Maintenance Contracts

Your security system
is only as good as its
last service visit

Cameras degrade. Door controllers drift. Firmware goes unpatched. Most organisations only discover how far their system has slipped when something goes wrong. A Fyrfly maintenance contract stops that from happening.

Discuss a Contract → See How It Works
Typical unmaintained system — year 3
Camera operational rate 62%
Image quality at night Degraded
Firmware currency 2+ years behind
Door controller accuracy Intermittent
Audit trail completeness Gaps present
Under active maintenance With Fyrfly contract
These figures reflect common findings during our initial health checks on systems without an active maintenance contract. Individual results vary.
Annual
Planned maintenance visits
as standard
4hr
Priority response target
for critical faults
Any
System or brand — we take
over existing contracts
Full
Documentation at every
visit as standard
The Problem

Most security systems are quietly failing

Security system maintenance is one of the most commonly deferred items in school and public sector facilities budgets. Contracts lapse. Providers change. Systems age. And because the failure is gradual, nobody notices until a camera goes dark at exactly the wrong moment, or a door controller lets someone through who should have been stopped.

The legal and governance exposure is real. UK GDPR requires that surveillance systems are fit for purpose. KCSiE expects access control systems to actively support safeguarding. If your system cannot reliably do what it was installed to do, you have a compliance gap — not just a maintenance problem.

A maintained system is also a more defensible one. When an incident occurs, the quality of your footage, the completeness of your access logs, and the currency of your firmware will all be scrutinised. A documented maintenance history is evidence that you took your obligations seriously.

Cameras with failed IR or dirty lenses Produce footage that looks fine on the monitor but is unusable as evidence — often undetected until it's too late.
Unpatched firmware with known vulnerabilities Network-connected cameras and NVRs running outdated firmware are live attack surfaces on your school network.
Access control systems with stale credentials Former staff, contractors and students retaining active credentials is one of the most common and most serious security failures we find.
No maintenance records Without a documented service history, you cannot demonstrate to governors, auditors or insurers that the system was properly maintained.
Recording gaps and storage failures Hard drives fail silently. Systems configured to overwrite on loop may have been overwriting nothing for months.
What's Included

Comprehensive cover across every system type

Our maintenance contracts cover CCTV and access control systems of any make or age. Select a system type to see what each contract includes.

Camera inspection and cleaning
Physical inspection of every camera head, lens cleaning, IR illuminator check, housing integrity, cable and junction box condition. Documented pass/fail for each device.
NVR/DVR health check
Recording system verification — storage health, recording schedules, retention periods, remote access functionality, and backup configuration. Hard drive SMART data reviewed.
Firmware and security updates
Camera and NVR firmware updated to current stable release. Default credentials audited and replaced. Network segmentation and access reviewed against current guidance.
Image quality verification
Daytime and simulated night-time image quality tested for evidential suitability. Field of view confirmed against original design. Focus adjusted where required.
Written service report
Full written report issued within 5 working days of every visit. Covers every camera, identifies any faults, and provides a prioritised remedial action list with indicative costs.
Priority fault response
Contract clients receive prioritised response to reported faults. Target 4-hour response for critical failures, next working day for non-critical. Telephone and remote support included.
Door controller testing
Full functional test of every door controller — entry and exit request, release timing, door position monitoring, REX devices, and fail-secure/fail-safe operation under power loss.
Credential and user audit
Full review of active credentials against current staff, contractor and visitor lists. Leavers and ex-students identified and removed. Credential report issued for sign-off by facilities manager.
System software and firmware
Access control management software updated. Controller firmware reviewed and updated where required. Database backed up prior to any changes. Change log maintained.
Audit trail integrity check
Access event logs verified for completeness and accuracy. Storage capacity reviewed. Archiving and retention configuration checked against your data retention policy.
Power and battery check
Backup power supplies and batteries tested under load. Controllers with failed or degraded batteries identified — battery failure is the most common cause of access control system outage.
Written service report
Full written report issued within 5 working days. Every door and controller documented. Credential changes recorded. Remedial recommendations provided with prioritisation and cost guidance.
Everything in CCTV cover
Full camera inspection, NVR health check, firmware updates, image quality verification, and written service report. All CCTV maintenance included in a single visit where possible.
Everything in access control cover
Full door controller testing, credential audit, firmware updates, audit trail check, and power supply testing. Coordinated with CCTV visit to minimise site disruption.
Cross-system incident review
Access events and CCTV footage reviewed together against any incidents reported since the previous visit — identifying coverage gaps, timing discrepancies, and any unexplained access events.
Combined service pricing
Combined CCTV and access control contracts are priced at a discount to the equivalent separate contracts, and coordinated visits reduce time out of school operations.
Single integrated service report
One report covering both systems, cross-referenced where relevant. Suitable for presentation to governors, leadership teams, or facilities auditors as a complete security system record.
Single point of contact
One engineer, one account contact, one contract. No co-ordinating between separate CCTV and access control providers — everything comes through Fyrfly.
Contract Options

