This illustrative planning guide shows how the MNB team would scope security for an industrial unit with a fenced yard. The facility and project are hypothetical, not a completed MNB installation. The drawings and door schedule explain a proposed scope; they are not a construction or life-safety design.
Building Profile
Single-storey industrial unit + fenced yard
Controlled Doors
4 controlled openings (D1–D4)
Cameras & Entry
2 exterior PoE cameras, lobby intercom & gate pedestal
Head-End & Pathway
Office wall rack, EMT conduit & underground gate run
The facility, and what the operator needs
Picture a single-storey industrial unit with an office at the front, a shop behind it and a loading dock onto a fenced yard. A sliding gate already has an operator, and spare clicker remotes have gone home with former drivers.
The facility manager’s brief would be:
- Staff entry without keys, with a clear process for removing access when someone leaves.
- Controlled entry from the office into the shop.
- Useful views of the dock and yard, including after dark.
- A front-door intercom answered from the office.
- Gate access for drivers on the same credential system as the building doors.
- One agreed security scope covering conduit, cable, equipment, programming and handover.
- 1
- Rack
- A wall rack in the office, near the electrical panel and the internet service: door controller, power supply with battery, PoE switch and recorder.
- 2
- Front door, D1
- Reader and video intercom outside, electric strike in the frame, door contact and request-to-exit sensor inside.
- 3
- Office to shop, D2
- Reader on the office side to control entry to the shop; exit hardware and arrangements subject to review.
- 4
- Shop to yard, D3
- Reader on the yard side and door contact; electrified exit device shown as an option for review.
- 5
- Dock personnel door, D4
- Reader on the yard side, electric strike, door contact with a held-open alarm; the overhead door beside it stays as it is.
- 6
- Dock camera, C1
- Proposed view along the dock apron. Identification needs must be checked against equipment, position and lighting.
- 7
- Yard camera, C2
- Proposed view across the yard to the gate, with overlap to reduce blind spots.
- 8
- Gate reader
- A reader on a pedestal at the gate approach, wired to the gate operator's open input. The operator and the gate are by their own supplier.
- 9
- Underground run
- Proposed conduit route with a pull point. Responsibilities for trenching, conduit and backfill are agreed in the project scope.
The site walk
For this example, our technical team would walk the building with the client before quoting. The review would cover:
- Each door. Its material, swing, frame, closer, existing hardware and cable route. We identify required exits and have the responsible specialist confirm the hardware and egress requirements.
- Ceilings and walls. Available routes for conduit, concealed cable or surface raceway, and where visible runs are acceptable.
- The rack location. Power, network access and space away from dust and vehicle movement.
- Camera positions. The views needed at the dock and gate, vehicle movement, sun and night lighting. Identification needs are checked against the proposed equipment and test views.
- The gate approach. The operator’s control input, the reader position and the proposed cable route. Existing remotes and other ways of opening the gate are reviewed.
- The fire alarm interface. We confirm the required exit hardware and fire alarm interface with the responsible specialist before finalizing the door schedule.
The agreed plan defines what is included in the quote, who supplies each part and which work requires coordination with other trades.
What we would install
The doors
The example considers controlled entry at the front door, office-to-shop door, shop-to-yard door and dock personnel door. The overhead door remains unchanged. Each controlled opening has a reader and door contact, with locking hardware and exit arrangements selected for that door after review.
| Door | What it is for | Options to review, and entry method |
|---|---|---|
| D1 Front door | Staff and visitors enter here. Visitors are let in from the office. | Illustrative option: Electric strike in the existing frame, door contact, request-to-exit sensor, closer kept. Entry with: fob or phone; video intercom to the office for visitors. |
| D2 Office to shop | Keeps visitors in the office and out of the shop. | Illustrative option: Electric strike, door contact, request-to-exit sensor. Entry with: fob or phone, staff only. |
| D3 Shop to yard | Staff go out to the yard and back without walking round the front. | Illustrative option: Electrified exit device with a door contact; exit arrangement subject to review. Entry with: fob or phone from the yard side. |
| D4 Dock personnel door | Drivers and staff beside the overhead door. Held open on a busy day, so it is alarmed. | Illustrative option: Electric strike, door contact with a held-open alarm, request-to-exit sensor. Entry with: fob or phone; a driver is let in from the shop. |
An electrified exit device is one option to review for the shop-to-yard door. The dock personnel door can use a held-open alert, with its delay and notification behaviour agreed with the client. Neither choice replaces review of the actual door, applicable requirements and selected hardware.
