European Weather Centre upgrades AV for collaboration and clarity

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1 Case Study European Weather Centre upgrades AV for collaboration and clarity Carillion were selected on the transparency of their proposal and for the value for money offered against a tight budget. Stuart Mitchell, Team Leader Services and Desktop Support Team at ECMWF The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), based in Reading, Berkshire, is an independent inter-governmental organisation supported by 34 states. ECMWF is a research institute and a 24/7 operational service that produces and disseminates numerical weather predictions to its Member States. The supercomputer facility at ECMWF is one of the largest of its type in Europe. The organisation was established in 1975 and employs around 280 staff from more than 30 countries. ECMWF is one of the six members of the Co-ordinated Organisations that include NATO, the Council of Europe, the European Space Agency, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites. User experience prompted a push for AV clarity Stuart Mitchell, ECMWF, Team Leader of the Servers and Desktop Support Team, managed recent upgrades at the Centre. As a member of the ECMWF staff for 23 years, Stuart has seen many changes at the Centre. The Centre s booths and associated signage are a reminder of the simultaneous interpreters who provided native language assistance in up to six languages at meetings. Today, the Centre is continually busy with internal meetings, training courses, workshops and delegate forums. The needs for AV system speed, ease of use, and audio and visual clarity in the Centre s varied meeting and conference areas are essential to accommodate the multi-national audiences and to do justice to complex topics. Stuart Mitchell reports that users of the Centre s systems were beginning to complain about dim presentations and poor screen resolution.

2 One of our challenges was integration with legacy systems. Stuart Mitchell, Team Leader Services and Desktop Support Team at ECMWF A Carillion competitive tender still starts with the customer Carillion Communications had worked with ECMWF previously on lecture theatre development as well as on the showcase 8-screen video wall in the Centre s lift lobby. Carillion was therefore one of the AV suppliers invited to tender for upgrade projects. Carillion typically begins every project by attempting to get to know the customer s needs and expectations in detail. ECMWF was no exception and Carillion undertook a thorough site survey involving one of their Technical Designers. This essential early step ensures that Carillion can propose clear options that factor in performance, price and return on technology investment. Carillion won the bid to upgrade the AV systems in the Centre s lecture theatre, Council Chamber and five meeting rooms. Stuart Mitchell says Carillion were selected on the transparency of their proposal and for the value for money offered against a tight budget. He also offered high praise for the skill and flexibility of Carillion s lead engineer who overcame the project s technical challenges and worked around the Centre s very busy activity levels.

3 Before and after; a remarkable difference A popular ECMWF tale has it that when the new lecture theatre projector was first used the presenter ran through his opening slides, which were dark, to some brighter slides that brought an audible gasp of appreciation from the audience. The brightness and resolution of the new theatre system means that presentations are clear at the back of the lecture theatre, 16 metres from the screen. In the Council Chamber Carillion fitted larger desktop-style screens that sit in front of delegates seated around a large conference table, as well as a new projection and switching system. The presenter has full control of his topic on all screens and communications are clear for all, short range and long. Ease of use means systems get used continually With the advent of so many forms of presentation devices - from lectern systems and PCs, to laptops, tablets and phones - the ability to go live quickly with presentations and accommodate multiple presenters is key for both meeting efficiency and effective collaboration. Carillion installed Barco ClickShare in the ECMWF meeting rooms, which means that multiple presenters can connect wirelessly and access HD widescreens with their content. ClickShare s dongle puts an end to cable clutter and meeting interruptions caused by device or presenter change-overs.

4 In one meeting room in which projection was not an option, Carillion installed an LCD screen to present ClickShare content. Functional equipment is used and heard but not seen On a tour of the Centre, you are likely to have pointed out that the projector and cabling in the Council Chamber are neatly and cleverly hidden away. Carillion s installation housekeeping and attention to detail preserve the aesthetics of a largely wooden décor in which a 40- seat conference table with microphones and Member flags is the centrepiece. Stuart Mitchell said, one of our challenges was integration with legacy systems. Ensuring high quality sound in the Council Chamber and Lecture Theatre, with their historical interpreting set-ups, was essential and accomplished very well. Enhanced communications help ECMWF compete Not many people would know that the world of meteorology is competitive. ECMWF s research into numerical weather prediction models ranks number one for its forecasting accuracy skill score. In 2012, the Centre predicted Hurricane Sandy s westward path seven days before it hit New York, while the data at NCAR, the US National Center for Atmospheric Research, did not reveal the likelihood until three or four days before the event. The upgrades to the Centre s AV infrastructure play their part in enabling ECMWF s physicists, mathematicians and meteorologists to hold regular meetings in which they can be fully productive and share information clearly, without the distraction of clunky functionality, fuzzy sound, blurred graphics or insufficient light. The Carillion Difference; another unique environment Dee Reed, Carillion Managing Director, said, Carillion works in some remarkable environments. ECMWF posed specific challenges and we re delighted to have overcome them. It s gratifying to see the systems being used to advantage by people of so many nationalities working on such complex projects.

5 Integrated AV Boardroom & Meeting Room Design Video Conferencing Consultancy & Design Digital Signage Meeting Room Management Live Events & AV Hire Maintenance & Engineering Customer Care YOUR EXPERT PARTNER Carillion Communications Ltd Central Estate Denmark Street Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 7BN UK Registered in England and Wales: No