Three levels of cover, clearly defined

All contracts include planned annual maintenance and written service reports. The tiers differ in response times, callout inclusions, and the depth of ongoing support. We'll recommend the right level once we understand your system and site.

Essential
Annual planned maintenance
The foundation. Annual visit, full inspection, service report, and telephone support. Right for stable systems in good condition where the priority is documentation and compliance assurance.
Included
Annual planned maintenance visit
Full system inspection and test
Written service report within 5 days
Firmware review and update
Telephone and remote support
Priority callout visits
Parts included in callout
Bi-annual maintenance visits
Enquire →
Most Popular
Professional
Priority response included
The most commonly chosen option. Annual maintenance, priority callout response, and parts included for standard consumables. Designed for sites where system downtime carries real operational or compliance risk.
Included
Annual planned maintenance visit
Full system inspection and test
Written service report within 5 days
Firmware review and update
Telephone and remote support
4hr priority callout response target
Consumable parts included
Bi-annual maintenance visits
Enquire →
Comprehensive
Full cover, bi-annual visits
Maximum cover for larger or more complex sites. Two planned visits per year, priority response, all parts and labour on callouts included, and an annual strategic review of the system against your evolving needs.
Included
Two planned maintenance visits/year
Full system inspection and test
Written service report within 5 days
Firmware review and update
Telephone and remote support
4hr priority callout response target
All parts and labour on callouts
Annual system strategy review
Enquire →
All contracts are priced on site survey. Contact us for a quote — we'll always tell you honestly which level your system actually needs.
How It Works

From first contact to active contract in four steps

We don't ask you to sign anything before we've seen your system. The health check comes first. The contract follows only if we're both confident it's the right fit.

1
Initial conversation
Tell us what you have — systems, approximate age, current provider situation, and any known issues. No obligation, no sales pitch. We're establishing whether we can help.
2
Site health check
We carry out a full health check of your CCTV and/or access control systems. This is a working inspection — we test, not just look. Typically half a day for a single-site school.
3
Honest report
A written report covering the condition of every component, any faults found, and our honest recommendation on the right contract level — or whether remedial work is needed first.
4
Contract agreed
If we're both happy to proceed, we issue a clear contract covering exactly what's included, visit schedules, and response commitments. No hidden terms, no automatic renewal surprises.
Contract Takeovers

Already with a provider
who isn't delivering?
We'll take it from here.

Switching maintenance provider is simpler than most organisations think. You don't need to wait for a contract anniversary, and you don't need to justify the decision to anyone. If your current provider isn't responding, isn't documenting, or hasn't visited in over a year — that's reason enough.

We take over maintenance contracts from any previous provider, on any system, regardless of age or brand. We've inherited systems from national contractors, local sole traders, and everyone in between. The first thing we do is tell you honestly what state the system is in — which is often the first honest assessment the client has had in years.

Start a Takeover → Call Us
No gap in cover
We time the takeover to coincide with your new contract start date. Your system is never without active maintenance cover during the transition.
We gather the history
We request all available service records from the outgoing provider on your behalf. Where records are incomplete or missing, we document the baseline ourselves.
We tell you what we find
Our first visit is a health check. If the system has been neglected, we'll say so — with specifics. No inherited problems buried in a drawer.
Upgrade plans, not upgrade pressure
If the system needs investment, we'll build a phased upgrade plan that fits your budget cycle — not a proposal that assumes you have capital to spend immediately.
Our Standards
BS EN Standards
UK GDPR Compliant
DfE Aligned
KCSiE Aligned
Martyn's Law Ready
Sector Specialists
Get Started

Book a free health check

We'll visit your site, assess your CCTV and access control systems, and give you an honest written report — with no obligation to proceed. If we can help, we'll tell you how. If we can't, we'll tell you that too.

Request a Health Check → Call Us