Introduction:
Job boards are one of the most important parts of starting crews and organizing days. The most popular type is the large dry erase board. Or in some instances, a person is reading jobs off a piece of paper in the mornings going through everybody's job one by one. It would be easy to say the average morning meeting is 10 minutes long. A year ago we were given the task of re-working the old job board to incorporate the most readily available technology. Versatility, price, ease of use, availability beyond one room, and quality were key factors of our project.
Our task was a little difficult to comprehend at first. A requirement was to get all the managers (11 people) on the same page in the morning. One way is to simply type up the morning job sheet and print it off for all the managers. But, for our project we determined that would take too much time.
In a time when everybody carries a smartphone in their pocket we decided to turn our focus there. Email was the first and easiest solution but, the bombardment of constant emails and changes to the daily jobs didn't fit our need for efficiency. We needed more…and we needed it faster. We looked at it from every angle possible. As we came up with new ideas, we shot them down just as fast, and in the process we wanted things instantly and set the bar even higher.
Our set up is…well…pretty freakin awesome. In the center of the room is a 140" screen and two 42" TVs mounted on the walls beside it with a third mounted outside the break room displaying announcements and important dates. All the displays including the projector are connected to a 4x4 HDMI splitter. Our inputs into the splitter are the Mac Mini, Cable TV, a Miracast (supports Android/PC screen sharing), and an open port (don't tell Pete but, thats for the drone).
The brain of the system is a Mac Mini. In a PC dominated company we decided Apple was the best system (brain) to use. It gave us an easier system to use and a longer life of use compared to PCs (projected system life is 7-10 years). With the majority of us using iPhones, it gave us another reason to go Apple based. Having a computer dedicated to the projector (the mini is literally mounted above the projector) is not completely necessary. You can achieve the same goal using a direct connection to somebody's computer or USB. Though, there are limitations to those options but, they may be effective for other applications. We also installed a program called AirServer. This program allows up to any 12+ people to display their phone screens all at the same time. Pretty nice when you need a quick visual aid. Having a computer dedicated to the projector really opened up the possibilities for expansion. Live video conferencing, visual aids, live training, facility access management, drone command center (yes that's being researched right now), live weather radar, and other possibilities we haven't thought about but, are now possible.
The Epson 1940w was the best projector for our needs and price. Bright room, with even brighter light coming from the windows (yes, we could have closed the blinds but, do YOU want to do that everyday?) made brightness the most important feature. Epson is a very reputable company and they stand behind their products. We had an issue with the internals of our projector (after 10 months of above normal use), called Epson and they overnighted a brand new unit. Like I said…reputable. Projectorcentral.com has everything you need to get started when it comes to shopping for projectors. The calculator is very handy when it comes to projector positioning, screen size, and ambient light.
We have used the system for a full year now (beta year). I for one, don't see how anybody uses a dry erase board anymore. TVs are cheap, projectors are cheap, and computers are cheap. Our system has already paid for itself if you were to crunch the numbers. We have 60+ employees in the summer, 1 minute is basically $100 as soon as that clock hits the start time. So, if the system saves us a minimum of a minute everyday over the course of 4 months well…a lot of people start to smile. I will say, some issues have come up in the first year but, its nothing that would suggest against the system.
Everybody (managers) is involved in setting up the day. We have two courses and everybody instantly knows whats going on even the mechanic! Second jobs? No Problem. They can be changed out in the field from your phone or tablet. The system was designed to be as versatile as possible. If a visitor wants to give a presentation, our system is designed to meet their needs…wirelessly. Having Miracast and AirServer allows any computer to wirelessly connect to the projector and display their presentation.
And, this is the part everybody wants to know. Your project depends on your needs and wants. Simply writing down what you want and need from your system is the best place to start. For smaller facilities a 60 to 70 inch TV works just as well and puts you in the same price range as a projector. For us the importance of getting information to every person in the break room efficiently was paramount. Other courses in the area use systems similar to this one. A system can be installed for under $1000 and that's a conservative estimate.
The System:
We decided Google Sheets was the best format for us, a web based program that allows users to collaborate on one project all at the same time. For us, that meant you could have the daily assignment sheet open on your computer and on your phone at the same time. Any change that is made is updated instantly with virtually no limits. No more running back to the shop to write jobs on a dry erase board. No more filling out a piece of paper and hoping everybody gets a copy. No more, "I don't know what he is doing". No more wasted transportation time… kind of makes me laugh now.Our set up is…well…pretty freakin awesome. In the center of the room is a 140" screen and two 42" TVs mounted on the walls beside it with a third mounted outside the break room displaying announcements and important dates. All the displays including the projector are connected to a 4x4 HDMI splitter. Our inputs into the splitter are the Mac Mini, Cable TV, a Miracast (supports Android/PC screen sharing), and an open port (don't tell Pete but, thats for the drone).
Brains
The brain of the system is a Mac Mini. In a PC dominated company we decided Apple was the best system (brain) to use. It gave us an easier system to use and a longer life of use compared to PCs (projected system life is 7-10 years). With the majority of us using iPhones, it gave us another reason to go Apple based. Having a computer dedicated to the projector (the mini is literally mounted above the projector) is not completely necessary. You can achieve the same goal using a direct connection to somebody's computer or USB. Though, there are limitations to those options but, they may be effective for other applications. We also installed a program called AirServer. This program allows up to any 12+ people to display their phone screens all at the same time. Pretty nice when you need a quick visual aid. Having a computer dedicated to the projector really opened up the possibilities for expansion. Live video conferencing, visual aids, live training, facility access management, drone command center (yes that's being researched right now), live weather radar, and other possibilities we haven't thought about but, are now possible.
Projector
The Epson 1940w was the best projector for our needs and price. Bright room, with even brighter light coming from the windows (yes, we could have closed the blinds but, do YOU want to do that everyday?) made brightness the most important feature. Epson is a very reputable company and they stand behind their products. We had an issue with the internals of our projector (after 10 months of above normal use), called Epson and they overnighted a brand new unit. Like I said…reputable. Projectorcentral.com has everything you need to get started when it comes to shopping for projectors. The calculator is very handy when it comes to projector positioning, screen size, and ambient light.
Practicality
We have used the system for a full year now (beta year). I for one, don't see how anybody uses a dry erase board anymore. TVs are cheap, projectors are cheap, and computers are cheap. Our system has already paid for itself if you were to crunch the numbers. We have 60+ employees in the summer, 1 minute is basically $100 as soon as that clock hits the start time. So, if the system saves us a minimum of a minute everyday over the course of 4 months well…a lot of people start to smile. I will say, some issues have come up in the first year but, its nothing that would suggest against the system.
Ease of Use
Everybody (managers) is involved in setting up the day. We have two courses and everybody instantly knows whats going on even the mechanic! Second jobs? No Problem. They can be changed out in the field from your phone or tablet. The system was designed to be as versatile as possible. If a visitor wants to give a presentation, our system is designed to meet their needs…wirelessly. Having Miracast and AirServer allows any computer to wirelessly connect to the projector and display their presentation.
Price
And, this is the part everybody wants to know. Your project depends on your needs and wants. Simply writing down what you want and need from your system is the best place to start. For smaller facilities a 60 to 70 inch TV works just as well and puts you in the same price range as a projector. For us the importance of getting information to every person in the break room efficiently was paramount. Other courses in the area use systems similar to this one. A system can be installed for under $1000 and that's a conservative estimate.
