Return to site

Site survey & readiness

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 Adaptor: a lot of the data you collect is done so via your network adaptor. 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 adaptor so you’re aware of how it works and how you can interpret the results with more accuracy. Use multiple adaptors: 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 minimise 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 behaviour 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. ‍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: