Hello all this is a great site and hope i can learn alot of tricks from all of you PROS out there ;)

I recently left my old A/v job where i was head installer because of complete unorganization.I was hired at my new job as designer/project manager. The new company is very organized, the whole company is setup with a networked inventory (MACS). I seemed to have fallen into this company at a perfect time.the company was just acquired by a firm and will be expanding and i just happen to be the division head now(I found this out a week intot the job). The old designer/project manager, head insatller and 1 installer are leaving to start there own company, Only 1 installer is staying, all the best for there new company. I had to go on installs with the old crew which had to finish up all there jobs before leaving. this gave me the opportunity to feel out the way they did there installs and see what equipment they worked with and there on the job habits regardless if they were leaving or not. Since one installer was staying it was important to get to know him.
I have gotten the feel for how they do installs and there habits. The president of the company asked me to make a list of how i can make the division more productive.

I am posting this thread for advice on how to make it better aside from what i have written. if anyone has opinions/advice on my list, or not on the list PLEASE DO! My boss will be seeing this thread.

1: Booties!!! previously none were worn on the job
2: Belden 5 or 6 conductor wire. previously used audioquest vsd-1 I have no problem making interconnects with this but running wires with 3-5 wires is inefficient, id rather use just one 5-6 conductor belden or ? wire?
3:drop cloths for every job to put tools on and for cutting/drilling
4: folders for every client- previously papers with invoice was IT
5: project materials sheet stapled to client folder-miscelaneous materials used will be written down so client can be billed.
6: project progress sheet stapled to client folder- to show client what was done on certain days so there is no clients yelling (THEY WERENT HERE!!)
7: project time sheet- signed by contractor or client so no arguements are made for time spent.
8:folder holders in every van
9:wall plates for every speaker/video wire-Previously wires were run out of the wall with a gang and a hole in the decora plate YUCK! does anyone have a issue with terminating every speaker or video wire in the wall? i ask this because when we terminate the speaker and video wires we are cutting the wires and reconnecting them on the other side of the wall with another wire. I know it degrades the signal but is it even a issue?
9:Every plasma needs a outlet in the back.- i read in another thread about running the power cord down the wall and out of it, a big NO NO. sounds liek the sales people have to adress this with the clients
10: compression rg59/rg6 connectors-previously used crimped

thats all i can think of for now, I am having a meeting with my boss about switching the a/v wire we use and everything else.
HOPEFULLY everyone here can help give me advice for things i may have left out. I hope to turn this company into a one of the most proffesional companies around the area. I have fixed many jobs were the previous company botched it up or changed the price last minute and lost the customer to my old company. I plan on having every customer happy from start to finish. With your help hopefully i can sharpen my focus and division as well.

thanks in advanced

Broque

This message was edited by beerock on 01/29/05 20:42 ET.

If your boss doesn't see the value of the items you listed above, then he probably only gets painful jobs based on lowballing the price, and I wouldn't count on being treated well or making much money if those are his clients.

RUN.

Should I use a dropcloth?? YES!!!
For God's sakes man, what happens when a guy drops something?? do you just shell out the dough to get a hardwood floor replaced?? or just tuck and run??

Most of this stuff is just common sense, and I can't believe it wasn't being done, but what your talking about here for documentation is just a starter. Our job binders include things like low voltage floor plans, site plans, head end elevations, rack elevations, patch panel details punch block details, wall jack details, line drawing, wiring schedule, electrical specifications, thermal specifications, detailed user manuals.

This is just the stuff off the top of my head, in my mind design, engineering, and documentation are the big things that separate the pros from everyone else.


http://integrationpros.com/ if you want to go into more detail on this.

Lots of the things that are mentioned here are common sense, yes it should be simple, so... just put it on the invoice from the proposal phase. Flesh out those allowances, stop settling for rough in proposals and put lots of effort into the job before it starts.

Why not put a box of booties on the open order before delivery, same with a binder, document cover inserts, etc... Don't limit the inventory Sku's to A/V gear, get a bunch of office depot and Home Depot type products in your inventory system. I gurantee that if a box of booties shows up with the trim materials, there is a higher chance of using them than just relying on the installers to happen to have them in the van when the trim starts. This same philosophy should be applied to wallplates, terminations, etc...

Lots and lots of documentation is a must... All jobs should be fully developed in schematic as soon as physically possible from when the contract is awarded. My paper work flow looks something like...

Proposal with allowances is submitted for bid.
once bid is won, draw "network diagram"
Develop proposal to eliminate (as much as possible) allowances (network diagram helps you to make intelligent and accurate estimates)
Develop "low voltage wiring schedule" and coordinate with plans

...prewire...

some time between prewire and trim, you will have time to draw schematic. I segment this into audio (analog, digital, Crestron room control/CAT5), video (baseband, RF, digital), control (IR, serial, Ethernet, closure/VC), and power.

Once you have this, an installer could pick absolutely any item in the system and see how it is connected for all functions. Your programmer will appreciate the detail, and it will save everyone loads of time. It makes you a more effective manager since you eliminate many managerial events. I firmly believe that the PM should make his own documents and drawings. It could be farmed out to other employees / subs, but take the time and it makes you more aware of you own project, and it eliminates bottle necks in getting information out to the relevant parties, unless you are not very good at drawing, lazy, and / or slow. In that case, just give up your free time and lots of sleep. Get Mountain Dew in the case loads. (The exception is CAD work. All plans, elevations, and details should be developed by an actual CAD operator. Even if you are proficient, surely your time is more effectively spent in other pursuits)

Always take responsibility for any problems that occur. If an installer did not do something correctly, you did not make it clear enough, are not doing an effective job of motivating him, or otherwise causing complications that allow him to make a wrong decision.

Review everyone's work (not 100%, but thorough spot checks here or there, or more often if the crew is new). Be very meticulous. Demand perfection. Undo sloppy work, make it clear that there is a right way to do things, even at the expense of extra time spent, wages earned, materials used, because it will cost you down the line. Some people have problems demanding such attention to detail because they bagged it when they were installers. If that was the case (it was with me), then just realize... if you are a hypocrite, it doesn't mean that you aren't right when being critical. We all came from certain environments, and the reason why we're in managment now, is to make it better than what we experienced.

Specify products that are professional and technically superior... not expensive due to marketing expenses, have good spif programs, are used just because you "used them on the last proposal / job", or have healthy margin. There are many A/V companies that survive off of equipment margin and don't have to be technically proficient. Look to the IT industry as an example that it is possible to be healthy in a market that has thin margins. Technical proficiency in your core competency is more important than being bribed by manufacturers to use their product.

Sorry, rambling, but that happens this late at night after staring at my computer screen for too long.

the only reason i said that is because the PREVIOUS installers in the company worked like that, I ALWAYS use drop cloths. I am ANAL about that stuff. I think of the customers home as a shrine and am very very VERY careful. THEY see the care taken and it makes them very pleased.

yes yes, I usually use a set of blue prints and draw the wiring schematics with wire placement for speakers, wall plates, v/c's a/v ends. I usually call the master head AV1 and others av2,3 etc

i like the idea of a detailed user manual, this way when you give verbal instruction with the client for the remote they dont have to write it down. Usually they write slow and get all mixed up, if a manual is written that will save time. THANKS!!

It is mostly common sense to do this stuff but its suprising to see alot of companies not doing it. which is completely unprofessional.

I wont settle! thanks! I stand my ground when it comes to this, I am new here and they will see i dont take BS, if the company doesnt compromise and begine to understand this is the way it is suppose to be, THE RIGHT WAY. then there will be problems, not like problems never occur but i am going to try to keep them to a minimum, and doing things the right way will more then likely eliminate them.

what did you mean by propsals with allowances? like speaker upgrades or down grades/ equipment etc?

I usually do walk throughs of the clients house before given a proposal and when im there i have a pretty good idea of what is going where and can usually draw a schematic before the proposal. I usually draw a rough schematic, not a thorough one because who knows if we get the job.

I kind of got the jist of what you said about the booties and wall plates etc . we have a van inventory so it would be sku'd that way. if you could elaborate a little bit on that i would appreciate it. I'm not 100% on what your trying to say?

I will take responsibility for any problems and solve them.

I usually am very anal about how things should be done, I had a slight problems with my installers because they said i was always telling them what they were doing wrong. we are all hypocrits at one time or another and do things the opposite of what we say, sometimes its the only way. but this makes the instalers see the hypocracy in me. For the msot part they do see i perform the same practices most of the time. So i guess they understand i just want the best. I appeciate you writing that because it lets me know even if I am being hypocritical i am doing the right thing. I never bagged it up. I did things the right way granted everyone does the wrong thing every now and then but when your the head guy your scrutinized by your installers more so, which I knew. so i strived for perfection on the jobs. It did show.

One thing I dont do is sell a product that "needs to be rid of". yes if its the right time and right product for use, SURE ill do it, there are usually spifs for that kind of stuff so it helps.

NO i dont think you rambled, you have helped me a great deal. everyone posted has and i appreciate it immensly. liek i said I plan on making this division "known" for the installs.

My last job we were known for our installs being meticulous. problem was every other division was bringins us down due to incompetency. I odnt know how many times I had clients talk to me about the salesman being idiots and trying to sell them something and then not giving a rats arse about them after the sale. I was literally HOLDING the company together by a string because of the incompetency of everyone else. the only reason we would keep the jobs was because of my profesionalism and my installers profesionalism. other then that the company was a shady sham. maybe one day i will elaborate..... Im sure your all get a GOOD laugh.

anyone else have advice? ;)