The telecommunications industry is huge, complex and very competitive. Most of us only see the tip of the mobile phone iceberg – and it doesn’t take much for people to spit the dummy and swap carriers. Like, you’re five levels underground in a concrete car park and haven’t got a signal? What the… that’s outrageous. Wouldn’t happen if you’re with the Fones-R-Us network, right?
Aside from social media addictions, countless billions of megabytes of data are exchanged between organisations and systems every hour, and the reliability and management of those networks is crucial.
One NZ has become a very trusted name in telecommunications at all levels of the technology from big business right down to personal mobile phones, and in the interests of maintaining that edge and providing the best of support and service, the company decided to establish a completely new headquarters in a place called the Wynyard Quarter in Auckland. Wynyard Quarter is a precinct with a mix of retail outlets, outdoor spaces and various tourist destinations, plus with a good representation of corporate real estate. It’s popular, accessible and modern.
One NZ chose three floors of a new high-rise building for its new home – the emphasis on “new”.
THE CHALLENGE
The AV element of the project was important, obviously, and at its forefront would be four large display screens. However, it’s just one relatively small part of a vast IT and network design. From the outset, those three floors presented a blank canvas. How do you stand back and envision exactly what’s needed, how it’ll be done, and the end result? From an AV perspective, why four screens?
Jono Pratt is employed by One NZ as the Facilities Technology Specialist and he explained, “We essentially put together a team of representatives from each of the departments and slowly pieced together what everyone required and how it could look. The architects were involved early, of course, planning out rooms and divisions, and the more nuts and bolts stuff of cavities or trays for cables and such. That doesn’t really do it justice, there was a lot to it.”
It was a painstaking task that was well worth it because of the benefits of starting from scratch. There was no retrofitting in old walls or ripping out redundant wiring. One of Jono’s important roles was to advise the team on exactly what could be done from a technical and AV aspect, something which isn’t always understood by the end-users. Sometimes it was a combination of must-have with a wish-list answered with a “sure, why not? We can even do this…”
Next came the more practical process of assembling and installing the components into a complete system, and here a unique arrangement occurred involving NAS Solutions with Kelvin Colling and Tommy Blum, who fine-tuned and commissioned the displays, Jono Pratt, and Richard Nagle from New Era Technology (the integrator) – unique because everyone worked as a tight team simultaneously rather than the usual client to integrator to distributor kind of project time-line. Everyone pitched in together, determined to create a system that was second to none.
THE FIX
The final design came to be those four large screens. Two are in the Network Operations Centre (called the ‘NOC’) and display a constant myriad of vital data and information that simply must be legible and super-sharp from all angles. Huge, complex and competitive, remember? A larger screen is in a room known as the Cafe that’s multi-purpose, serving as a meeting place for staff and even an entertainment space or function centre, and the fourth screen is at the public entrance to the One NZ offices with digital signage and general information.
It’s a modern building, so no surprise the external walls are floor to ceiling glass. New Zealand might be the Land of the Long White Cloud, but the sun does poke through occasionally. The high levels of natural, ambient light throughout the building is a blessing for the staff – and an issue for large-format digital displays.
Everyone agreed the solution would be Absen screens using chip-on-board (COB) technology, not SMD LED screens. The rationale is interesting in other respects. First, the anti-glare feature of COB displays is exceptional. No matter where you’re standing in the rooms, and regardless of any errant sunshine, the Absen COB displays provide full colour, sharp contrast and a clarity that’s essential in this application. Also, especially in the NOC where staff can be reading the screens for long periods of time, COB displays are a lot kinder to the eyes and viewers suffer far less vision fatigue – we all know what that can be like these days.
The durability of the COB build quality came into play. The reason being that all the screens are installed in such a way that they risk every display’s worst nightmare – sticky fingers. To allow for the best sightlines and accessibility, the screens are mounted within reach of accidental or even incidental contact. Richard Nagle of New Era points out, “SMD LED screens are prone to damage if you’re not careful. To be honest, we’re terrified handling them at the best of times and go to great lengths to protect them. Once they’re installed and out the way, it’s all good. But the displays at One NZ are all by design vulnerable to unintentional damage. You can just imagine some well-meaning cleaner whipping out the Windex and paper towel and trying to wipe away a perceived smudge – and wiping out a few hundred LEDs in the process. Or a can of drink exploding at the wrong moment, or someone dropping a coffee. COB displays shrug all that off. They’re tough and super-resistant to anything like that. That was a critical consideration.”
THE RESULT
Jono tells us the best endorsements come almost every day. As part of everyday business at One NZ, plenty of visiting CEOs and senior executives are given a tour of what One NZ has to offer, and they’re always stopped in their tracks by the Absen COB displays. Invariably the reaction is, “What the heck are they, and where can we get some?” No doubt it’s followed by some question regarding watching the next All Blacks game and drinking Speight’s Ale. Of course, it’s all business at One NZ. Jono would never dream of putting the rugby on the Canteen screen. Never. Not at all.
The Absen COB displays are like jewels in the crown of a very impressive achievement. They’re a stunning presentation, if you like, of a much bigger project that required the best of expertise from all involved. Just like those mobile phones can be the tip of a telecommunications network, the Absen screens are a brightly visible tip of a significant installation. Richard Nagle is very proud of New Era’s role and how it integrated systems and networks that are literally ground-breaking and innovative. So much of the One NZ design hadn’t been done before and came together perfectly.
It’s what happens when people like NAS Solutions and New Era combine their talents and work closely with a forward-thinking client like One NZ and Jono Pratt. Anything is possible with the right knowledge, support and service, and products like Absen.
Sharp, clear and brilliant Absen solutions in a demanding environment.
No dummy-spitting whatsoever.
