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How We Work

First and foremost we strive to be professional, straight-forward and honest in everything we do. We gladly subscribe to CEDIA's Code of Ethics and can provide references from past clients should you wish to see them.

 
"You did exactly what you said you would do. The system is easy-to-use, reliable and I am extremely pleased with it. Thank you very much.” 
- J.N. 2014
 

FIRST CONTACT - No Charge Meeting

Give us a call or email us your plans with a specification: From here we will make a time with you to sit down face to face to review your plans and requirements and ask you lots of questions so we can make sure we fully understand your brief and agree on outcomes. We can also give you lots of ideas on what's possible and practical. From here we go away and prepare some options to discuss with you.

PROJECT FOUNDATION DOCUMENT - No Charge Meeting

We will encapsulate the brief that we have discussed in a 'Project Foundation Document' which is written in simple English and summarises the intended functionality and outcomes of each system in the house and the way that they are represented in each room (i.e. what the end user will need to touch, watch or listen-to for the desired results). 

DESIGN PHASE

If we have been retained for system design alone then this phase will comprise:

  • Up to 2 iterations of structured cabling drawings showing all relevant low voltage cables such as Cat6, speaker, heating control and lighting cables
  • Initial calculations of conduit sizings for the cable bundles at the point of ingress to any equipment cabinet location
  • A detailed Bill of Materials comprising a full system architecture to deliver the functionalities listed in the the Project Foundation Document
  • Sizings for the equipment cabinets needed to house the components (e.g. main patch & comms racks, lighting control panels, heating panels etc)

If we are carrying out design work as part of an end-to-end design/supply/install contract then the design phase stretches over the whole period of pre-1st fix planning through interiors integration detailing and up to closing up of the site cable routes.

System Design Overview Image

 

PRE-INSTALLATION

If contracted to do so we will project manage and verify all cable positions and quantities have been installed to the specifications on the drawings. During this period the patching chassis will be delivered to site as well as core components such as the satellite and aerial rig and, towards the end, lighting and heating control equipment.

 

CONFIGURATION

Approximately 3 weeks prior to on-site installation we will bring the majority of the components into our offices for testing, configuration and programming. At this stage the core distribution racks are built-up and protected ready for transport to site when it is dust-free.

 

INSTALLATION

When the site is dust free we will bring in the delicate electronics including TVs and the main comms racks. We are highly skilled at working in finished environments and wear protective footwear and gloves where necessary.

The technology systems we install are interlinked and installation needs to happen simultaneously across all areas of the house (i.e. we are unable to install room-by-room, floor-by-floor and commission as we go) - it is therefore very important that sufficient time is left for us to have access to all areas before occupation of the building. This ensures we can install, commission and test in a methodical and efficient manner which will in turn result in a bug-free, reliable system.

 

QUALITY ASSURANCE

One of our senior engineers will sign off the project at the end of the commissioning process and we will input the important end-user account information that personalises the system (lighting scenes, online account credentials for media services etc).

 

HANDOVER & SUPPORT - THE 'Feedback For Development' (FFD) PERIOD

Over the years it has become clear that clients do not want us to handover an entire building's worth of technical systems in one intensive session as they soon lose focus on the details. As a consequence we provide a brief handover to sign-off the installation and we introduce our support team who will guide the client through our 'FFD' period: this is a 3-month window of 'familiarisation and feedback for development'. At this time all of our subscription support services are provided free of charge for the clients to call us at any time with queries, reminders on how to get the most out of their systems and to file any bug reports. If additional features are desired we capture that information and implement them in this period.

Our customers have said they enjoy this process as it allows all members of the household to absorb the details of the system in their own time and to have it configured for them as they need it.