Integrator Pro AV Solutions details how the requirements of AMP directed a well thought out AV deployment that helped the client meet its objectives.
AMP is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand and it has taken steps to establish a consolidated work
space in Melbourne, Australia.
Jarred Bouffier from Pro AV
Solutions talks about the different
parties that worked on the project:
“Pro AV Solutions in conjunction
with Optus Business was engaged
by AMP and consultants NDY
to respond to the brief which
outlined the requirements for
AMP’s flagship office relocation
in Melbourne CBD. This project
is considered to be their biggest
technological deployment thus
far. This consolidated multiple
AMP Melbourne offices into
one location in One Melbourne
Quarter [1MQ] to enable workers
to collaborate more effectively
and efficiently.”
He continues: “We were
engaged by the fitout contractor
Buildcorp who managed the
project delivery within a tight
time frame. Pro AV Solutions
and Optus coordinated with
all stakeholders and trades
throughout the duration of the
project enabling a successful
final solution delivered on
time and within budget.”
Bouffier goes into further
details regarding the
commencement of the project:
“The AMP delivery was a very
fluid project with constant
changes to design and layout
whilst in construction phase.
This required an agile delivery
approach by Pro AV Solutions to
ensure no impacts to the project
schedule.”
AMP also provided a list of
objectives for the technology to
achieve which were ‘share our
story’, ‘energise our people’,
‘connect our community’, ‘create
our tomorrow’ and ‘reward our
membership’. It was up to the
AV professionals to take these
objectives and translate them
into technology solutions and
platforms that encompassed
hardware, software and
‘humanware’.
Bouffier details how the
integrator approached its task:
“Due to our extensive
experience delivering UC and
VC collaboration solutions for
AMP nationally it was a seamless
design process which reaffirmed
our trust and valued outcomes
for AMP. The technology
deployed within AMP 1MQ
consisted of high complexity
integrated VC rooms, event and
townhall spaces, low complexity
VC rooms, open presentation
spaces, wayfinding displays and
digital signage throughout the
72 rooms and five floors.”
Brad Fehlberg from Pro AV
Solutions goes into the specifics
of what the spaces required:
“Essentially, we had a range of
meeting spaces as well as open
presentation systems. The
meeting spaces ranged from four
person, six person to 10 person
and larger VC room sizes. It was
our job to ensure that these
meeting spaces had the right
technology available for the
people who intended to use
them. There were also some
client facing entertainment areas
and flexible training rooms.”
AMP has chosen Skype for
Business as its videoconferencing
platform and a range of Poly
Group series products which
include the 310, 500 and 700
units are deployed based on the
requirements of the spaces. LG
flat panel displays from 43-in to
98-in in size on motorised lifts
are used for visuals while Barco
Clickshare is used for wireless
transmission.
The decision to go with flat
panels instead of other display
types was made by AMP.
Fehlberg narrates: “The large
multi-function spaces had to be
flexible and this meant that the
displays had to adapt to the
different scenarios. This led us
to strategically place flat panel
displays around the space.
In addition, aesthetics were a
concern. The client did not want
panels hanging from the ceiling
so we used motorised lifts which
is a functional solution and also
adds a wow factor.”
Video signals are transmitted
over IP with Crestron NVX for
complex spaces. Wired HDMI
inputs with USB-C tethered
adaptors at table and wireless
Clickshare pucks serve as sources
which are encoded into the NVX
network and distributed by a
centralised AV network switch.
HDBaseT and wireless content
sharing is employed for noncomplex spaces.
Fehlberg discussed why AV
over IP signal transmission was
required: “We had multiple inputs
coming from floor boxes, cameras
and other sources and we had a
number of flat panels displays on
motorised lifts serving as outputs.
But most importantly, the spaces
needed to be multi-functional.
With AV over IP we can basically
plug a source at any connection
point and have it come online
and be used.”
Similar to the video system,
the provision for audio depends
on the size of the space in
question. Shure MXA910 ceiling
microphones are used with QSC
Q-Sys Core 110F DSPs for the
larger spaces. Smaller and
medium sized spaces at AMP1MQ
are equipped with Shure
microphones paired with Shure
P300 audio processors. Crestron
speakers and Bose Edgemax
speakers provide audio output
in different areas while hearing
augmentation in all large spaces
is handled by Univox phase array
loop drivers.
Regarding the choice of audio
solutions Fehlberg says: “The
MXA910 and P300 combo is
something we have rolled out
for say close to 300 rooms now.
We have put in significant
research and development into
coming up with a baseline set up
which we brought to AMP and
then tweaked to the specific
requirements of the spaces.”
A combination of a Dante
audio network and antenna
distribution is employed for
wireless microphones. Fehlberg
details: “One of the biggest
challenges of the project was
with Dante. Our standard
approach to Dante audio
networks is to provide a personal
switch which is managed on an
isolated network. However, AMP
saw a need to be able to have the
Dante network be part of the
actual AMP infrastructure and
network so that they would be
able to effectively perform
monitoring. Our biggest
challenge was to make sure
that the Dante network was set
up properly to minimise traffic
and not triple the load on AMP’s
corporate network.”
Special consideration has also
been paid to the Crestron control
system deployed at AMP1MQ.
Fehlberg says: “The Crestron
user interface was a big challenge
with multiple user groups from
the tech savvy IT department,
managers and everyday users
providing their individual
feedback from which we derived
an outcome that suited all the
different user groups and this
resulted in a very user-friendly
interface and visual help guide
built into the panel. Even the
language is agnostic for common
icons and wording which is easily
referenced across countries. The
process took approximately four
months though with an excellent
outcome and zero support calls
from users confused on running
a meeting or controlling the
space from AV to environmental
controls. We would put this down
as a huge success.”