Sound and Communications - July 2008 Issue

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Predator Under The SurfaceMaking sure the ‘piranhas’ don’t devour your business.By Robin ParkerPiranha, as defined by Webster: asmall, extremely voracious, SouthAmerican fish, schools of which areknown to attack and devour peopleand large animals.Piranha, as defined by AV integrators:any of an infinite number of situations,conditions and problems, none ofwhich were planned for, that will attackand devour commissions, profits and,in extreme cases, entire companies.The “waters” in which AV integratorsswim are frighteningly full ofthese “little fishes” that have beenknown to cause severe pain and, insome cases, death. Yet, for reasonsunknown, many in our ranks chooseto ignore these project labor andcost-consuming beasts completelyuntil it’s too late. As a professionalintegrator of audio and visual systemsfor many years, you could saythat I’ve peddled my bike around theblock a few times. (A few???) I havepersonally experienced “attacks” byevery one of the following piranhas,some many—some too many—times.I know they exist. I know they willcause serious harm to my bottomline. I know that, if they attack inforce, they will cause fatal wounds.The “piranhas” of which I speakare the situations that affect thelabor and material costing aspects ofa project that typically receive littleto no attention until they occur. Thewounds inflicted come in the painfulform of additional equipment andlabor cost. The only sources of revenueto cover these “piranhas” arecommissions, then profits.If I added up all of the precioushours of my life that were wastedjust waiting for somebody with a keyto let us in someplace, we’d all beamazed. This factor alone can addhours (that’s plural, more than one,sometimes a lot more than one) toeven the smallest project.I have spoken to several others inthe industry to get their “take” on piranhas.Understandably, there is a vastdifference in the perspective of theseissues, depending on your point ofview, or position within your company.For example, if a sales representativeactually were to factor in a laborand material cost to cover the (mostcertainly unwanted) piranha, it may besafe to assume that you would neverland a project. Yet, the field installer isall too aware of their existence.Ideally, the customer should beresponsible for covering the cost ofa project: Duh. However, the costto feed the piranhas (and they arehungry) comes directly from thecontractor’s pocket. Only by facingthe piranhas head on, by proper planning,can these concerns, and thehundreds of potential other problems,be averted, allowing your companyto keep the intended profits andto hold labor costs within budget.In the estimating or bid process,sales representatives will factor in apercentage of “Misc.” (an understandableand accepted procedure at thisphase) to cover the cost of items suchas nuts, bolts, screws, wire-ties—items that are universally requiredon every project but don’t warrantthe time to calculate cost specifically.Unfortunately, a missing bag of4-40 nuts, which only costs a coupleof bucks, will bring a project to ascreeching halt, potentially force aseveral-day delay and yet another tripto a remote jobsite. Have you boughtgas lately? Did someone forget toorder the $12 rack kit for the mixer?Do the math. Before the dust settles,those few-dollar items will—notmight, will—cost hundreds of dollarsor more. What is your cost to send acrew to a project three hours away?Or, worse, I’ve seen “Misc.” of lessthan $20 that was intended to coverthe entire cost to rig a large numberof 80lb. speakers requiring full boreflying hardware. Guess what wasn’tproperly estimated and took a hugechunk of bucks to buy? Whoops.One of the best methods to holdpiranhas at bay is to ensure that, oncethe POs are issued, “Misc.” is converted(quickly) into real and tangibleitems. It’s a pain when you need sixXLR connectors and only have fouron the truck. “Well, we could havefinished today, but that’s alright; we’lljust come back tomorrow. The jobsite is only two hours out of town.”Unless your installation teamworks for free (a footnote here: Mostdon’t), their salary meters keeprunning. Working, riding, smokebreak, going back to the shop to getthe drill they forgot, or the partspurchasing had to rush in becauseRobin Parker, owner of Suffolk Audio Services, has more than 30 years of experience in theprofessional audio/video industry. He has been involved with the design and installation ofhundreds of systems in the Mid-Atlantic region and worldwide.30 Sound & Communicationswww.soundandcommunications.com
CTS and CTS-I are now accredited under theISO/IEC 17024 international standard bythe American National Standards Institute (ANSI) the InternationalOrganization for Standardization’s (ISO’s) U.S. representative.More than 9,500 AV professionals have earned their CTS, the only AV certificationaccredited by ANSI. AV professionals holding the CTS and the CTS-I credentials havea specialized level of audiovisual technology proficiency, proven through a validatedcertification process.Don’t take our word for it – candidates and employers alike can be assured that ANSIhas independently verified that these certifications meet the highest professionalstandards of examination development and administration. This decision was basedon rigorous criteria that have the consensus approval of more than 150 nations. ®Setting the Standard for AV ExcellenceFor more information, visit www.infocomm.org/certification.July 2008 31
Page 1: Vol. 54 No. 7July 21, 2008Beauty of
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Page 6 and 7: Standing in front of an exhibit, st
Page 8: EXPERIENCE MORE .: INNOVATION :.Thi
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Page 33 and 34: • Master Classes• Training Sess
Page 35 and 36: The iconic Red Doorintroduces consu
Page 37 and 38: A Curvaceous InspirationAccording t
Page 39 and 40: EquipmentKen NewburyRear-Projection
Page 41 and 42: McCann SystemsMcCann Systems, LLC,
Page 43 and 44: ing sectors for dollars spent. As m
Page 45 and 46: to locate the video sourcessomewher
Page 47 and 48: plays. Putting signage players, whi
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Page 51 and 52: ParticipationParticipants from a wi
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