Weekly Tip

Effective Documentation for ESC’s
By Ron Callis

Every project can be broken up into two phases: The sales phase and the construction phase. There are best practice forms of documentation that you should be using during these two phases that offer you and your client many benefits including a higher close rate and a significant increase in customer satisfaction. In this article we will briefly describe both sales and construction phase documentation. To gain further insight into WHY you should use these forms of documentation, visit our website and continue reading: http://www.firefly-designgroup.com/authored-articles .

Sales Phase Documentation

• Discovery Report
Definition: The discovery report summarizes your understanding of the client’s needs and the expected project cost given the project’s functional requirements and the customer’s quality preferences. It is typical to provide the description of system functionality with a breakdown by subsystems (i.e., audio distribution, lighting control, etc.). The estimated construction cost range should represent the “all in” price.

• Detailed Proposal
Definition: Now that you have a clear understanding of the client’s project goals, it is necessary to process that information into an output format that includes all of the cost requirements to execute the work. The detailed proposal should have a room by room breakdown of all hardware and their associated accessories. You should also write a room functionality statement for every room, as your client will most likely not be able to interpret the hardware you have specified and infer functionality from that raw information. The final page of the proposal should provide a summarized breakdown of all hardware cost, associated taxes, misc fees, labor fees by category: rough-in, trim, final, engineering, programming, etc. The total system price should represent all numbers added together and the client’s total commitment to purchase the system you have designed.

• Device Location Drawing
Definition: This is a drawing that shows where everything is located in relation to floor plan. Take the client’s floor plan which is typically available in either PDF or DWG format and place icons on the plan that represent hardware from your design. Go through your proposal and plan to feature all significant gear such as touch panels, keypads, TV locations, local hardware such as receivers, iPod docking stations, etc. The drawings should be formatted for large scale printing, such as Architectural D-size, so they are large and easy to see during your sales presentation to the client.

• Lighting Control Load Identification Drawing
Definition: A lighting control system drawing illustrates the load control method, load #’s and keypad locations. Every load in the project needs to be properly accounted for in terms of whether it is on the system or off the system. There are two primary control methods for controlling lights in a lighting control system: centralized or localized. Centralized loads have all of the wiring heading back to a dimming panel location and localized loads are controlled by replacing the “dumb” switch with a “smart” dimmer or switch. It is also important to illustrate which loads are not on the system so as to provide the client with a complete view of their system.

Construction Phase Documentation

• Prewire Plan
Definition: This is a drawing that shows where all wires (new or existing) are to be located in relation to the floor plan. Take the client’s floor plan which is typically available in either PDF or DWG format and place icons along with the associated wire complement onto the plan. The following information should be conveyed: wire type, # of wires, origination point of wire and unique wire ID number.

• Technical Power Plan
Definition: Project floor plan based drawing showing line voltage requirements, power consumption data, and heat output data for low voltage audio video system. In addition the drawing should describe mounting height requirements for line voltage outlets that will be serving the low voltage system, such as TV locations.

• Rack Elevations
Definition: Rack elevations show the location of equipment that is or will be located in a given rack. They should also state overall dimensions of the completed rack. Racks are measured in rack units (RU) where one rack unit equals 1.75”, usually starting at the bottom of the rack. If a piece of gear measures 2 Rack Units, it will measure 3.5 inches in height.

• Schematics
Definition: Detailed input/output diagrams illustrating connections to be made between hardware. Drawings are commonly broken up by discipline such as Audio, Video, Control and Other. Another common method is to define Head-End interconnections on one page and then show multiple room connections on additional pages.

• CAD Details
Definition: Accurate and dimensioned drawings that are drawn to scale and created in Computer-Aided Design software. Typical applications include: User interface locations, TV bracket mounting requirements, motorized lift applications, projector/screen sightlines and speaker locations details.

This article is provided courtesy of Ron Callis Jr., President of Firefly Design Group. Firefly caters to custom integrators and is staffed with System Designers, CAD Operators and Graphic Designers. Firefly's services are broken down into four main categories: Marketing, Sales Phase Services, Construction Phase Services and D-Tools Data Services. To learn more about our services visit www.firefly-designgroup.com or call 954.921.2393 or email
info@firefly-designgroup.com .