Short answer
A school camera system specification should not name a brand or model; it should describe what must be seen in each area: faces at the entrance door, movement in the yard, vehicles at the parking entrance. To this you add the number of days of recording, redundant recording, uninterruptible power runtime, KVKK privacy notice sign, user training and handover documents. Public Procurement Law No. 4734 generally prohibits naming a specific brand, model or product in a technical specification.
Why should the specification be written area by area?
The specification should be written area by area, because what is expected from a camera differs in every part of a school. At the main entrance and the service door, you must be able to tell who is arriving; in the yard and along the perimeter wall, it may be enough to notice movement; in corridors and stairs, you watch the flow of the crowd. A single clause saying “all cameras will have this resolution” does not cover this difference.
Law No. 4734 also requires technical criteria to aim at efficiency and functionality and not to contain anything that restricts competition. Writing the need by area and target both follows this principle and makes bids comparable. Adding a school sketch plan and a list of areas to the specification is half the job.
What sample clauses can be written for image quality?
Image quality clauses set a target for each area and state how that target will be demonstrated at handover. In the industry, these targets are called the detection, observation, recognition and identification levels (DORI). The statements below are examples; the school should adapt them to its own list of areas:
- The cameras at the main entrance and service door will be installed in a position and lens angle that records the face of the person passing through the door in recognizable detail, by day and by night.
- The yard and perimeter wall cameras will show human movement in the marked area in a way that can be noticed at night as well.
- The camera at the parking entrance will record the license plate of the entering vehicle legibly.
- Outdoor cameras will withstand the region’s summer heat and dust; the operating temperature range will be stated in the quote.
- The contractor will demonstrate each area target at handover with sample recordings taken by day and by night.
Which clauses are needed for recording and storage?
Recording clauses state how many days back the footage goes and what happens if a disk fails. The school decides the number of days according to its own needs and internal regulations; this number must appear clearly in the specification. Sample statements:
“The system will record continuously from all cameras and keep at least [number of days to be set by the school] days of footage; the contractor will submit the disk calculation with the quote.” “A redundant disk arrangement will be set up so that the failure of one disk in the recorder does not cause loss of footage.” “The recorder will leave free channel capacity above the number of cameras installed.” “The recorder will be able to work with cameras from different manufacturers that support an open communication protocol.”
The location of the recorder can also be written as a clause: “The recorder will be in a locked room to be designated by the administration, and the viewing screen will be in the deputy principal’s office.” Keeping viewing and recording in separate places limits access to the footage.
Expert note: Disk capacity: write the number of days, not terabytes. Capacity varies with the number of cameras and the resolution; the number of days describes the need directly and forces the contractor to do the calculation.
Which clauses are written for power, cabling and the cabinet?
Power and cabling clauses determine how long the system keeps running in a power cut and how the cables are delivered. Sample statements: “The recorder, network switches and cameras will be powered by an uninterruptible power supply; in a power cut, the system will keep running for at least [number of minutes to be set by the school] minutes.” “All cables will be numbered with permanent labels at both ends, and the labels will match the plan delivered.”
“Outdoor cables will be in protective conduit and of a type suitable for outdoor conditions.” “The recorder and network equipment will be placed in a locked, ventilated cabinet, and the cabinet will be grounded.” In provinces that get very hot in summer, like Şanlıurfa, the cabinet’s location must also be stated in the specification; a corridor corner that gets sun causes a device failure in no time.
Which clauses are needed for KVKK, access and training?
School camera recordings contain the personal data of students, parents and staff. Law No. 6698 obliges the data controller to inform the people concerned and to take appropriate technical and administrative measures to prevent unlawful access to personal data. The equivalent can be written in the specification like this:
“Privacy notice signs, with a text approved by the school administration, will be posted at the entrances of areas with cameras.” “Administrator, viewer and recording export permissions will be defined with separate users in the system; default passwords will be changed before handover.” “Recording export operations will leave a trail in the system.” “The contractor will train the school administration and designated staff in viewing, searching recordings and exporting, and the training will be documented with minutes.” For legal matters such as the sign text and the retention period, the institution’s legal department should be consulted.
Which documents should be requested at handover and acceptance?
Handover clauses make sure the school can manage the system even if the company that installed it changes. The specification should state that the following documents will be delivered:
- Camera layout plan updated to match the installation (as-built)
- Camera list: location, IP address, lens size, cable number
- Day and night test footage for each camera
- Acceptance record verifying the number of days of recording
- Handover of user accounts and passwords with a signed record
- Backup file of the recorder and network settings
- Training record and manufacturer service terms
How can brand-binding clauses be avoided?
The way to avoid a brand-binding clause is to write the function, not the product. Law No. 4734 says that a specific brand, model, patent, origin, source or product cannot be named in technical specifications, and that features and descriptions aimed at a specific brand or model cannot be included. Where there is no national or international standard, or it is not possible to define the technical characteristics, the law allows a brand or model to be written with the phrase “or equivalent.” Transparency, competition and equal treatment are also among the law’s basic principles.
Clauses that copy a manufacturer’s catalog values exactly, mention a specific software by name, or require a measure that only one product has may conflict with these principles and lead to objections. Have the purchasing unit and, if necessary, a legal adviser check the specification before you publish it. Since 2010, Desa Bilişim has completed projects in more than 85 educational institutions and can give school administrations technical support in preparing the list of areas.
Frequently asked
Can a brand be written in a school camera specification?
In purchases covered by Law No. 4734, a specific brand, model or product cannot be named in the technical specification. Where there is no standard or the technical characteristics cannot be defined, a brand may be written with the phrase “or equivalent.” The institution’s purchasing unit should check how this is applied.
How many days should school camera recordings be kept?
The school decides the number of days according to its own needs and the regulations of the institution it is attached to. What matters is that the number is written clearly in the specification and verified at handover. For the legal side of the retention period, consult the institution’s legal department.
What should the specification say about KVKK?
It can require privacy notice signs in areas with cameras, separate user permissions, changing default passwords, and a trail for every recording export. These are the technical counterparts of the notification and data security obligations in Law No. 6698.
Resources
A list of areas for your school
Share your school sketch plan and we will work out the area targets to be written in the specification together.
