Frequently asked questions
The questions we hear most, about us first and then about each system. If yours isn't here, ask it on the quote form.
General
- What kinds of buildings do you work on?
- Commercial and multi-residential buildings: offices, retail, industrial and warehouse sites, institutional buildings, and condo corporations and apartment buildings as whole buildings. Industries we work in
- Where do you work?
- The GTA, and southern Ontario when the job warrants it.
- How long have you been in business?
- Since 2020. MNB Security is owner-operated, and Mark walks the site before we quote, so the person pricing the job has seen it. About us
- Can you monitor the alarm system?
- Professional monitoring is available through a monitoring partner. We install and set up the system, and the monitoring company watches it.
- Can you work on a system someone else installed?
- Yes. We service, expand and take over existing systems, including mixed-brand sites and half-finished installs, and we test and document the work the same way as a new install.
- Do you work with general contractors and integrators?
- Yes. We take security scopes as a subcontractor: built to the drawings, programmed, tested and closed out with as-builts. Labour-only on equipment you supply, or labour and materials. For contractors
- How does a quote request work?
- Use the quote form or call us. A few lines about the building and what you need is enough; drawings can follow by email. We come back with the next step: a call, a document review or a site visit. Request a quote
Commercial Access Control
Service details on commercial access control- Is one or two doors too small a job?
- No. Our work runs from a single controlled door to whole buildings. A small job gets the same testing and documentation as a large one.
- Can you work on the access system we already have?
- Yes. We install and support equipment from the major commercial manufacturers, including systems someone else installed. Adding doors to an existing system is common work.
- Can fingerprint or face readers be added to a card system?
- Usually. Most sites keep cards or phones on the everyday doors and add a biometric reader only where a second step is worth it, such as a server room. Both run on the same system and permissions.
Commercial Video Surveillance
Service details on commercial video surveillance- Can you add cameras to our existing system?
- Usually. We work with systems from the major commercial manufacturers, including ones someone else installed. We can add cameras or finish a system that was left incomplete.
- Why replace a PTZ with a multi-sensor camera?
- A PTZ looks one way at a time. A multi-sensor camera records its whole view all the time, from one housing on one cable, with no motor to wear out.
- Can cameras go on stairwells on every floor?
- Yes. In multi-residential buildings we run conduit up the stairwells and put a camera on each landing, all back to one recorder.
Commercial Intrusion Alarm Systems
Service details on commercial intrusion alarm systems- Can you work on an alarm system that is already installed?
- Yes. We service, expand and take over existing systems, including mixed-brand sites and installs someone else left unfinished.
- Do you monitor alarms?
- Professional monitoring is available through a monitoring partner. We install and set up the system, and the monitoring company watches it.
Commercial Intercom & Entry Systems
Service details on commercial intercom & entry systems- Can the intercom work with our access control?
- Yes. The intercom’s release is wired to the same lock the access system controls, so the door opens either way.
- Can residents answer the intercom on their phones?
- With an IP video intercom, yes. Calls can go to a desk station, a computer or a phone, so the person answering can see the visitor and release the door.
Gates & Vehicle Access
Service details on gates & vehicle access- Can the gate use the same cards as our building doors?
- Yes. Gate readers can run on the same access system as your doors, so people are added and removed in one place.
- What do you install at a gate?
- The gate operator and its control wiring, the readers, the intercom stations and the licence-plate cameras, all on the same access system as your doors. Fabrication, trenching and civil work are done by those trades, and we coordinate with them.
Structured Cabling & Wireless
Service details on structured cabling & wireless- Do you only do cabling for security systems?
- No. We cable the security systems, and also desks, access points and the rest of a building's network, often while the ceiling is already open for the security work.
- Do you certify the cable, or just install it?
- Every permanent link is tested on a calibrated certifier, and the test files are handed over with the as-builts and port records.
Fibre Optics
Service details on fibre optics- Our fibre link keeps dropping. Can you find out why?
- Usually. We inspect and clean the connector end faces, then run an OTDR trace down the run. A dirty connector is a more common cause than a broken cable.
- Can fibre run out to a camera on a pole?
- Yes. Past about 100 metres copper can't carry the network, and fibre also avoids the ground problems that come with a pole in an open yard.
Still have a question?
Ask it with your quote request, or call us. A few lines about the building is enough to start.