TALK US THROUGH THE WORKFLOW OF A TYPICAL PROJECT
Project
Management In the Hospitality Technology Industry As Hotel TV systems become more complicated, so too does their design and deployment. Today’s feature rich, IoT driven technology is changing the parameters of the industry’s project management function. We speak with Project Manager and long-time Hotel TV logistics expert, Tom Chapman, and talk about Airwave’s project management machine.
Tom Chapman, Project Manager, Airwave
TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE?
I’m one of several project managers within Airwave’s operations team and work on our multi-layered, integrated systems projects. Essentially, I act as an intermediary between the sales team, technical department and the client, ensuring we’re all communicating and working as efficiently and costeffectively as possible. I know I don’t look old enough, but I’ve been performing similar roles in the hospitality technology industry for nearly 21-years!
THAT’S A LONG TIME! HOW HAS THE HOTEL TV INDUSTRY CHANGED FROM A PROJECT MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE?
The complexity and scope of today’s Hotel TV system is a world apart from what it used to be. When I first started in the industry, the challenges were fairly straightforward. We’d ensure the aerial and satellite to TV network was implemented and all channels available, we’d ensure that each TV was cloned (hotel TVs can be “cloned” to expedite one TV’s settings across every TV) and we’d either desk or wall-mount each screen. The only added complexity arose from VOD (video on demand), but this was very much a “five-star only” domain. Now of course, things are very different. Complexity arises not only from advancing technology, but the integration of systems with various third-party suppliers and partners - for example the hotel’s WIFI & network provider (if not managed by Airwave). Is this robust enough to support our system? Is the provider available, or willing, to talk to our technicians? A third party introduces an added dimension to a project that needs to be managed carefully. We also need to be cognisant of the complexities that IoT solutions bring; whilst IoT delivers innovation and infinite possibilities, it can also be temperamental! We need to be proactive and alert.
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This actually starts before I take ownership; we’ll typically engage our pre-sales team to implement a full site-survey, the nature of which dependent on the scope of the project. Most Airwave engineers are multi-disciplined and able to cover all aspects of the survey, but it’s not unusual to send engineers with various skillsets to advise on large, multi-faceted jobs. As an example, an RF engineer to review the hotel’s RF distribution, whilst a network specialist concurrently surveys WIFI/LAN/IP infrastructure. This analysis details the scope and complexity of the project, allowing me to work alongside the account manager and technical team to present a “good, better, best” proposal to the customer. All being well, we’ll kick off the project and the real work begins! This commences with a series of conversations between the sales and technical team -these interactions are critical to the smooth running of the project and we’ll speak at great length, covering off all areas and contingencies in micro-detail. From this point forward, I am in constant contact with the lead technical engineer, it can be a little intense and often morphs into something like a husband and wife relationship! Next, a site meeting with the client. This covers the job’s logistics: project stakeholder introductions, stock lead times, proof of concept rooms, access and delivery, floor plans, design team input – the list is long. I insist on visiting every room in the hotel to look for potential problems – this might seem excessive but you’d be surprised at the number of issues that can be mitigated by doing this. I’ll take a virtual clipboard and review power, data and RF outlets, check the area and structural integrity of wall surfaces - and I count rooms! Believe it or not, it’s not uncommon for a GM to misquote, or not know, the number and layout of rooms in their hotel. Whilst on site, the lead technical engineer and I also run through the initial RF/network survey report and sense check all items related to the system’s deployment. When this is all complete, we’ll finalise the order and commence pre-site works. From supplier confirmations, to the scheduling of engineer resource, through to the pre-configuration and design of the system, this part of the process sees me knee-deep in topography drawings and spreadsheets and it’s all about the detail. For example, we need to ensure that equipment is set up and labelled to its respective property location, harvesting specific details (serial, MAC address etc) to each piece of hardware. This not only helps with an efficient installation, but is integral to the support of the products once handed over and in a live hotel environment. As good practice, I will typically attend site on the first installation day, but theoretically speaking, if I’ve done my job and been ultra-efficient, I don’t really need to be involved now. Once the work is complete and the system commissioned, I will collate installation and technical handover reports and organise training for the relevant hotel staff. With the final sign-off, O&M and trouble-shooting documentation is presented to all stakeholders. These files provide reference for both the client and our own support team. When all this done, it’s time for a celebratory cup of tea (or gin) and a jammy dodger…before moving onto the next deadline!
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