The drawing below shows the parts to consider at a controlled opening. The final hardware, wiring and release behaviour depend on the approved design.
- 1
- Power supply / sub-controller
- Power supply and battery backup selected for the opening. Any fire-alarm interface is confirmed with the responsible specialist.
- 2
- Credential reader
- Card or mobile credential reader, with the communication method and mounting position selected for the system and applicable design.
- 3
- Door position switch
- Concealed magnetic reed in the frame header. Reports whether the door is open or closed, and alarms when it is forced or held open.
- 4
- Request-to-exit sensor
- Signals an exit request to the access system. Its role in alarm handling and lock control depends on the approved door design.
- 5
- Electric strike
- Locking hardware, behaviour on loss of power and exit requirements are selected together for the opening with the responsible specialist.
- 6
- Power transfer hinge
- Concealed transfer from frame to leaf, so an electrified lock body carries no exposed wiring.
The cameras
A dock camera looks along the apron and a yard camera looks towards the gate. The views overlap to reduce blind spots around the building. Whether faces or licence plates can be identified depends on the camera, lens, position and lighting, and is checked during aiming.
The proposed on-site recorder would keep the recording equipment in the building. We would configure fixed network addresses and check the views with the client.
With on-site recording (an NVR, or storage in the camera), cameras keep recording through an internet outage as long as they and the network have power. A UPS buys limited time in a power cut, and remote viewing may drop out until the internet is back.The front door intercom
A video intercom sits beside the front door reader. With a compatible selected system, staff can answer from a desk station or app and release the connected door. We agree which devices can answer, who can release each door and how the system connects to the network.
The yard gate
In this example, the gate and operator stay in place. We add a pedestal reader and connect its controller output to a compatible operator input, following the agreed equipment design. A driver’s fob can then be managed on the same access system as the building doors.
Adding a reader does not disable existing remotes. Their access must be reviewed as part of the changeover, along with the procedure for removing a departing driver’s credentials.
Pathways and conduit
Inside, conduit follows the office and shop walls with drops to each door and camera. Routes are agreed around the ceiling, obstructions and vehicle movement.
Outside, the proposed gate route uses rigid conduit, with accessible pull points so cable can be installed and serviced. Responsibilities for trenching, conduit installation and backfill are agreed in the project scope before work starts.
One rack
The proposed office rack holds the door controller, a power supply with battery backup, a network switch supplying power and data to compatible devices, and the recorder. Backup capacity and operation during power loss are checked against the selected equipment.
Any required fire alarm interface, lock-release behaviour and testing responsibilities are confirmed with the responsible specialist. The riser below is a scope illustration and does not specify a final life-safety circuit.
- 1
- Door controller
- Decides every door. Reader, lock, door contact and request-to-exit sensor for each door come back to it on their own cable.
- 2
- Power supply with battery
- Proposed lock and controller supply. Backup capacity, operation during power loss and any required release behaviour need equipment and design review.
- 3
- PoE switch and recorder
- One cable each to the cameras and the intercom carries power and data. The recorder keeps the video on site, with its own fixed address for every camera.
- 4
- Door runs
- A multi-conductor cable to each door in conduit. Heavy orange is a door; fine orange is a network drop.
- 5
- Gate run
- Dashed where it goes underground: the reader on its pedestal, and a pair of wires to the operator's open input.
- 6
- Fire alarm interface review
- Any required connection to the building’s fire alarm panel must be confirmed with the responsible specialist. This line illustrates coordination, not a wiring design.
Programming, testing and handover
We agree access levels with the client: staff doors and working hours, out-of-hours access, drivers’ gate access, holiday schedules and held-open alerts.
Testing follows the agreed design. Our team checks readers, door contacts, exit hardware and alerts, and coordinates any required fire alarm interface testing with the responsible specialist. Camera views are checked against the plan and lighting conditions. Intercom answering and connected door release are tested on the selected devices.
For this proposed scope, operator training would cover managing credentials and finding recordings. Labels, redline as-built drawings, cable test records and operating information would be agreed before work begins. Administrative access would be handed over through an agreed secure method.
What to expect from us
Our four-step project process applies: an on-site walk-through, drawings and an itemized quote, installation by our crew, then testing and handover. Your team helps decide who needs access, confirms the scope and arranges access to the people responsible for the building’s systems.
A note on this guide
This hypothetical facility is a planning example, not a completed MNB project. Every real building needs its own site review, scope and qualified technical decisions. Each system has its own page: access control, cameras, intercoms, gate access and conduit and cabling. If you are planning similar work, request a quote.