Hospital AV Article– WSU School of Nursing

Advancing Healthcare
AV brings Washington State University’s Nursing Program to life.
By Jim Stokes
Washington State University’s Intercollegiate College of Nursing (ICN), Spokane WA.
Washington State University’s Intercollegiate College of Nursing (ICN)
has a new facility on the Riverpoint
campus in Spokane. The teaching
experience incorporates interactive
AV classrooms, multimedia, distance
learning, research, clinical and simulation laboratories. For our purposes,
we’ll cover AV use in classroom basics
through practical hands-on instruction,
which includes both simulator and human patients.
According to Washington State University (WSU), the College of Nursing’s new home has a total budget of
nearly $34 million. Educating more
than 1000 upper-division undergraduate and graduate students, it provides
upper-division undergraduate nursing
education in partnership with Eastern
Washington University in Cheney and
Whitworth University in Spokane as
part of the nation’s first, oldest and
most comprehensive nursing education consortium. Correspondingly, a
Master of Nursing degree (MN), with
programs leading to specialization as
a family nurse practitioner, psychiatric/mental health practitioner and/or
community-based population-focused
nurse, is offered.
At press time, the nursing programs
were in full swing. Looking back, the
College of Nursing welcomed its inaugural class of PhD students during the
Summer of 2007, providing doctoral education using a combination of face-toface and distance-education methods.
Using the distributive nursing educa-
Sound & Communications Contributing Editor Jim Stokes has been involved in the AV industry for more than 30 years
as an AV technician and writer.
40
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www.soundandcommunications.com
There are two control rooms: The SAC control room (left), with four work stations controls all classrooms; the other is the
backup, used in case of an overflow or emergency, as well as when staff has to be in the building in which it is located.
tion models, students are served at five
locations across the state, in Spokane,
Tri-Cities, Vancouver, Walla Walla and
Yakima.
Credits
Before we continue, here are the
credits. The design and install for the
College of Nursing’s AV systems was
by Avidex AV, Spokane WA, with Bill
Watt as the designer. Our tour guides
for the install are Charlie Niemi, CTS,
Avidex Branch Manager, and Saleh
Elgiadi, WSU Director of Information
Technology.
The AV systems reveal an abundance
of flexibility as our voyage progresses
from sit-down classroom/distance
learning and their control rooms
through a multimedia lab, seminar and
conference rooms, and winding up in
the hands-on clinics. Therefore, getting
to be a nurse is like getting to Carnegie Hall, as the old joke and truism
goes: Practice, Practice, Practice.
Niemi obser ved that the WSU AV
project was “by far the most intense
we’ve ever done with them. We’ve
worked with Washington State University for eight or nine years doing
a lot of different projects. And in my
20 years in the AV business, this is my
largest project and certainly the most
complex from a technology perspective
and putting all the AV together to work
in a variety of ways.”
Citing the complex example of working with distance-education classrooms,
he noted, “Going into one classroom is
no problem. But incorporating four of
them so they can be controlled from a
control room was pushing our technological envelope.”
Distance Education
Regarding ser ving the information
needs of students in Spokane as well
as the other locations, WSU’s Elgiadi
explained, “It reaches those sites over
videoconferencing technologies because students want to access information and feel as if they’re in the same
classroom. We didn’t want to inhibit the
spontaneity, collaboration and camaraderie that develops between students.
They’re able to ask questions, interact
and get the material that the instructor
is presenting, whether it’s PowerPoint,
images or a video. Whatever the material is, they have the same view as the
local students.”
There are four distance-education
classrooms in the nursing building.
Via AMX control, each instructor can
choose either in-room or far-site IPbased AV conferencing modes. Correspondingly, the rooms’ seating accommodates 40, 60, 100 and up to 140
students. Each classroom has its own
equipment rack.
Routing is via Extron in RGBHV DAs.
Kramer is well represented with various video DAs, matrix switchers, component converters and scan converters.
