Successful systems integrators make it a point to know every aspect of the job they do. Not only do they need to know how to install and maintain integrated security systems, they must know how to make each and every component “talk” together using a single command-and-control platform. This is true whether the equipment comes from a single manufacturer or from several.
Systems integration is the art of combining individual facility subsystems to derive more than the sum of their individual parts. The final objective is to do more with less and is accomplished by creating a single, cohesive system using each security subsystem to deliver more benefits than they would have alone. For more on systems integration, see “Identifying the Integrator” study on page 70 of the April issue of SSI.
Sam Cavitt, author of “Design Tools for Custom Installers,” says systems have grown in complexity during the past decade. “No longer is a custom installer simply installing speakers, running speaker wire and volume controls or even audio keypads,” says Cavitt, who adds installers now must know several disciplines. “Each discipline has many elements that must be considered in engineering.”
Although Cavitt is specifically addressing high-end residential projects, the same philosophy is employed every day in the commercial and institutional arena. One thing is for sure: Knowledge and talent is required to make this happen. Top integration firms have plenty of both or they would not be successful at what they do.
To facilitate the process, system integration experts agree that there is a general formula that successful companies follow. Traditional security companies looking to enter this lucrative market should study what the big boys are doing if they want to be successful themselves.
Integrators must stay aware of current trends, know what the customer wants, and hire only capable technicians and trained sales engineers. It is also important to hire technical staff with construction knowledge. Within that team, good communications need to be fostered.
This story will explore the various elements of what constitutes a quality systems integrator using today’s biggest integrators as examples. Successful integration firms like these sell results, not just equipment and manpower.
Knowing the Market Keeps Top Integrators Ahead of the Curve
Integrators must be aware at all times of emerging trends — not only in a technological sense, but also in society itself. What do people want? Where is the technology going? What is available? What works with what and what doesn’t work?
“Companies that consider themselves system integrators should be mindful of the necessity to keep all employees current with not only the products they use, but also evolving technologies,” says Tom Binish, president of A&A Fire and Security Inc. of Green Bay, Wis.
Included in this step is a thorough knowledge of emerging technologies and new security components. This will better assure end-user approval and increase the likelihood of a sale. If the sales engineer fails to know that a particular component exists, how can he or she suggest it and sell it? The answer is he or she can’t.
A good example of this is knowing the building management portion of the systems integration market — an industry that has been a long time in the making. The use of a single command-and-control platform provides clients with greater comfort, ease of operation, more comprehensive security and a monetary savings at the end of the month.
Today, you also can add monetary transaction technology to the overall integrated design. Although this may seem far removed from security, corporations and institutions often want the two combined. This is because they share certain elements such as a common smart card solution, a common database and the same users. This is one of many trends that successful integrators are sure to recognize.
The Best Integrators Know the Wants and Needs of Clients
The integrator must understand what the customer wants. In order to do this, the integrator must be up to speed on the relevant disciplines, have an eager ear and must be patient.
“To do the job, you need a technically competent [sales] team that understands how and what products integrate along with what the customer expects,” says Dick Jerry, Johnson Controls’ vice president of operations, fire and security group.
In order to do this, all team players must study the industry constantly and always be on the lookout for new and innovative products — especially those that are designed to work together.
The successful integrator must also be able to effectively work with the client’s technical staff.
The ultimate goal is to satisfy the specifications set forth by the end user’s architect or electrical engineer (EE). The integrator must draw the right person’s attention to problems that are likely to occur. No one at that early stage is considering how dissimilar systems might act when combined.
“Johnson Controls works hard to understand customer requirements in detail before we begin a project,” Jerry says. “We believe that it’s important to go beyond meeting the terms of the spec, and that success is measured in the resulting satisfaction of the customer.”
Only Highly Trained Technical Staff Should be Hired to Ensure Success
Highly successful integrators inevitably hire trained and experienced technicians. This is because of the immense complexity involved not only in the area of high-tech security, but also the means by which integration takes place. This often includes a comprehensive facility management system, as well as audio/video elements like video conferencing.
“We look for experienced technicians to work alongside our subcontractors,” says Dan Putnam, vice president of operations for Diebold Enterprise Security Systems Inc. (formerly Antar-Com), based in White Plains, N.Y. “They must have a strong knowledge of electronics as well as IT skills.”
Technicians must be thoroughly trained in electronics. They must also be IT-capable simply because the integrated system of today turns on computer technology and not purely hardware alone.
“We have different kinds of technicians and the requirements for each one is different. But for the most part, the technicians are responsible for installing, troubleshooting, and the software has been certified by the manufacturer of that product,” says Jim Hunter, senior director, national accounts for Siemens Building Technologies (SBT).
Recruit Qualified Sales Engineers Who Know Their Business
The practice of hiring knowledgeable personnel must not stop with the technical staff that installs and services the equipment. It often extends right up to the front office, where sales engineers do their thing.
The reason education and system knowledge are so important with sales staff is that it’s the sales engineer who assembles a detailed bid workup. If they fail to perform this task in an accurate and detailed manner, there can be dire consequences during and at the end of the job.
“Training is scheduled regularly for sales and operations team members. Appropriate certifications are helpful, like NICET, PSP and CPP,” says Johnson Controls’ Jerry. “More importantly, years of putting together projects and attending product training [sessions] are key to success. Good integration representatives usually have 10 years or more of security integration experience.”
Technical knowledge and field experience is also important when selling integrated security systems. This is because each bid must be based on a full and accurate accounting of every nut and bolt in a proposed job. The sales en
gineer must be able to do a detailed, accurate site analysis and subsequent bid work-up.
