What happens during a wireless site survey?

One of your priorities as a business owner in this digitally oriented age is having a secure wireless internet connection that will help your colleagues get their work done quickly and efficiently without any hassles or interruptions. In order to ensure that your signal is strong, it’s worthwhile to conduct a wireless site survey.

According to Techopedia, a wireless site survey entails “developing planning resources for a wireless network” and involves reviewing an office’s premises in order to evaluate the possibility of network coverage in that area. These surveys essentially help to evaluate the strength of the signal within a workspace area and identify places in which connectivity might be weak.

The need for this survey partly depends on the size of your establishment. If your business is made up of just a few rooms on one floor then it’s likely the internet signal from your router will reach all those points with no hassle. If, however, your organisation covers a larger area, is based on multiple floors, or is a large establishment like a school or university, then a wireless site survey might benefit you.

The need for a survey also depends on how many devices are connected to your network, network interference, and any physical obstructions that might limit the reach or strength of your signal. The survey process involves several important steps, which we’ve listed for you.

Examination of floor plans and blueprints

The site survey process will benefit from the provision of the floor plans or blueprints of your building if you have these at hand. With these, the technician will be able to identify any possible obstacles to the strength of your wireless internet connection. These obstacles could include walls, floors and elevator shafts.

Visual inspection

At the beginning of the survey the technician will conduct a basic visual inspection of the premises in order to ensure an accurate coverage analysis. Based on their inspection, the technician will pinpoint the locations of walls, stairwells, elevators, and other possible obstructions. They will also point out possible locations for positioning or repositioning wireless access points, as well as determine how many additional access points are required.

Identification of coverage areas

The technician conducting the survey will identify the places where a strong signal is necessary, as well as where it isn’t necessary. Remember that while you will need a strong connection in your main work areas, your reception area, your boardrooms and your breakrooms, you don’t need the trouble of extending your signal too far beyond the parameters of your office.

The survey itself

Once the preliminary inspection of the premises is complete, the technician will get down to business by conducting the actual survey. They will test the potential access point locations and measure your internet connection’s signal strength, signal quality and data range. 

The site survey report and network improvements

Once the site survey is finished, you’ll be presented with a report that indicates factors such as current coverage and areas where signal might overlap. Based on their findings, the technician might also recommend improvements to your network. These could include the addition of extra access points to your premises or the relocation of existing access points to other areas. Whatever improvements you think are necessary for your organisation, the technician will implement them for you.

If there are improvements to be made to your network and you agree to them, then your business will reap several benefits. First and foremost, a more reliable signal across your office space means more productivity amongst your colleagues. They’ll be able to make use of the network without any interruptions. As a result of this, it will be easier for them to respond to customers or clients more quickly, thereby increasing customer/client satisfaction.

In addition,  if there is ever a problem with your network and you’ve already conducted a wireless site survey, then repairing that problem could be much easier. This is because you can refer back to information gathered from the survey in order to help with any issues.

Wireless site surveys are worthwhile for many businesses, as they’re essentially a means to improve your internet connectivity and, in turn, your workplace efficiency. With a few simple steps undertaken by a professional, your company will be running at full speed. Of course, getting a high quality wireless connectivity solution like Nashua’s might lessen the need for a site survey in the future. 

Also remember that a wireless site survey can be done when setting up a wireless network for the first time. If you’re planning on doing this, then take advantage of Nashua’s free workplace assessment, which will get you started in the right direction.