In fact, Extron and Kramer devices are
in the AV framework throughout the install. Therefore, let’s take a look at one
of the two larger rooms as a prototype
for most of the AV functions. We hasten
to add that the smaller rooms are also
well equipped, but with scaled-down
versions of the same technology.
Thus, in our example from a larger
room, a Shure push-to-talk cardioid microphone is shared by ever y two students. There are 120 total student mic
sources within the two larger rooms.
When the mic is turned on, a Vaddio
PTZ camera system, based on the
Sony EVI camera, zooms in to show
viewers on the far site who is talking,
making the instruction quite personal
and not a gaggle of disembodied voices
from Spokane. Similarly, the camera
system can track the instructor, who
has a choice of a Shure gooseneck and
a Shure wireless lavalier for himself
and/or a guest lecturer. Classrooms
have three strategically placed Vaddio
PTZ cameras.
Conferencing System
Because we’ve introduced the audio
aspect, note that all microphones and
other audio sources run through the
ClearOne Converge Pro audio conferencing system with its eight-channel
automatic mixer, which acts as the
room voice lift and/or audio feed to the
far site. Room audio is heard on JBL
in-ceiling speakers, driven by Crown
power amplifiers. IR hearing assistance
is provided by Phonic Ear StarSound
600 large area systems.
On the videoconferencing side,
there’s a Polycom codec. All the
room’s video sources go through the
Analog Way seamless switcher and are
sent to the two Panasonic projectors
housed in Chief ceiling mounts. The
January 2010
41
screen was provided by the construction company.
And there’s a WolfVision document
camera handily mounted above the
instructor’s demonstration table. A
pair of big-screen 46-inch NEC flatpanel monitors on Chief mounts offers side-by-side viewing. “Those are
what we call ‘confidence’ monitors,”
said Niemi.
“The NEC displays are hanging from
the ceiling about 15 to 20 feet back
from the podium so the instructor
can see what’s being projected on the
room screen. In the case of the College of Nursing, the instructor might
write or show a heart or an arm. The
Altinex modules in the podium allow
for a guest presenter’s laptop or some
other AV composite video device to
be plugged in.” There’s also the convenience of a dedicated JVC DVD recorder/VCR combo with tuner.
In-room AV and distance conferencing are all well and good for students in
attendance, but what about the student
who can’t make it to the lecture? According to WSU’s Elgiadi, the univer-
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Sound & Communications
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Before SimMan: Health
Manikins I Have Known
SimMan, WSU College of Nursing’s
manikin, is another aspect of the
school’s hands-on AV educational
programs, and is a far cry from what the
author experienced “back in the day.”
By way of a personal experience, this
writer would like to go back in time before SimMan AV technology for a whimsical look into an adventure with two health
manikins. The memorable event took place
in the late 1960s, when I was working at
a health agency in Minneapolis during the
anti-smoking craze. Typically, in the American way, our agency and many others were
trying to get people to stop smoking and
stop all other forms of air pollution right
now! So our parent agency came out with
“Sam and Millie: the Smoking Dummies,”
which made the rounds of the public
schools.
Each of these smiling manikins was
equipped with small hidden chest loudspeakers under its clothing, to which a
two-track tape player could be connected.
It was my task to hire two young actors to
pre-record the Sam and Millie lines.
All went well, except the speech could
only be heard a few feet away and with not
much pizzazz. That didn’t do any good for
hearing the action on stage in an auditorium or even overcoming the ambience of
a classroom! So, we brought out a power
amplifier to drive more powerful separate
speakers within the manikins. Fortunately,
we got a lot of media coverage for our
exploits.
In comparison with the current WSU
College of Nursing’s SimMan and his companions, our pair of manikins had frozen
smiles, only one anti-smoking spiel (“Take
a tip from a dummy and don’t smoke.”)
and no rolling eyes.
