Kramer Electronics' U.S. president Dave Bright was appointed to the board of the directors of the Association for Quality in Audio Video Technology (AQAV), an organization for which Kramer is an educational partner.
James Bright, U.S. President, Kramer Electronics
- “We have made a huge commitment to AQAV. Since the transition from analog to digital, creating standards for quality in AV system design and installation is imperative to the efficiency and success of every participant in the market,” explained Bright. “With that in mind, we have pledged our complete support to the program and the organization, and I am very proud to have been selected to the board of directors of AQAV.”
- Since the establishment of the partnership, Kramer Electronics has held seven successful AQAV trainings and many individuals have completed the AQAV workshop and earned their certifications. The most recent trainings took place in Las Vegas last month just prior to the InfoComm show. The University of Nevada Las Vegas hosted both CQD (Certified Quality Designer) and CQT (Certified Quality Technician) classes. Those who have successfully earned their AQAV certifications continue to use what they have learned from the class in every day applications to increase profits and ensure flawless system operations.
“Our AQAV motto is, 'saving the AV industry … one system at a time,'” states Mario Maltese, executive director of AQAV. “Kramer Electronics has really stepped up to the plate to help us accomplish that goal. They have committed so many resources to make the goal of quality a reality. They have committed monetary resources, personnel resources and marketing resources to the cause. We can’t imagine a better partner in our quest and therefore it was an easy decision to invite Dave Bright to join our board of directors.”
AQAV is non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the operational art of designing and installing audio visual technology. Elaine Manfredonia, vice president of JPMorgan Chase, is an end user who has realized the benefits of working with AQAV. “Being AV9000 compliant is a major plus for providers who want to work for us. It eliminates untold costs and aggravation the client won’t, and the integrator shouldn’t, accept. No question the business is trending this way,” Manfredonia shared.
Pro AV integrators, such as Jeremy Elsesser of the Pro AV integrator Level 3 Audio Visual in Mesa, AZ, are also aware of the advantages of being AQAV certified. Elsesser stated, “Since Level 3 Audio Visual has started down the path of AV9000 and began implementing the systems into our daily workflows, we have seen a large increase in team collaboration along with a significant reduction of time spent in the field. Culturally, AV9000 has provided a mechanism to get everyone on the same page and pursuing the highest quality of work we can provide.”
In addition, higher education markets are also seeing AQAV benefits. Dan Doolen, chief instructional media systems engineer at the University of Illinois, explains how his team has embraced the AQAV standards, “We’ve built AV9000 into our campus facility standards and follow it on all our installations. It has everyone working from the same page and explains the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how.' It’s turned into a friendly competition between the installation team and the commissioning team.”
Kramer Electronics currently has three more AQAV trainings planned, one private event in Dallas, TX, on July 29-31, a public CQD class on September 10-12 in Chicago, and a public CQT class at Kramer US HQ in New Jersey on November 18-20. Additional AQAV trainings might also be scheduled in 2014. This will be dictated by demand from the market.
