Getting on the Same Page – Campus Standards (Part 1) | Integrator Insights
“If you think of standardization as the best that you know today, but which is to be improved tomorrow; you get somewhere.”
Henry Ford
On the HigherEd_AVIT Slack workspace, Martin Thorpe from the University of Sydney recently shared a fantastic standards document they had just published. That led to a series of other technology managers sharing their own standards documents with the group. The discussion really made me start thinking beyond the theory about standards and specifications and motivated me to start working to dramatically update and expand the campus audiovisual standards here at Iowa State University. Inspired by these contemplations, this will be the first of a two-part series on standards in Integrator Insights. The obvious place to start is here: why standards? Let’s unpack some of the benefits received from developing campus audiovisual standards.
One of the key benefits of maintaining standards is improved communication. In fact, think of maintaining standards as proactively communicating with others, perhaps even before you know they needed some information. Others can use the standards to answer questions about what components to use, how something should be installed, or what infrastructure is needed. When you are in a conversation with others who need some audiovisual details, being able to direct them to a published standard for your organization can often simplify and expedite that discussion. The other benefit is that it provides some authority to your communication when disputes arise; they are not arguing against your opinions at that point, they need to argue against an approved document.
Unlike some, I have a personality type that is not excited about surprises. I’d prefer to have a well-established plan up front. Standards can help minimize surprises. Particularly in construction, having a set of established infrastructure standards ensures all parties are well informed about the requirements. Everyone is made aware up front, and expectations are set early in the construction design process. I have too many personal stories of difficult conversations with project managers and general contractors around a conduit, power outlet, or wall box that was missed and now needs added, often at great expense. Inevitably the missing network port was identified just after they had finished painting the drywall!
Having a well-established set of standards can also improve overall performance in your organization. When the audiovisual systems on campus are functionally identical, both troubleshooting and training are significantly easier. When an audiovisual issue arises in a classroom, the responding technician has a significant head start on the solution when they already know exactly what components are in place and how they are wired together. If they had to first stop and spend a few minutes trying to determine the general configuration and wiring pathways, it adds both time and stress to the scenario. In addition to technicians, the end-users are also more confident when every room they teach or meet in has a common technology look, feel, and function; this can improve both their comfort and overall satisfaction with the technology. A standard set of hardware and user interfaces also allows the organization to develop a concise and targeted training program. They don’t need to develop dozens of sets of training documents and programs for a diverse set of audiovisual layouts.
Component standards can also save your organization a lot for money. By standardizing on a similar set of components throughout your organization, there are fewer variations of components actively in service. This allows the organization to have shelf stock and spare parts for a much smaller number of parts which dramatically reduces the cost of inventory. When the time comes to purchase the next round of hardware, having a higher quantity of identical components also provides opportunity to work with the vendor on quantity discounts that can also reduce expenses. Labor costs are also reduced by minimizing time spent on design and engineering, installation (where the installers gain efficiency by develop a known rhythm), inventory management, and, as discussed above, troubleshooting.
While it may seem intuitive that standards offer tremendous benefits, in many cases the development and maintenance of standards fails to be a priority. Standards creation is one of those tasks that is important but not urgent. If you don’t currently have a set of audiovisual standards for your institution, or your standards are in desperate need of a refresh, let this column be the motivation that moves that task higher on your priorities. If you don’t yet have a set of standards, there is no reason to start from scratch. Reach out to us here at Higher Ed AV Media, and we can direct you to a number of individuals who already have standards documents they would be more than willing to share with you in an editable format that you can use as a baseline for your own development. Getting something in place sooner will allow your institution to start reaping the benefits that standards can bring.
This month we established the “why” of standards. Next month we’ll dive into what kind of standards and specifications exist and what types of concepts they may include. Check back in as we continue this conversation!