—Jim Stokes
www.soundandcommunications.com
EQUIPMENT
Clinical Simulation (x3)
Distance Education Classrooms (x4)
6 Altinex PNP-402 pop-up interfaces
4 Altinex ISC2000-I PC modules
5 AMX MVP-8400 8.4" Modero ViewPoint touchpanels w/wall mount
4 Altinex ISV3000-I AV modules
5 AMX NI-3100/ICS NetLinx controllers
4 AMX 12" Modero VG Series table top touch panels
5 Analog Way OFD803 OCTO-FADE-II seamless switchers
4 AMX NI-4100 control processors
5 Centrum Sound Systems CIR-3 StarSound 600 large area IR
6 AMX NXC-COM2 dual com port cards
assistive listening systems
2 Analog Way OFD803 OCTO-FADE-II seamless switchers
5 Chief PRO-2241 lockable tilt wall mounts
4 Chief PCM-2241 flat-panel ceiling mounts
5 Cisco N60741 AIR-AP1252G-A-K9 wireless access points
4 Chief RPA-6500 mounts for Panasonic PTL-D5500U
5 ClearOne Converge Pro 880 audio conferencing system w/Converge
4 ClearOne Converge Pro 880 audio conferencing system w/Converge
Pro 8i 8-channel AEC mic
Pro 8i 8-channel AEC mic mixer expansion units
5 Crown D75A amps
6 Crown 280A amps
5 JVC DRMV100B 1080p upconverting DVD recorder/VCRs w/tuner
2 Extron DA6 RGBHV distribution amps
5 Middle Atlantic BRK14 racks w/accessories
24 JBL Control 24CT MicroPlus compact in-ceiling speakers
5 NEC LCD4620-2-IT 46" LCD monitors w/SP4020-4620 speakers
4 JVC DRMV100B 1080p up converting DVD recorder/VCR combos w/tuner
5 Polycom SoundStation VTX 1000 audio conferencing systems
4 Kramer 1X3 video DAs
5 Polycom VSX 7400e Presenters
4 Kramer 8X8 XGA matrix switchers
Clinical Practice (x3)
4 Kramer RGB to component converters
1 Altinex ISC2000-I PC module
4 Kramer VP-123V inputs on XGA projectors
1 Altinex ISV3000-I AV module
10 Kramer XGA & HDTV scan converters
5 AMX MIO-CLASSIC-D-WH white button controllers
4 Middle Atlantic ERK-4425 44-space-deep standalone racks
5 AMX NI-700 NetLinx small room controllers
9 NEC Displays LCD4620-2-IT 46' LCD monitors
4 Behringer DSP110 SHARK digital 24-bit multifunction signal processors
7 Panasonic PBTS PT-DW5100U 5500 lumen DLP projectors
1 Chief RPA-191 projector ceiling mount
4 Phonic Ear StarSound 600 large area IR assistive listening systems
1 Extron MPA 122 audio power amp
4 Polycom HDX 9004 HD codecs
4 Extron YC switchers
120Shure MX392/C boundary cardioid mics (total, split between the
2 JBL Control 24C speakers
two largest classrooms)
1 JVC HRXVC11B progressive scan DVD player/VCR combo
4 Shure MX418D/C 18" desktop gooseneck mics
4 Marshall Electronics V-ASL8080 8" NTSC monitors w/stand
4 Shure ULXP14/85 wireless lav mic kits
1 Panasonic PT-F200U LCD projector
4 Sonic Foundry MSL-CSR-B05 RL education bundle (covers all four
4 Shure MX202W/C overhead mics
classrooms)
4 Sonic Foundry MSL-SFT-POD Mediasite PodCast automatic MP3 converters 8 Sony EVID70 pan/tilt/zoom color NTSC video cameras
4 Sonic Foundry MSL-SSS-S15 Mediasite PodCast automatic MP3 converters 4 Sony RM-BR300 BRC-300 remote
1 VBrick 7500-0120 Ethernet portal software
12 Vaddio WallView Pro HD1 camera systems
5 VBrick 9190-4200-100 Windows media streaming encoders
Seminar Rooms (x2)
Conference Rooms (x5)
2 Polycom HDX ceiling mic arrays
6 Altinex pop-up interfaces
4 Altinex ISC2000-I PC modules
5 AMX MVP-8400 8.4" Modero ViewPoint touchpanels w/wall mount
2 Altinex ISV3000-I AV modules
5 AMX NI-3100/ICS NetLinx controllers
2 AMX NI-4100 control processors
5 Analog Way OFD803 OCTO-FADE-II seamless
2 AMX NXC-COM2 dual com port cards
switchers
2 AMX MVP-8400 8.4" Modero ViewPoint touchpanels
5 Centrum Sound Systems CIR-3 StarSound 600
w/wall mount
large area IR assistive listening systems
2 Analog Way OFD803 OCTO-FADE-II seamless
5 Chief.PRO-2241 lockable tilt wall mounts
switchers
5 Cisco N60741 AIR-AP1252G-A-K9 wireless
2 Centrum Sound Systems CIR-3 StarSound 600
access points
large area IR assistive listening systems
5 Crown D75A amps
6 Chief PRO-2241 lockable tilt wall mounts
5 JVC DRMV100B 1080p upconverting DVD
2 Cisco N60741 AIR-AP1252G-A-K9 wireless
recorder/VCRs w/tuner
access points
5 Middle Atlantic BRK14 racks
2 ClearOne Converge Pro 880 audio conferencing
5 NEC LCD4620-2-IT 46" LCD monitors w/SP4020-4620
system w/Converge Pro 8i 8-channel AEC mic
speakers
2 Crown D75A amps
5 Polycom SoundStation VTX 1000 audio conferencing
2 Extron DA6 RGBHV distribution amps
systems
8 JBL CONTROL 24C speakers
5 Polycom VSX 7400e Presenter videoconferencing
2 JVC DRMV100B 1080p upconverting DVD
systems
recorder/VCRs w/tuner
Multimedia Lab
2 Kramer VP-123V inputs on XGA projector
16 JVC HRXVC11B DVD/VCR combos
2 KramerVP-502XL XGA, HDTV scan converters
8 Listen LA-102 telescoping top-mounted antennas
4 Middle Atlantic BRK14 racks
8 Listen LA-106 telescoping top-mounted antennas
6 NEC LCD4620-2-IT 46" LCD monitors
32 Listen LR-400-072 receivers
2 Polycom HDX ceiling mic array extension kits
32 Listen LR-400-216 216MHz display receivers
2 Polycom HDX 9004 codecs
8 Listen LT-800-072 stationary FM transmitters
2 Samsung SDP-900DXA XGA digital presenters
8 Listen LT-800-216 assistive listening transmitters
2 Shure ULXP14/85 wireless lav mic kits
64 Listen LA-165 stereo headset
4 Vaddio WallView Pro HD1 camera systems
16 Samsung LN19A450 19" LCD HDTVs
1 WolfVision VZ-C12 Visualizer system,
Control room rack.
ceiling mounted
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www.soundandcommunications.com
Multimedia Viewing
1 Altinex CM11332 Cat5 snap in
1 Altinex PNP-402 pop-up interface
Altinex PNP inserts, connectors
1 AMX MIO-CLASSIC-D-WH white button controller
1 AMX NI-700 NetLinx small room controller
1 Phonic Ear CIR-3 StarSound 600 large area IR assistive listening system
1 Chief PRO-2241 lockable tilt wall mount
1 JVC HRXVC11B DVD/VCR combo
1 NEC LCD4620-2-AV 46" HDTV LCD monitor w/speaker
Control Rooms
12 Alesis M1 ACTIVE 520 reference monitors (pair)
2 AMX NI-4100 control processors
1 AMX NXC-COM2 dual com port card
6 AMX NXP-PLV Modero PosiTrack pilot camera controllers
4 Avitech MCC-8004aL videowall processors w/4 passive loop outs
4 Avitech VCC-8004c videowall processors w/4 inputs
2 Cisco 8-port switches
4 Communications Specialties Fiberlink 7240 RGBHV receivers
4 Communications Specialties Fiberlink 7240 RGBHV transmitters
2 Extron MLP 101 mic to line preamps
2 Kramer VP-8X8 8x8 XGA matrix switchers
1 Kramer VP-8X8A 8x8 XGA matrix switcher
3 Kramer VS-88A 8x8 audio matrix switchers
2 Middle Atlantic ERK-4425 44-space deep standalone racks w/accessores
12 NEC LCD3210-BK-IT 32" LCD monitors
4 Polycom HDX 9004 HD codecs
6 Rolls HA-43PRO 4-channel headphone amps
6 Shure 522 desktop mics
8 TOA NX-100S network audio adapters
1 Whirlwind SPC82L 8-channel audio splitter
List is edited from information supplied by AVIDEX.
sity not only deployed the school’s first high-definition
AV conferencing, but also provided video on demand
throughout the Spokane campus. Fortunately, each
classroom has a Sonic Foundr y Mediasite PodCast
automatic MP3 converter, which records all distance
learning education classes.
“So we can extend that material to students just as
it was delivered in the classroom, in its entirety,” he
explained. “The students can download the materials
on their MP3 player, iPod or laptop, so they won’t miss
a thing. This comes in handy if a student is ill and could
not other wise attend class.”
Control Rooms
Next, let’s go through the control rooms in the College of Nursing building and the SAC/Spokane Academic Center, starting with the nursing building control
room. Niemi pointed out that the control room has four
work stations. “Whereas, in the past, they had one operator per classroom, you can now have one operator
controlling all four of those” in the distance-education
classrooms, he told us.
Highlighting the control area functions, the NEC
monitors can look at the classroom cameras full screen
or break the images down into quad or smaller window
views via the Avitech videowall processors. Similarly,
they can take in and window all video signal sources,
January 2010
45
Each of the four classrooms features extensive applications of AV.
including computers and DVD/VCRs.
That efficiency includes AMX PosiTrack
camera control that allows cameras to
be moved and switched. Computer presentations on the far site can also be
monitored using the Polycom codecs.
Then there’s the “God mic,” quipped
Niemi, referring to the control room
Shure desktops that come into play
when an instructor can’t make equipment work. So the instructor calls the
control room and says, “I can’t see the
monitor.” A disembodied control room
voice then comes over the classroom
ceiling speaker: “Push the button!”
A Synergism
Between Rooms
There’s a synergism between the
nursing and the SAC control rooms.
Although the nursing control room is
dedicated to the four classrooms, the
SAC control room is a master control
center that can control the nursing
classrooms and other distance-education rooms on campus. “That’s where
the Cisco eight-port switches and the
Communications Specialties Fiberlink
receivers and transmitters come into
place,” explained Niemi. “We’re sending information back and forth between
the two buildings over a fiber system.”
Audio monitoring is over Alesis speakers. All microphones come through the
classrooms into the control room via a
Whirlwind audio splitter.
The multimedia lab provides a li46
Sound & Communications
brary setting for students to check out
medical AV media to study in a carrel
environment. The lab’s AV complement
is comprised of 16 JVC DVD/VCRs, 16
Samsung LCD HDTVs and 64 Listen
system wireless stereo headsets. “In
some cases, there will be two to three
students around the LCD,” said Niemi.
“You can have a maximum of four students viewing. That’s why there are 64
headsets. They’re for listening without
disturbing your neighbor.”
The two seminar rooms are similar
to the nursing classrooms, but smaller.
Equipment-wise, there are some differences noted as we highlight the spaces. Thus, the presenter uses a desktop
Samsung digital presenter in place of
a ceiling-mounted document camera.
Each seminar room has a Vaddio camera and a Polycom 9004 conferencing
codec with a Polycom ceiling mic array.
