Lots to talk about, from the top, of course, but not always the case. Whether you know exactly what you want, have an idea or need a complete run down on options. Getting the information in front of you will take a number of guises. In simple terms we’ll turn conversations into documents. Digestible, comprehensive and bite sized. Very much one picture telling a thousand words type of thing. When we’re finished you’ll know what it is and what it all means, you’ll see where all the money is going. We can provide Questionnaire’s, detailed Product Matrices and Specification Sheets, Presentations, Product Demonstrations (at client premises and ‘off site’), full Proposals and/or an Executive Summary.

Every document you’ll need to get your project out to tender. Every i dotted and every t crossed. If you want to pin it down before you appoint and start your project this is what you need. Our Detailed Design Package includes; General Arrangements, Schematics, Wiring Diagrams, Head End/Landing Racks/Control Panel Layouts, Setting Out Elevations, Coordinated RCP’s, A detailed scope of works (including programming), A detailed bill of quantities, Specification Sheets and GUI layouts. You’ll absolutely pay for this service one way or another, either as a ring fenced item with a true cost attached or absorbed inside the cost of the project. With our design approach however we’re not actually selling you anything. Think about it.

This is the part which separates the ‘Custom Installer’ from the ‘System Integrator’. There’s not a lot of bona fide ‘Custom Installers’ out there believe it or not. Conjuring something new can get in the way of making money and some will overlook or neglect this part of the process. For us however, if we can give you something that’s unique or a perfect fit we won’t shy away. From concept through to production management. We know no bounds here. If the project requires it, if you have an idea or if you need to design around a problem we absolutely guarantee a solution. We excel in this area. Every business has a favourite product/service. This is ours.

The nuts and bolts of what you need to know about the people you are employing. Not the Spanish Inquisition, just the important stuff. This bit often gets missed. We approach this in four ways; Pre-qualification Questionnaire (via our online portal, includes NDA), face to face interviews (client/professional team welcome), a site visit to see a live or completed project and references (one trade and one customer). In our experience of finding suppliers it doesn’t always boil down to company size and credentials. The biggest guys may not always the best fit for a big project. Personalities play a big part in this too. Is your new supplier going to fit the project and the team? Find out early.

For all contract types. All the documentation you need to pin down the right supplier for a set in stone price. We have a unique way of managing this aspect. To begin with we’ve got an ever-growing database of pre-qualified supplier’s who’ve all signed an NDA (which covers future projects and information out). We aim to turn tenders around quickly by expediting stage one and doing the work upfront. We’ll typically approach four or five suitable suppliers which will be narrowed down to two within seven days of the invite to tender. We then aim to have a stage two report and full analysis produced and on your desk within 14 days. Sounds optimistic? Try us.

Absolutely more important than any other component part. We can help produce contracts to fit all sizes. Each tailored to the client, the project and the supplier – all things and all parties considered. Everyone crystal clear at the beginning. Everyone happy. It’s a good start, it establishes the tone and it sets a precedence. We will work with your solicitor to ensure a watertight agreement. We will take responsibility for printing and compiling the main contract and all associated documentation into two hardcopy files and deliver to your solicitor for engrossment. In our experience the projects which don’t have a tailored contract in place are the ones that suffer the highest variations and run late.

All things being equal this is an easy one. Valuations and Applications against one originally agreed number and scope. All signed off and processed smoothly. We’ll validate all the numbers and physically check things on site. We will issue Interim Payment Certificates and produce a statement of account with each application. We will ensure that the contract Payment Schedule is being adhered to and keep your accounts payable people informed in advance where large call offs apply. Important that this element is managed swiftly and as per the agreed so as not to cause issues with the programme. Getting what you paid for and paying for what you get. Everyone happy. How it should be.

Changes don’t have to be a foregone conclusion. Although it depends on where and how things started. There is an absolutely set in stone way to correctly manage a change (whether client instigated or other). It rarely happens. Done properly everyone will benefit. Leaving this to the end is messy and can end up costing more. We will correctly process a Change Request in real time with all applicable supporting information and documentation. We would seek client authorisation and issue an Instruction before the additional works commence. We would also liaise with the professional team and other trades to communicate any impact. This will help in achieving a quick and clean finish to your project.

In other words Practical Completion. Sometimes more difficult than it should be. We’re going to check it. All of it. Cross checking everything that’s been agreed with what’s been delivered, item by item. In line with the contract, all appendices and agreed changes. We’ll witness test the entire installation, focusing on all functionality available in each room from the obvious to the hidden. We will oversee any defects raised during the witness testing and return to site one week later to check and sign these off as complete. Then we issue a Practical Completion Certificate and process the final invoice (minus any retention). Then it’s finished. And everyone moves forward.

