Preparation and acceptance criteria
Installation is the physical stage where a site plan becomes a live hardware deployment. It covers mounting the beacons, powering them on, and recording their exact positions. This phase sits directly between procurement and testing: the hardware has been chosen and delivered, but it has not yet been validated for signal performance.
In practice, installation rarely goes exactly to plan. Ceiling plans rarely show the structural beams, fire suppression pipework, or security cameras that dictate where a beacon can realistically be placed. The installer’s job is to adapt the theoretical zone layout to the physical constraints of the building without compromising the intended coverage. The primary objective is to get every beacon secured in its correct zone, powered up, and accurately logged, ready for the commissioning phase to handle signal validation and calibration.
Carry out the task without losing traceability
Mounting Methods and Surface Types
The choice of fixing depends entirely on the surface and how permanent the installation needs to be. Adhesive pads, typically a high-bond VHB tape, are standard for smooth surfaces like glass, painted plasterboard, or ceiling tiles. Screws or rivets are necessary for rough surfaces, brickwork, or areas subject to vibration. Magnetic mounts are useful for steel racking in warehouses or trussing at events, but the installer must verify that the magnet holds firmly enough to withstand cleaning or accidental knocks.
Whatever the method, the beacon’s antenna must not be obstructed by the mount itself. If a beacon is screwed to a metal plate, the metal acts as a ground plane and distorts the signal. Plastic stand-offs or dedicated mounting brackets are required to keep the beacon body clear of the surface.
Environment-Specific Installation
- Retail environments: High ceilings often require access equipment such as cherry pickers or tower scaffolding, which adds time and cost to the installation. When mounting on gondola ends or shelving, fixings must be tamper-resistant to prevent customers from dislodging the units. Keep beacons away from refrigeration units, where metal casing and condensation will degrade the signal.
- Museums and galleries: Aesthetics often dictate the approach. Beacons may need to be hidden within display cases or mounted on lighting tracks. If a beacon is placed inside a case, the installer must account for signal loss through the glass and any metal framing, which may require adjusting the transmit power or moving the beacon closer to the edge.
- Events and temporary venues: Speed of deployment and removal is the priority. Cable ties to trussing, heavy-duty gaffer tape to carpeted floors, or clamps to barriers are common. If beacons are placed on the floor, they must be rated for foot traffic and positioned where they will not become a trip hazard.
Logging the Physical Location
As each beacon is mounted, its identifier—usually the MAC address or a configured UUID—must be recorded against a specific coordinate or zone on the floor plan. This is not an administrative afterthought; it is the foundation of the asset register. If a beacon is moved during installation to avoid a pipe, the floor plan must be updated to match. Without an accurate, real-world log, any subsequent troubleshooting or maintenance becomes guesswork.
Acceptance evidence and rollback
Mounting Near Metal or Liquids
Bluetooth Low Energy operates at 2.4 GHz, a frequency highly susceptible to absorption and reflection by metal and water. Mounting a beacon flat against a steel beam, inside a metal sign holder, or directly above a large water tank will severely limit its range and create unpredictable dead spots. If a metal surface is unavoidable, use a non-conductive spacer to distance the beacon by several centimetres.
Ignoring Future Access
A beacon mounted twenty metres up in an atrium might broadcast perfectly on day one, but when the battery degrades, the cost of hiring access equipment to replace it can easily exceed the value of the hardware. During installation, the team must consider how each beacon will be reached for battery changes or removal. If high-level mounting is unavoidable, document the exact access requirements in the asset register.
Incomplete On-Site Verification
Before the installation team leaves a zone, they should confirm three things: the beacon is physically secure, the LED indicates it is broadcasting (where applicable), and the beacon ID logged matches the one mounted at that location. A quick scan with a generic BLE scanner on a smartphone to confirm the beacon is visible and transmitting its correct identifier is a sensible baseline check. Detailed RSSI mapping and zone calibration belong to the testing and commissioning phase, but basic visibility checks catch swapped labels or dead batteries immediately.
Environmental Limits
Check the manufacturer’s IP rating against the actual conditions at the mounting point. An IP67-rated beacon is unnecessary in a climate-controlled retail aisle, but an IP54 beacon installed in a covered but damp loading bay, or an unheated marquee in winter, may fail prematurely. Verify the stated operating temperature range for any location subject to seasonal extremes.