Instead of projectors, three wall-mounted NEC flat panels display in-room
or far-site images. There are Altinex
modules for laptop connection at the
podium, and there’s a Shure wireless
lavalier mic for the presenter.
In comparison, the five conference
rooms are smaller than the seminar
rooms and are scaled down, accordingly. A glance at the equipment list
shows basic AV tools are in order. The
differences are the popup Altinex interfaces and the companionable Polycom
VTX 1000 audio conferencing system
along with the VSX 7400e Presenter
videoconferencing systems.
Clinical Simulation
Thanks to our AV tour guide Charlie
Niemi, we started with the head-to-toe
classroom basics before we finally encountered actual hands-on patient diagnosis rooms. For those phases, we
have two related, but separate, paths
with one major difference.
There are three rooms each for both
clinical simulation and clinical practice.
However, the essential difference is
that “simulation,” as the name implies, deals with a non-human patient
and “practice” deals with we flesh and
blood humans. Because we now, we
hope, have your full attention, we’ll
first detail what goes on in clinical
simulation with SimMan, a portable,
advanced patient simulator for medical team training from manufacturer
Laerdal (www.laerdal.com/simman).
The medical manikin has realistic
anatomy and clinical functionality. It’s
designed to provide simulation-based
education to challenge and test students’ clinical and decision-making
skills during realistic patient-care scenarios.
In addition to SimMan, the nursing
program has a SimWoman and SimBaby, as well. And students can safely
hone their skills in a non-threatening
environment.
According to Elgiadi, the simulation
suite is used in different ways. Students
can come in and start the simulation
session to practice their skills, individually or in groups. “We also have
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classes where the students are brought
through and the instructor will have a
simulation in mind.”
Three Rooms
Specifically, three rooms comprise
the simulation suite as pointed out in
the following scenario featuring SimMan. A student nurse enters (1) the
examining room to check out SimMan’s symptoms. In turn, the student
is watched through a separate one-way
glass (2) obser vation room by classmates. In the examining room, the student places a stethoscope on the manikin in a hands-on experience. Although
SimMan isn’t real, he isn’t a “dummy,”
either, in the pejorative sense of the
word. Therefore, to aid the diagnosis,
SimMan’s innards bespeak bowel and
breath sounds. And he has a pulse and
a heartbeat.
Furthermore, he speaks out about
how he feels. Nursing instructors obser ve and manage the scenario from
(3) a separate room. It’s up to the
teaching staff to program the simulator
via computer with typical clinical vital
signs, sounds and symptoms. After the
diagnosis, there would be a treatment
plan in which the patient/simulator
might develop a drug reaction. Then
a new scenario would be set forth.
Highlighting the AV aspects, Niemi
explained that there’s Phonic Ear assistive listening. The Analog Way device
allows for signal routing with video going to the displays, codec or computer
as desired. As in the other instruction
spaces throughout the install, there are
AMX control panels.
The ClearOne Converge Pro audio
conferencing system, with its mixer,
plays a major role in the simulation
suite. It allows for seamless audio
among the three rooms because the
ClearOne is integrated into the intercom system. JVC DVDs are used for
recording events. Audio and videoconferencing are via Polycom. There
are Cisco wireless access points, as
needed.
Clinical Practice
Clinical practice is like going to a
doctor’s exam room, complete with a
patient exam table and accompanying
medical instruments. For this instruction, there are nursing students roleplaying as flesh and blood “patients.”
There are two doctor’s offices and a
space for viewing the procedures. AVwise, the exam rooms have ceilingmounted Sony PTZ cameras with remotes for student and instructor usage.
They can zoom into a particular area
on the patient for diagnosis. Procedure
viewing is via an eight-inch Marshall
Electronics monitor.
Role-playing between the patient and
nurse entails such standard procedures
as taking temperature and blood pressure. As the scenario unfolds before
the camera, there are two Shure overhead mics to pick up conversations at
either end of the room. Other AV equipment coming into play includes AMX
pushbutton control, Altinex PC and AV
(continued on page 69)
January 2010
47
advancing healthcare
(Continued from 47)
input modules,
Behringer signal
processing, JVC
DVD/VCR combo player, Extron
switching and
power amplifier,
and JBL speakers.
