netting pointers from remote project management

CE COVER STORY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
netting
pointers
from remote
project
management
NHL superstar Kris Letang
(left) decided he wanted
to replicate the equipment
in Eagle Sentry’s Las Vegas
showroom in his new home
in Canada. It meant Eagle
Sentry’s Greg Simmons
had to leverage his vendor
connections to find local
integrators in Montreal.
A
S A LIFELONG Pitts-
burgh Penguins hockey
fan, Eagle Sentry
president Ray Ladesic was giddy with
excitement when
he discovered that several of his highprofile clients were friends with the team’s
superstar defenseman Kris Letang. So
Ladesic thought it would be great to have
Letang and his fiancé visit Eagle Sentry’s
38
Las Vegas-based Eagle
Sentry not only handled
a $250,000 project, but
did it 2,500 miles away
in Montreal for NHL
superstar Kris Letang.
BY JASON KNOTT,
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEAN BLAIS
agement of the project 2,500 miles away
necessitated creating a series of designs,
finding a quality installation partner in
Canada, building a rapport with the builder, communicating constantly via phone
and Facetime, leveraging membership in
the ProSource buying group to organize
product deliveries through customs, and
ultimately making three trips to Montreal.
It was a learning experience that proved
fruitful in the end for Eagle Sentry on how
to manage a project remotely in a foreign
country. The result is a $250,000 project worthy of a celebrity client that melds
home automation, security, motorized
shades, audio, video and home theater. It’s
an achievement that not many custom integrators would even dream of attempting to
execute. Here’s how Eagle Sentry did it.
GETTING THE JOB WITH
SEPARATE CONTRACTS
7,000-square-foot showroom while they
were in Las Vegas last year. Little did he or
his partner Greg Simmons know that after
a demo, Letang would decide he wanted to
literally replicate the technology he experienced in Eagle Sentry’s showroom in his
soon-to-be-built 5,900-square-foot custom
home … outside Montreal, Canada.
That’s when the work really began for
the perennial CE Pro 100 integration firm.
Over the next year, Eagle Sentry’s man-
Eagle Sentry has managed remote projects before. The company has quite a few
Vegas-based clients with second homes in
the ski resort town of Park City, Utah, so
Ladesic and Simmons are used to handling
projects in other areas. But this would be
their first experience leading a project so
far away, not to mention their first outside
the United States.
While Letang was touring Eagle Sentry’s
showroom, he got a chance to play with the
Control4 home control interfaces, move the
CE Pro NOVEMBER 2014www.cepro.com
the design was approved. But before
the contract could be signed, Simmons
hopped on a plane in May 2014 and flew
to Montreal to meet with the homebuilder.
He brought with him the mutual friend
who had referred Letang to Eagle Sentry.
“He is French speaking so I knew I would
need a translator,” says Simmons. “I also
wanted to get his personal feedback on the
builder, the home and the neighborhood.”
But that initial fact-finding trip was
more than just a site visit. “I wanted them
to be comfortable with me,” says Simmons.
“I was the intruder. I wanted the builder to
trust me and feel good about my knowledge
and design. I knew I already had two strikes
against me. I didn’t want to be the ‘big shot
JUSTIN K. ALLER
Lutron motorized shades up and down, and
watch a few Blu-rays in the home theater.
“It was a massive eye opening for him,”
recalls Simmons. “He never had experienced anything like it before. He immediately wanted the entirety of the system.”
Because playing hockey in the NHL
involves lots of travel, Letang had one
main priority: The technology had to be
simple and intuitive to use so his fiancé
could manipulate it easily, and so when he
returned back home during the off-season
he didn’t have to re-learn all of the systems
and controls.
Simmons’ first step was to create a very
detailed proposal for the system. After several iterations back and forth with Letang,
Due to his intense
travel schedule
with the Pittsburgh
Penguins, Letang
had one main priority for his home
technology: It had
to be simple to use
so he didn’t have
to re-familiarize
himself with the
control system
every off-season.
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NOVEMBER 2014 CE Pro 39
CE COVER STORY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
“Greg and I met at Kris’s house during
construction. We got along from the
beginning. We looked at the plan, discussed
what he had already quoted for the project. It
was fairly easy to replicate the concepts since
we both have a high level of workmanship.”
—jonathan robillard, domo prestige
Jonathan Robillard (left)
of Domo Prestige communicated with Simmons
via Facetime almost daily
during the project.
from Vegas’ walking all over everyone.”
The next step was finding a local integrator in Montreal to act as the labor.
That’s where having tight relationships
with your vendors helps an integrator. Simmons was able to turn to Control4, which
recommended Domo Prestige. The company, which was formed two years ago, is
run by three veteran integrators with more
than a decade of experience: Jean-Francois
Pelchat, Patrice Robidoux and Jonathan
Robillard. Today, Domo has a total of 10
employees with two retail locations, and it’s
a Control4 platinum dealer.
