For the Love of Operational AV
Anton Zeiher, MBA
Powerful is the idea whose time has come! Now the time comes for the all-new Op-Ed at Higher Ed AV magazine in the form of OPS with Tony! I am very excited to welcome you and to share with you my 25 years of diverse experience and insight into the world of AV Operations! Together, I would like to take you along some adventures and address problem areas within the world of AV operations & Project management. Operations and project management are often the unsung yet critical aspects of the AV world. AV Operations lays down the foundation to ensure smooth execution of customer experience and various elements of support functions. The effectiveness of AV operations is clearly seen within every successful event, memorable ceremonies, epic shows, movies, and throughout higher education instruction. With this focus and successful execution of AV operations, our customers leave venues and classrooms with the most memorable, enlightening, and enjoyable experiences.
AV in the classroom has never been more critical than now. Due to the CoVID19 pandemic, the AV world has had to shift and adapt in order to meet the new ever-growing demand for remote instruction and to supply innovative solutions to guarantee that high-level instruction continues to reach our customers. Successful implementation of technologies and their seamless operation is paramount to facilitate tier-1 learning within higher ed. AV operations play a vital role in this by focusing on all aspects of supply, inventory management, implementation of tech, and ensuring equipment is operating at its best. By leveraging the knowledge of our customers (their wants & needs) and the implementation of cutting-edge tech to administer to those needs, we can create an award-winning combination!
What are AV operations and project management, and why is it so critical? Let me share with you some examples. To support customer experience and AV engineering teams, our AV Ops department ensures that we have all the necessary accessories, dongles, cables, extenders, spare touch panels, and other equipment, on hand and ready for immediate implementation. Our goal is to ensure as little disruption to in-class and online instruction as possible. Our metrics for success are calculated by minutes, if not seconds to resolve AV issues. The only way to guarantee such a high-level operation is to have high functioning AV operations and project management. To ensure orders are placed in advance of need, shipments are tracked and received in a timely manner, inventory is neatly kept and clearly documented, and AV integration work is carried out to the highest degree prior to the actual class time.
Moving forward, I would like to share with you some key strategies which have worked for our organization that you can implement within your own institutions. My goal is to assist you with solutions and in attaining greater success with your AV operations. It is my personal belief that by helping as many professionals within our industry, we can all be successful. Our joint success within our field means that we can not only provide the best service to our institutions but also play an important role in the support of learning and the development of our customers to create a better future and ultimately a better world. Thank you for your time and see you next week at higher Ed-AV Magazine!
Get to Know Anton Zeiher
Anton Zeiher, MBA, is the Learning Environments Senior Support Analyst at the University of Southern California. He is an experienced team leader and operations management professional with a proven history in leading teams, sales, negotiation, project management, resource management, and outstanding customer service within large organizations. A well-rounded professional with a B.S. in Business and an MBA with emphasis on Global Business.