Commercial Integrator June 2022 - Special Section 13

AV Integration
Collaborating Your Way Through
a Complex AV Project
Collaboration must be how we, as project professionals, choose to work
together to meet clients' increasingly complex needs. By Michael Goldman
MOST OF US, working in the
AV and UC industries champion
collaboration and collaboration
technology every day.
We design, manufacture, sell,
install and support solutions
that people around the globe
use to minimize distance and
the impact of geographic
location; to foster close collaboration
and teamwork; and to
accomplish more in less time.
When I think about collaboration,
the first things that
come to mind are end users
and manufacturers. Stepping
back from that, I thought it
would be interesting to look
at something closer to home
and explore what it means
to collaborate with clients,
integrators, consultants and
the other trades. This is essential
as a complex integration
project takes shape.
AV integration is hard work.
It is construction. The best-laid
plans hit snags in the field,
and the path to completion
is often winding. You must go
into it knowing there will be
challenges. In addition, the
number of projects is increasing,
the timelines for projects
are shrinking, and there are
equipment, materials and
labor shortages.
Mission: Impossible?
The opportunities and kickoff
meetings can sometimes
sound like an introduction
to Mission: Impossible. I
began my career working for
an integrator, then a manufacturer
and, now, a design
and consulting firm. Some
days, I find that I am arguing
with myself.
When I began my career
as an integrator, there were
often solid lines or swim
lanes between the integrator,
consultant, architect and
client. We did as the consultant
said. We didn't question,
challenge or openly offer
suggestions. We carried out
instructions, and we were
careful not to deviate from
our swim lane. I suppose a bit
of that still exists today; however,
people work differently
nowadays. There is a more
cooperative and collaborative
spirit between integrators and
consultants. Like anything
else in life, people tend to
treat others the way they are
treated, and the project kickoff
meeting can set the tone
for the entire project.
I am fortunate to work
Creating a collaborative environment with the team allows
us to resolve issues and make decisions more quickly.
Commercial Integrator JUNE 2022
regularly with a handful of
enterprise clients. These
companies continually build,
renovate, and upgrade their
technology and space. They
understand the value of a cohesive
project team, including
the architect, consultant,
builder and AV integrator.
Consistency affords the
different team members the
ability to develop relationships
and trust, which then
leads to an open, collaborative
environment.
I regularly work with a Boston-based
integrator called
Red Thread for one of my New
England clients. I was recently
talking to John Mitton, vice
president of the Audio Visual
Group and CTO, about what
it means to him to collaborate
with consultants, clients
and the rest of the project
team. He gave me a one-word
response: trust. It's hard to
collaborate across a multi-disciplinary
team if there is a lack
of trust and if people don't
have an equal voice.
Mitton described his
project engineer's relationship
with me and how it
opened the door to comfortably
exchange ideas and
perspectives throughout
the project. It's hard for
one person to have all the
answers. Therefore, the client
and the project team have
the greatest opportunity for
success when they embrace
a collaborative approach.
A Collaborative
Approach to Projects
For years, my company has
taken a very collaborative
approach to projects. We
welcome input and suggestions
from integrators. We
recognize that there is more
than one way to accomplish
a task, and we understand
that our success is linked to
the integrator's success (and
commercialintegrator.com
ALFA27/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator June 2022