“I have been doing Control4 since
2009,” says Robillard. “We touch pretty
much every type of residential and commercial market. We just opened our second
store four months ago. It’s a 6,000-squarefoot completed automated showroom
where we are now able to display everything that home automation has to offer.”
He continues, “Greg and I met at Kris’s
house during construction. We got along
from the beginning. We looked at the plan,
discussed what he had already quoted for
the project. It was fairly easy to replicate
40
the concepts since we both have a high
level of workmanship.”
Robillard says the only changes he
made in the design were swapping out
some equipment that is better suited to
withstand the cold Canadian winters. “It’s
a little different here versus Vegas,” he jokes
about the climate.
With Domo onboard and a comfort level established, Letang signed a contract with
Eagle for the design and project management, and a separate contract directly with
Domo Prestige for the labor. Domo will also
be servicing the system post-installation.
But there was one more wrinkle to
take care of — Domo Prestige does not
do motorized shades, and the design calls
for 22 window treatments. To date, motorized shades/drapes/blinds are not quite as
popular in Canada as they are in the U.S.
So, Simmons turned to Lutron. In similar
fashion to what Control4 did, Lutron identified Store Spec Inc., a local Montreal-area
shading contractor, for the job and subsequently Letang signed a direct contract
with owners Ronald and Jonathan Riley.
“Building the team is critical,” says Simmons in regards to doing a remote project.
“It all boils down to how critical the manufacturer’s knowledge is in local markets so
they can recommend a great partner.”
MANAGING THE PROJECT
The installation itself was similar to any
other high-end project in the United States
(see Equipment List sidebar). But when you
are half a continent away and on a different
time zone, it complicates things. Simmons
flew back up in June for his second visit
during the beginning of the rough-in phase
and met with the entire team.
“From that moment on, we were in
touch daily, then at least once a week after
rough-in,” says Simmons. “Using Facetime
was critical. Jonathan and I communicated
regularly. It was like I was there with him
Since Robillard (left)
and Domo Prestige do
not install motorized
shades, a third integrator was brought
to the project. Ronald
Riley (right) of Store
Spec Inc. installed the
22 motorized Lutron
window treatments.
CE Pro NOVEMBER 2014www.cepro.com
CE COVER STORY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
and critical to our success. He could show
me exactly what was happening on the job
site and send me photos.”
In addition, Letang himself was off site
because the Penguins made the NHL playoffs last season. So communication with
the client was also difficult.
Simmons’ third and final trip in August
coincided with the pre-trim
phase. He did an entire walkthrough with Robillard, Riley,
Letang and his representatives.
He also laid out the IC Realtime security camera system
at that point, which was a key
component Letang requested.
IC Realtime president Matt
Sailor notes about his equipment on the job, “It is our commitment
to offer a fully integrated security solution
into all of the smart home solutions. Our
goal is to be totally hardware agnostic in the
way that we can seamlessly interface with all
“I wanted them to be
comfortable with me.
I was the intruder.
I wanted the builder
to trust me and
feel good about
my knowledge and
design. I knew I already
had two strikes
against me. I didn’t
want to be the ‘big shot
from Vegas’ walking
all over everyone.”
—greg simmons,
eagle sentry
types of devices, not just in the smart home
world but in the entire M-M (machine to
machine) connected universe.”
There were challenges to be overcome for
sure. For example, getting the equipment
shipped to the jobsite meant dealing with
customs. To accomplish that, Simmons
turned to the ProSource buying group. With
help from ProSource’s Jim Ristow and Andy
Orozco, Simmons was able to organize the
42
1
2
1. The basement home theater features
an Epson 6030 projector, 124-inch Vutec
screen and various B&W speakers. Letang
was able to occupy the house and watch
a few movies just before heading off for
training camp this year. 2. The motorized
shades are throughout the home. According to Simmons, all the vendors, including Lutron for the special-order shades,
were “super helpful” getting the products
through customs in a timely manner. 3.
The OmniMount equipment racks include
Integra separates, Panamax BlueBOLT, a
SnapAV power strip and Luxul networking gear all connected using Audioquest
cabling. 4. Letang tried out several types
of control systems in Eagle Sentry’s showroom during his initial visit. Ultimately, he
was drawn to Control4 as the solution.
3
4
CE Pro NOVEMBER 2014www.cepro.com
CE COVER STORY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
EQUIPMENT LIST
▷ 1 Epson 6030 projector
▷ 3 Bowers & Wilkins CWM 8.3 in-wall speakers
▷ 4 B&W CWM 8.5 speakers
▷ 2 B&W ISW subwoofers
▷ 20 B&W 684 in-ceiling speakers for
multiroom audio
▷ 12 B&W CCM 664 in-ceiling speakers for multiroom audio
▷ 1 IC Realtime NVR708N 4TB NVR
▷ 1 IC Realtime 8 port POE switch
▷ 1 IC Realtime ICIPD2360 fisheye camera
▷ 3 IC Realtime ICIPD2000IR cameras
▷ 3 IC Realtime ICIP3000DVIR cameras
▷ 1 IC Realtime ICIPB2000 camera
▷ 1 Leon Speakers HzUT-LCR soundbar
▷ 1 Leon Speakers Hz414-LCR soundbar
▷ 1 Integra DHC 60.5 7 pre-amp
▷ 1 Integra DTA 70.1 receiver
▷ 1 Vutec 124-inch perforated fixed screen
▷ 22 Lutron motorized shades
▷ 1 Luxul XBR-4400 router
▷ 1 Luxul XAP-1500 wireless access point
▷ 1 Luxul XMS-1024P POE switch
▷ 1 Luxul XMS-1024 switch
▷ 1 OmniMount RE-42 rack
▷ 1 Panamax MB1500 powerbar with
BlueBOLT adapter
▷ 1 SnapAV WB-100-VPS-20 power strip
▷ 1 Control4 8X8 HDMI matrix switch with HDBaseT receiver
▷ 1 Control4 SR-250 remote with
charging base
▷ 1 Control4 7-inch touchscreen
with camera
▷ 1 Control4 door station
▷ AudioQuest network wiring, and audio and HDMI cable
▷ 1 Control4 HC-800 controller
▷ 1 Control4 HC-250 controller
▷ 1 Apple TV
▷ Paradox security system
delivery timing for each piece of equipment,
noting that every vendor “was super helpful” getting their products through international customs. He cited Epson, Control4,
IC Realtime, Integra, Lutron, Bowers &
Wilkins and Vutec in particular.
Speaking of Vutec, Simmons says the
Coral Springs, Fla.-based company built
and delivered the custom 124-inch perforated fixed screen for the home theater in
record time. Features of the basement theater include a ceiling surface-mount Epson
projector, Integra components and B&W
speakers. Throughout the home there are 32
B&W speakers in a multiroom audio system
powered and controlled with Control4, a full
perimeter Paradox security system with eight
IC Realtime IP cameras, lighting control by
Control4, Leon soundbars for flat panels,
and 22 automated Lutron shades.
“The most difficult thing was the threehour time difference. They wanted answers
first thing in the morning. It would still
be 4:30 or 5 a.m. here. We also had a bit
of a language barrier. Some of the integral
trades on site spoke little or no English,”
Simmons says.
Another hurdle was that the last two
weeks of July are a mandatory construction
break in Quebec. All trades are forbidden
to work under threat of fines.
“I knew about the mandatory break,”
admits Simmons, but delays caused by
other trades on the job meant that Domo
had to be flexible and adjust its schedule on
the fly. All along, the project was working
to beat the timeframe when Letang would
have to report for training camp before the
new hockey season started this fall.
“We made it with five days to spare,”
says Simmons. “Kris got to use the system and watch movies in his home theater
before heading off to training camp.”
LESSONS LEARNED
ALONG THE WAY
According to Simmons, there are three
keys to success he discovered working on
“If it is a challenging client, I don’t think you
want to try to manage a remote project for
them.” ­—Greg Simmons, Eagle Security
this remote project:
1. Have a client who is easy to work
with. “If it is a challenging client, I don’t
think you want to try to manage a remote
project for them,” he says.
2. Help the client and other contractors understand the challenges. “The client needs to realize that since you cannot
be on site, you will never be able to hold
‘unplanned meetings’ or come to the jobsite on a whim,” says Simmons.
3. Make the design accurate. “Kris
could have taken our design and hired
another integrator to manage the project
if he wanted to. A good design also allows
your partners onsite to execute without a
lot of questions,” he adds.
In all, Simmons estimates he spent up to
50 hours coordinating the project. In total,
his three trips equaled eight days on site.
In terms of ongoing service, Domo Prestige
handles that. According to Robillard, having the Panamax BlueBOLT power management in the rack enables him to remotely reboot if the system ever is unresponsive.
“We put a bunch of notification in the system to advise us if something goes wrong.
Since Kris is not often there, we try to find
bugs to take care of them before he and his
family gets back from Pittsburgh,” he says.
Even though Domo earned the labor
revenue and profit, Simmons and Ladesic
say referral jobs like these are important
because it results in satisfied clients (the
one who referred the job) and the new client himself. In this case, it could pay even
more dividends down the road if Letang
refers his NHL teammates. CE Pro