November 12, 2018

Save Money in the Long Run with an AV9000 Certified AV Integrator

https://level3av.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/IMG_6280.jpg 1920 1280 Level 3 Audiovisual Level 3 Audiovisual https://level3av.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/IMG_6280.jpg November 12, 2018 December 18, 2018

Save Money in the Long Run with an AV9000 Certified AV Integrator

If you’ve ever invested in technology only to learn later that it needs to be rewired, reconnected, or even replaced, you know that can be both frustrating and expensive. You may end up spending more by having to replace cables, tear out walls or ceilings, or even find a more effective solution altogether. It’s especially discouraging if you hired a company to help but you still didn’t get the results you needed.

If that’s happened to you, you’re not alone. According to The Association for Quality in Audio Visual Technology, Inc. (AQAV), poor quality AV solutions and integration costs more than $15 billion a year worldwide in rework, lost hours, and repairs.

Safeguarding against such waste or inefficiency is difficult when you’re not an audiovisual expert—that’s why you hired one in the first place. Learn How AV9000 Quality Assurance Can Help Your Organization

Choosing the Right Audiovisual Technology Partner

Fortunately, the AV industry has quality standards that help you choose the right company and ensure you make a wise investment. One such protection is AQAV, a non-profit corporation “dedicated to improving the operational art of designing and installing audiovisual technology.” Their AV9000 standards, training, certification, and audits ensure that all certified technology companies provide quality solutions that meet the same standards and follow the same best practices.

AQAV uses standards developed by organizations like AVIXA (the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association), SynAudCon (Synergetic Audio Concepts), AES (Audio Engineering Society), SMPTE® (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers), to provide standards that assure consistent quality across industries and around the world.

So how do you know you’re choosing a company that cares about these standards and will follow them to make sure you don’t pay for their mistakes down the road? First, start by asking potential integrators some questions.

Questions to Ask

Is your company AV9000 certified?
If the answer is no, ask why not and what quality standards they follow.
What certifications do your technicians have?
Individual integrators should have certifications, like CTS (Certified Technology Specialist), or others that directly support their role.
Do you have a company quality policy and process? And how do you ensure your team adheres to them?
Integration companies should have these in place and be able to share how they ensure quality solutions.
What if I have a question or concern during or after the installation?

The integration company should be able to provide you with a contact who will address all your questions and concerns at any point.

The Benefits of Partnering with an AV Integrator

The selection process is so important because you’ll see several benefits from working with a company that makes quality assurance a priority. They’ll work to:

Design and install systems for an optimal user experience and operability
Ensure your projects are completed on time thanks to standard processes
Catch defects in solutions before they are put into use
Follow up to resolve issues with your solutions
Prevent system failure so you have less downtime and fewer repairs
Provide upfront information about long-term maintenance and upgrade costs
Maximize your investment with efficient installation and prevention of issues down the road

Next Steps

Finding the right audiovisual technology partner is the first step to creating the environment you want at your organization—and in making sure your money doesn’t get wasted on poor quality solutions and services. Learn more about why an AQAV-certified audiovisual integrator will help you get the results you want by exploring this whitepaper.

Find Out More in The AV9000 Quality Assurance Whitepaper

February 8, 2018

Quality in Audiovisual Technology

https://level3av.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/timothy-muza-572-unsplash.jpg 1920 1281 Level 3 Audiovisual Level 3 Audiovisual https://level3av.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/timothy-muza-572-unsplash.jpg February 8, 2018 November 28, 2018

Quality in Audiovisual Technology

For students the nightmare is showing up on the day of a test and realizing you’re late and forgot to prepare. Or standing up to give a presentation and realizing you have no clothes on. For the AV integrator and IT professional the project nightmare is getting to site and two other trades occupy the space and the hardware has not been delivered. Or delays in commissioning the system have delayed end-user training. (And maybe you forgot your clothes, too.) AV technology is advancing at a rapid pace, but product knowledge and quality management training and certifications for individuals and companies has not always kept pace.

But does attention to quality and certification really matter? In a word: yes. A poor quality AV installation or integration can cost you 20 percent of the original purchase price, compared with additional costs of only 2.5 percent of the total purchase price for monitoring of good quality AV systems. Put another way, estimates of money lost to rework, lost time and repairs of poorly integrated AV systems is more than $15 billion a year worldwide. There’s another nightmare for you, with or without clothes.

Luckily, whether you are a third-party installer and integrator, or an in-house IT professional managing AV or collaboration technology integration products, there is a training and certification program that will ensure the kind of high quality AV system that saves money, improves technology performance and helps you sleep a little better at night.

What is AV9000?

The Association for Quality in Audio Video Technology (AQAV) has taken the quality management challenge and developed an industry standard for AV quality management, called AV9000. AV9000 compliance and certification show prospective customers that your organization is committed to consistency and quality in internal processes company-wide, not just on an ad hoc or individual basis. Audiovisual technologies are complex and often interdependent and individual technical skills are simply not enough to guarantee quality across an entire system. Quality—in other words conforming with customer requirements—requires cooperation and coordination across teams, and quality management principles embedded in those internal processes helps every team member track compliance and quickly and effectively address defects.
Sounds pretty good, right? But how do you become AV9000 compliant? Keep reading to find out.

Becoming AV9000 Compliant

The AV9000 standard is built on general concepts and principles of quality management, with an added AV twist. Making your company AV9000 compliant is the first step to showing your customers and clients that you are applying quality management processes to all your AV projects—something that is increasingly a requirement of AV technology buyers. Becoming AV9000 compliant can also serve as a stepping-stone to AV9000 certification further down the line.

The specific metrics applied for AV9000 compliance are: Staging, Commissioning, and System Acceptance. Companies with an AV9000 Compliance certificate can market themselves to current and prospective customers as a provider that manages quality following the highest level of monitoring and measuring.

Requirements for AV9000 compliance include:

The compliance certificate lasts for one year, during which companies can work towards full certification if they so choose. Compliant companies agree to continue applying the Staging and Commissioning Checklists, as well as gathering customer acknowledgements of completed systems during the duration of the compliance period.

Interested in initial requirements for AV9000 compliance? Contact us or learn more here!

Why AV9000 Compliance Matters

Sounds pretty straightforward, right? So can something so simple really make a big impact on your organization? One that is worth the investment in developing and implementing a quality management system and then having it certified to boot? Before you answer, raise your (virtual) hand if you’ve ever encountered any of the following problems:

Project delays
AV system defects that go unnoticed until it’s too late
Lack of follow-up from AV installers or IT pros
Poor response time
System downtime for repairs
Hidden costs for unforeseen or replacement items

If you have experienced even one of those issues, whether you are using a third-party AV integrator and installer or you have in-house staff to perform those functions, the investment of time and money in an AV9000 compliance is worth it. In addition to the financial benefits of attracting and retaining more business, compliance will also help you: design and install systems that are complete, high performing and ready to use; reduced costs associated with production, installation, trouble shooting and repairs; and continuous improvement.

Next Steps

According to Forbes Magazine, retraining and up training will be key trends in the 2018 workplace. Quality management will help your AV and IT staff stay relevant and ahead of the learning curve. As customer demands change, companies have to adjust their corporate models and increase the relevancy of the skills they bring to the table. As an exclusive AQAV training partner, Level 3 provides consultation and training to prepare companies, educational institutions and other organizations to earn their AV9000 compliance and certification. If you are a media manager, IT director, technology manager or if you otherwise manage enterprise-level AV and IT in your organization, learn more about our training opportunities today.