Events in the
two
practice
rooms are re- The classroom touchpanel offers
corded on VBrick. simple-to-use controls of AV functions.
The third space/
obser vation room has a AV support is indicative of
Panasonic LCD projector for a nationwide trend toward
viewing the recorded proce- expanding medical care
dures on a building contrac- and the subsequent need
for more healthcare providtor-furnished screen.
ers. “Many of our nation’s
workforce right now are
baby boomers,” noted Elgiadi. “And they’re getting
Finally, taking a wide view, ready to retire. They’ll need
the College of Nursing’s new to be taken care of.” His
building with its extensive own IT department at the
Healthcare
Providers Need
WSU Spokane campus reflects the needs for AV support, which is comprised of
22 professionals, as well as
temporar y student help.
For more information
about Washington State
University Intercollegiate
College of Nursing, go to
http://nursing.wsu.edu. To
learn more about Avidex, go
to www.avidexav.com. n
sight lines
(Continued from 12)
We’ve done it before, and
we can do it again!
• The Control Room: An
innovation born from the
minds-eye of an integration
firm in Southern California
in the late 1980s. A manufacturer didn’t invent this.
• Digital Signage:
Although NEC Display
first coined the term in the
mid-1990s, the concept was
born via a moderately successful, until that moment
in time, AV integration firm
based in Florida.
• Telepresence: Way
before that term was ever
used, an upstart AV integration firm from Chicago
was taking existing VTC
gear and making telepresence rooms that connected
two sites together in lifesized proportions.
I could go on and on, but
you should get the picture
by now: Integrators actually ser ved as the catalysts
to innovation in these new
markets and channels.
Who’s next? n
Industry pov: avad’s push into commercial
(Continued from 29)
but not sourcing their commercial needs. Additionally,
with the turnaround in the
economy and the housing
market, this obviously has
been a transition period for
our dealers.
S&C: What makes the
commercial space attractive?
Menna: Obviously, we
had dealers that were
completely focused on the
custom space and, to move
for ward and maintain their
business and position,
they had to look at alternatives in terms of new
opportunities. Commercial
is the natural transition
for them. It’s a matter
of casting a wider net, if
possible, when each segment itself might be more
constricted.
S&C: Does AVAD have
a relationship with InfoComm International or
the National Systems Contractors Association?
Menna: We recognize
the importance of both.
We will be exhibiting
at InfoComm this year,
increasing our presence
at the event fourfold. We
look to forge a relationship with NSCA moving
for ward. Several of our
vendor partners in the
commercial space enjoy
established relationships
with both organizations.
S&C: What can we expect
from AVAD in the future?
Menna: One of our big
strengths is training; so,
for the last few months,
we’ve done a lot of that,
and we continue to expand
it. We’re offering both
Intro to Commercial and
more advanced classes.
We’re also focused on tying
together our solutions.
Finally, we’re working
more closely with our sales
managers to ensure they’re
engaging in commercial
opportunities, as well.
AVAD prides itself on its
integration and providing
conduit between vendors.
Thus, we hope to leverage
our relationships with both
our commercial and our
traditional vendors to push
forth further solutions for
our dealers. We’re interested in having technologies
talk to each other, taking
some of the commercial
projects that, traditionally,
have been basic solutions
and adding control, offering more digital signage
and so forth.
S&C: Describe dealer
feedback to these changes.
Menna: All the feedback
we’ve received has been
extremely positive. Dealers
are thrilled that they have
these solutions. Dealers
that are new to the space
are excited about the opportunity and are looking
into their business to see
how they can enhance
what they’re doing. The
vendors have been supportive, as well, and our
vendor partnerships are
critical for our success.
We’re ver y grateful for
their support, from training
on down. n
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