Experience can often help spot obstacles to an installation — natural or otherwise. Examples include high ceilings that require a lift and the method of mounting cables, such as conduit and beam clamps and bridle rings.
Knowing all relevant and applicable building and fire codes is extremely important. It is especially important to know what a particular local inspector will want. Otherwise, workers may do something one way, then be forced to change it later.
An example of this is how the installers hang the cable above a suspended ceiling in a commercial environment. If the integrator’s crew were to hang all these cables from the suspended ceiling grid support wires, the inspector may force their removal and do the job over using separate support wires and grid clamps.
In situations where plenum ceilings are required by code, a sales engineer stands to cause a huge monetary loss for his or her firm if they miss this during the prebid and price the job with nonplenum cable. Most inspectors will force them to remove the cable they just installed and replace it with plenum type.
One simple mistake can mean the difference between working for money or working for free. Having a knowledgeable and field-experienced sales staff can make all the difference.
“We hire experienced personnel but we have a defined career path or training program for each employee regardless of title,” Hunter says. “An educational program is presented at the local level and it is facilitated at the corporate level.”
Hunter says Siemens uses outside organizations like the Security Industry Association (SIA) and ASIS Int’l to train their people, as well as its internal training programs.
Company Coaches Encourage Dialogue Among Team Players
Communication between all team players is extremely important to the outcome of any job, especially one where the technical complexities require a tremendous amount of preplanning and detailed coordination.
“We have an internal review process for each and every project, no matter what size. The larger the project, the more scrutiny it gets,” says Hunter. “That takes place before the bid goes out, and then there is a continual review process monthly as the project moves forward.”
Communication with other trades is also extremely important. This is especially true where an integrator’s project staff interfaces with an EE; construction manager (CM); general contractor (GC); electrical contractor (EC); or the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) installers.
Systems integrators also have a chain of command within their own organization. According to Jerry, his firm assigns a project to employees within the same locale. Command structure includes a fire and security manager/leader, a member of the dealer’s team and a variety of operational team members.
“On major projects in the conventional market, we use lead system technicians,” Jerry says. “But, it should be noted that there is a lead individual on each project.”
In practice, Jerry says this individual is usually referred to as a project manager (PM). Larger, more complicated projects need more specific expertise that remains involved in every area and at every step, right up to billing and check out.
Experienced PMs are almost a must in order to execute the kind of projects that successful and sizeable integrators are likely to encounter.
“We always look for people in the business who have some project management experience on larger construction projects and can communicate between trades,” says Binish. “This is what the success is all about – how well you communicate with the GC, EC, HVAC people, as well as the end user’s technical and life-safety people.”
Where communication is less than desirable between trades, significant problems can occur – problems that may not be easily rectified. In order to communicate better with all concerned and avoid scheduling problems and other issues, project managers should attend job meetings.
“Strict attendance of project meetings among trades is crucial. It is here that rolling punch lists and meeting minutes are addressed, especially by the lead project manager,” says Charles Berner, a security sales and account executive for a major system integration firm based in Pennsylvania.
Job meetings take place on a weekly basis in most cases. The project management involved in the project should participate in every meeting to keep up to date on changes that may occur.
Adders, which are additional items and services not specified in the initial bid package, are common on large projects and the project manager must track each one. He or she must generate change orders, have them signed by the CM or GC and arrange for additional manpower. Periodically, he must submit these change orders to the front office for inclusion for partial billing.
Make Sure Those in the Field Know the Basics of Construction
Successful integration turns on team players knowing how to effectively work in both retrofit and newwork situations.
In retrofits, it helps to know how to fish wires using a fish tape – waxed, weighted string – and a long, flexible drill bit. In new work, it pays to know how walls and ceilings fit together and how suspended ceiling grids fasten to the underside of the deck above.
From a management point of view, having a firm understanding of these and other construction issues make it all that much easier to work with subcontractors.
“We have an intense project management program where we track the delivery and all expectations along the way. Construction process knowledge is also very necessary,” says Diebold’s Putnam.
Systems integrators that primarily operate in the high-end residential market should hire field people who have experience installing in this setting. They should understand how walls, floors and ceilings fit together so they can assure that the right equipment is delivered at the right time.
According to Berner, it may be wise to communicate to everyone concerned if a delivery is going to be late. “This will facilitate work among the other trades so you don’t hold them up – bricklayers t o electricians, dry-wallers to HVAC people,” says Berner. “If it involves furnishing electric-door hardware in retrofit situations, we might buy a small quantity locally so we can cut out the door frames ahead of time. If it’s not retrofit, then you have to make sure the doors are ordered with the appropriate cutouts.”
Local Infrastructure and Skilled Staff Integral to Ongoing Success
A successful systems integrator will have the infrastructure in place to provide quality service after the sale. The most important element to serve the client on a local basis is word-of-mouth advertising – be it good or bad.
“We have 300 offices throughout the world to serve our customers on a local basis,” Jerry says. “We work very hard to resolve any issues or problems that may arise from time to time and never ‘walk away’ from a customer.”
A timely response to client requests, be it a sales question or a service issue, is integral to success in any area of business. It is no less true of systems integration, for if the client is asked to wait too long for a sales representative or service technician to arrive on the scene, the business could very well go to another firm that can fulfill the client’s needs in a more timely manner.
“We have a technical support organization that will take the call and attempt to identify the specific problem and to troubleshoot it over the phone,” says Siemens’ Hunter. “They walk the customer through it if possible on the phone or they obtai
n all the necessary information before sending a technician to the job site.”
Integrators must be able to quickly and skillfully service the client’s needs if they intend to earn the client’s respect as well as maintain a good reputation within the community. This not only requires expert service technicians and a well-run service department, but also a can-do attitude on the part of managers, technicians and others in key support roles.
