The VCA Process

A successful system design solution demands a company that can listen to your needs and turn them into reality.

At VCA, we've developed a sales engineering process that identifies and separates your wants from your needs. We then analyze and measure those costs against the benefits the systems will yield, while accounting for future growth, expandability, maintenance, and daily operating costs of your system. VCA realizes that technology is a considerable investment which needs to show tangible benefits to your organization.

No matter how large or small your project, VCA will treat it with the same attention and care - listening to your priorities and applying our proven processes to ensure success. With clearly defined and documented best practices. Each project has a defined team of professionals who work on, regularly review the progress of, and report project status weekly.

All project teams are comprised of an account executive, project manager, installation coordinator, engineer, lead technician, testing and verification technician, and post installation service technician.

Needs Analysis and Budgeting

Fully understanding yours need, the purpose of the space or technology, the people who will be using it, and combining that with the architectural and environmental elements which might affect those benefits are the first steps towards designing your system. VCA will conduct an extensive needs analysis, perform a site survey, and consider the various ways you envision the space or technology to function. We will carefully work through the trade-offs that may exist between function and expense, helping you focus on priorities. Once we fully assess the needs and the purpose, a detailed proposal will be presented that includes a full scope of work, detailed equipment list, as well as a training and maintenance plan.

Design, Engineering, and Project Management

Following approval of the proposal, VCA will begin the project planning, design, and engineering phases of your project. Your Project Manager (PM) and dedicated team will keep your project moving forward. A detailed project plan with milestones will be established against an agreed-upon installation date. Your dedicated PM will coordinate all the various elements and deliverables such as: engineering and programming sign off dates, equipment delivery and fabrication goals, staging and testing dates, coordination of other trades, room access for VCA installation, on site commissioning, and training. Your PM will keep you up to date each step of the way with all energies focused on delivering your room on time and on budget.

Procurement, Fabrication, In-House Testing, and Verification

VCA will review the engineering documents with you and upon your approval will procure the products necessary to begin fabrication. To ensure speed and accuracy, VCA employs its own team of highly trained CTS-certified fabrication technicians. Once fabrication is complete, your system is set up and staged for its initial testing by a specialized highly skilled group of testing and verification personnel. Our clients are invited to attend this staging and test along with our team. Also at this time our service personal will go through the system to ensure a clean transfer of support. All issues identified at this time are addressed before the gear is shipped to and installed at your location, minimizing on-site troubleshooting and disruption to your business.

Installation

Once everything is in place and ready to go, your system is shipped to the project location for installation into your space. The VCA team takes outstanding care of your site during the system installation, treating it as if it were their own.

On-site Systems Verification Testing

Upon the completion of the installation, your system undergoes one last series of rigorous tests from the same verification person, ensuring that everything works as specified within the scope of the project and has been delivered to your satisfaction.

Training

Once everything tests out to your satisfaction, VCA will begin to train you and your staff in the operation of your newly installed system. Product specialists are on hand to answer questions about your system's components and how they work together to form a system. The goal is to have your organization immediately start enjoying the benefits and have you working effectively and efficiently on your system from day one.

Preventative Maintenance and Warranty

The way to realize the maximum return on your investment is to keep it in constant use. A well trained group of users will raise the usage and thus the return. Also critical is that they do not run into problems over time, and if they do, the issues are resolved immediately. Studies have shown that customers who have their systems maintained and upgraded regularly and can get rapid response to questions and realize a much higher yield on that investment. That's why VCA offers custom maintenance and support contracts, which are all encompassing to meet your mission-critical needs, as well as time based contracts. Our preventative maintenance programs keep your systems in check and running smoothly 24/7. All of our systems come with a VCA one-year workmanship warranty covering installation of your system in addition to all manufacturers' warranties on the supplied components.

• VCA maintains all your project drawings, manuals and programs, and proposals on our servers to ensure quick access. This will soon be available to clients via a secure Web portal.

• VCA has it own full-time, in-house programming staff with many years of systems experience.

• VCA has an engineering staff with many diverse skills from large venue sound systems to broadcast engineering, from Cisco to Red Hat, from Tandberg to Polycom and from Avid to Autodesk.

• User interfaces are designed to be intuitive and encourage rather than intimidate users. Clients are given the opportunity to review and comment on how the user interface looks and operates in advance of the implementation.