Your Integrator will have a Project Manager. The Main Contractor will have a Project Manager. The client may also have a Project Manager. Our service sits amongst these layers of Management. We can bridge the gaps and pull all Project Manager’s together where there’s disparity. Or where a project is not being project managed properly we can help with this also. At site level and upwards. People, problems, solutions, politics, the blame game, expectations, coordination, chasing and pushing. It’s not sending an email and waiting two weeks with backside covered. It’s not just a Gantt chart. It’s project management but not in a traditional sense. This is bigger picture stuff. Doing what needs done.

An unavoidable process and someone has got to do it. Given the nature of the beast there is lots to check. Installation – the parts you see, has every component part been correctly installed? Commissioning – the parts you don’t see, does everything work independently of the control system? Programming – the dark art, are all the user interfaces talking to all hardware and third party systems? Every button on every interface. Keypad to iPad. Snagging – desnagging – snagging – desnagging. And sometimes some more snagging – desnagging. Find the problem and before the client does. They’ve paid enough money that they shouldn’t have to snag. Although this seems to be normal, ‘it’s not going to be perfect’. Why not?

In our experience the most difficult part is at the end of the project when the pressure is on. The last 5%. The make or break part of the project. At this point it’s not about what’s finished, it’s about what’s not finished. Ours is an invisible layer that sits on top of the normal rush and urgency to finish a project. A Close Out Service is like a project in itself. So the 5% becomes 100% of the task in hand. New energy and enthusiasm. Two fundamental components to get things over the line. At this point everyone is tired, perhaps a bit jaded, maybe the job’s not gone as planned and the net profit is getting smaller by the day. This can create a lethargic environment. We’ll send in a positive force.

Handing over and Demonstrating. Something that gets missed a lot of the time, particularly in MDU projects. Why? Mostly because there’s been no allowance for this and sometimes these apartments sit empty for a long time after completion that the handover period expires. We see this a lot in private residences too where the system is inherited by the new owner, no maintenance contract in place and so no one around to demonstrate. Although this is not a job for just anyone. The balance of confidence, affability, credibility, technical knowhow and humour is paramount (especially when a button doesn’t work!). It’s playing to the audience and understanding the audience; concierge, building manager, agent, end user, or the top man/woman.

There are always going to be problems. Doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you’ve spent. It’s absolutely unavoidable. The technology will fall over at some point; There are too many component parts. Too many protocols. Too many wires, too many connections. Too much hardware, software and firmware. Too many outside influences and there is good old fashioned human error. Although when something fails it needs fixed quickly, even if just temporarily, got be realistic, especially when it’s out of hours or at the weekend. A solid platform and process to manage this coupled with clear communication is crucial. And there is only so much that can be done remotely from a laptop.

It’s rare to find a full O&M pack where you’ve got a large and complex AV and integrated systems. We can produce retrospective ‘As Built’ documents to complete an unfinished O&M or we can produce a complete O&M pack from scratch; all singing and dancing or just enough to tick the box. You may need this ahead of or for a sale or you may need this for a new owner. We can also produce full User Guides or single page instructions for a new owner or a tenant. We can produce (or help to produce) brochures for existing systems to bolster your sales and marketing collateral. This is a big selling point which can sometimes get undersold.

For one reason or another not always settled upon final completion. Then there is retention to think about. Not always invoiced on time and sometimes comes out of the blue. What’s owed, what’s been paid, what’s been delivered? Lot’s of paperwork and big spreadsheets detailing lots of black boxes of different shapes, sizes and prices. So what’s due? And a lot of the time the extras or variations arrive at this point, it’s very common and can be stressful on both sides. This is an area we specialise in with our retrospective variation process (The Revar) which helps manage this normally contentious area. Regardless of the position we will arrive at a final number.

They come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes all you need is an impartial and technically minded mediator. Over the years and between the team we’ve been on both sides, so we understand the dynamic well. This can be stressful, time consuming and if something has gone wrong someone is about to start losing money if that’s not already the case. We’ll go back to the beginning and look at all the facts. There will no doubt be a sensible answer to the problem which will suit everyone. Best to tackle these things head on and sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes. Let’s get the cards on the table and get things sorted out.

So the in-wall touchpanel isn’t working, can’t control the heating. Is it the in-wall touch panel that’s failed? It might be the BMS? Is it an electrical issue? Is it a mechanical issue? Heating Guy saying it’s BMS, BMS Guy saying it’s the Control System. Round and round you go. One example of the type of issue that never really gets bottomed out or goes away. In situations like this (of which we’ve seen many) you need to grab the bull by the horns and get all parties around the table and working together. We are technically multilingual so we can strip it down to the facts, pin point the problems and get them fixed. Once and for all.