When LINK opened a new London training facility at Ivory House, in St Katharine’s Dock, state-of-the art AV requirements were paramount. LINK Associates International delivers a training and consultancy service throughout the world. It’s a service that is truly integrated and incorporates all areas of managing corporate risk including business continuity, crisis and emergency management, and health and safety. LINK has opened a new London training facility at Ivory House, in St Katharine’s Dock. Ivory House provides a simulation suite delivering sophisticated and immersive learning experiences. Clients are from a wide variety of different business sectors including oil and gas, finance and manufacturing. At Ivory House they experience events ranging from a one-day workshop to a five-day training and exercise course.@page_break@AV requirementsThe brief for Ivory House was for it to be a modern, state-of-the-art training and exercise centre targeted at senior executives and managers. As part of the tender process, Reflex received a high-level brief on LINK’s requirements and was asked to give ideas for how the brief could be met. LINK’s facility is sub divided into three training rooms, one control room and a large reception/break out area. The brief included the need for:
- The flexibility to configure the delivery of images, presentations, video and audio between all rooms in the centre
- CCTV cameras and microphones in each of the training rooms to display and record the activities of exercise participants
- An ‘intelligent whiteboard’ capability where notes can be written/drawn on projected images and stored for later analysis, facilitating collaborative working.@page_break@
The solution
To develop the best response, Reflex deployed its Meeting Room Specialist service. This is an independent advisory service that helps to integrate technology into the design of corporate meeting spaces. Reflex’s meeting space strategist helped to design a bespoke solution for LINK that incorporates technology for collaboration and knowledge sharing – and one that was also focused on business productivity. The service was ideal for this brief because of the customer-facing and collaborative nature of the requirements. A central control room is equipped with an Extron switching and Crestron control systems while in the reception, a 46-inch NEC display is used for welcome messages. The three training rooms were equipped with an 87-inch SMARTBoard on a TeamMate Varihite stand, with an ultra-short throw, widescreen projector. These can be moved on stands to any location, offering great flexibility. Four PTZ cameras allow proceedings to be recorded and reviewed.
Each room is also equipped with Apple iPads for room control. These run in two modes. Delegate mode is a very cut down option which enables customers to take basic control of the kit in the room they are in. Master mode gives the LINK trainer control over the entire building system. The arched ceilings of the listed building presented a challenge in maneuvering the SMARTBoards into position which was resolved with the use of VariHite trolleys. LINK uses the equipment to display various media types including PowerPoint, digital video, Blu-ray video, recorded audio, live audio and CCTV recording.@page_break@The resultsThe finished project provides AV equipment that is modern and state of the art, which provides a clean, professional image to LINK’s clients. The highly flexible configuration meets the needs of different training courses and exercises, and was tailored specifically to LINK’s requirements. The use of the latest technology allows for the economic enhancement or upgrade of the facility in the future. According to Stephen James, LINK’s managing director: “Our vision in opening Ivory House was to establish a modern crisis simulation suite targeted at senior executives and based in the heart of London. To help us deliver our vision we wanted a partner to implement the latest audio-visual equipment and work with us to ensure the success of the new centre. By working with Reflex, I believe we have established Ivory House as the leading crisis simulation suite in London and one which consistently impresses our clients with its capabilities.” www.reflex.co.uk
