is audio recording required anywhere? Consent rules for audio differ by state and province; many sites specify cameras without microphones in public areas.
19. (O) Who is responsible for signage and the privacy notice? The owner controls the data, but the sign is often your deliverable and is easy to forget.
20. (C) Are facial recognition or license plate functions expected? Facial recognition is discussed only after confirming the use case, model, software, region and legal requirements; in Quebec treat it as a project-review item. License plate reading is defined per project: on the camera, the recorder or another platform.

Schedule and phasing: when can you work?

21. (C) What are the bid due date, the question deadline and the substitution deadline? Three dates that decide whether an alternative product can be approved; see How to Read a Video Surveillance RFP.
22. (O) Is the site occupied during installation, and which areas and hours are off-limits? Occupied sites mean phasing and night rates.
23. (C) Are there phases or future positions to reserve channels for? Reserve recorder channels and switch ports now; a 20-channel recorder with 18 cameras leaves only two channels for phase two.
24. (O) Who provides network drops, power and the internet connection, and by when? Each dependency gets a date in your schedule and a clarification in the bid.
25. (C) What lead time is assumed, how long must the quote stay valid, and how are long-lead items handled? CASE Project Series items (CSP- prefix) are project-quoted; availability, certificates and lead time are confirmed in writing before you quote them. Protect the bid with Lead Times, Quote Validity and Substitutions.

From answers to BOM: how does each answer become a line?

Every answer changes a field on the camera schedule, and every schedule field adds or removes a line on the bill of materials; the schedule format is in Writing a Camera Schedule and Bill of Materials. The table covers the answers that move the most labor and hardware.

Question	Schedule field	BOM line it creates	Printed row to check
1 Network topology	Switch or PoE port per tag	PoE NVR, or switches plus recorder	CS-N220 P16H-AI: 20CH, 16 PoE ports
2 Distances	Cable route and length	Cat6 per run, extenders, fiber and SFP modules	CS-POE33024PF: 2×1000M SFP fiber uplinks
3 PoE class	PoE class per tag	Switch budget check; bt injector or supply for PTZ	CS-POE33024PF: 30W per port, 400W / 600W total
6 Surfaces	Mount and box per tag	Mount and junction box per camera, anchors by surface	Mount and box spec sheets per camera
11 Retention	Days, fps, resolution per tag	Hard drive count and size	CS-N440 P16H-AI: 4x10TB HDD
16 Compliance	Documents required per tag	Per-SKU documentation request to Anabon	Per SKU, per project
17–18 Privacy and audio	Mask zones; audio yes/no	Camera selection without microphone where required; signage	Built-In Microphone row of the chosen SKU
25 Lead time	Long-lead flag per tag	Quote validity clause; CSP- written confirmation	Confirmed in writing per project

Two habits make the conversion reliable. Number the questions and answers the same way in the walk notes and the bid folder, so every line item traces to the moment it was decided. Then send the notes and the draft schedule to Anabon for a design review before you quote; coverage, PoE, storage and compliance are checked against the printed rows, and the end-user relationship stays yours.

What to tell your customer

“We walked the site with your team and the consultant, and every assumption in our proposal comes from an answer we recorded on that day: where the network and power are, how long video is kept, which areas are off-limits and when we can work. Where an answer was not available, we have stated our assumption as a clarification so there are no surprises after award.”

FAQ

What is a pre-bid site walk for a security camera project?

It is the scheduled visit, often mandatory, where bidders see the building with the consultant and the owner’s representative before the bid is due. It is your only chance to check distances, surfaces, telecom rooms and access constraints against the drawings, to ask questions on the record, and to turn assumptions into facts before you count cameras.

Which questions matter most if the walk is short?

Five: the network topology (question 1), the distance from the farthest camera to the nearest switch location (2), retention days and frame rate (11), the compliance clauses that apply (16), and the substitution and bid deadlines (21). Those answers set the switch count, the cable plan, the drive count, the documentation request and the substitution window.

Can I raise substitutions during the walk?

Ask about the substitution procedure, its form and its deadline, and note the consultant’s answer. The request itself goes in writing under 01 25 00 Substitution Procedures with an equivalence table and the spec sheet for each full SKU; nothing said on the walk approves a product. Record who said what, then follow the written process.

What if the owner cannot answer the retention or privacy questions?

Write the question into the formal question period, and if no answer arrives before bid, state your assumption as a clarification in the proposal: for example, a retention period, a camera type without a microphone in public areas, or no coverage of a named zone. Where a legal threshold is involved, add that the owner should verify it with counsel.

References

• ASIS International — ASIS
• Construction Specifications Institute — CSI
• BICSI — Building Industry Consulting Service International
• Site survey — Wikipedia
• Bill of materials — Wikipedia
• Power over Ethernet — Wikipedia