HEY, CCTV GUY

Hello to every one who is reading this.  My name is Harry and I have been given the opportunity to write this blog.  I have had the privilege of working in this industry since 1993.  I started off at the bottom, stocking the trucks, cleaning the floor, and working for some of the greatest men in the industry.  As with a father to his son, these men handed down their knowledge and skills to a young man so he could support his family and make a decent living.  Now I have the opportunity to pass my knowledge and experiences on as well.  My goal for this blog is to educate and inform.

In my blogs, I will include links to sites I have found useful and often necessary.  Prior to the internet, I had a suitcase behind the seat of the truck that carried things called manuals.  With the amount of equipment we are responsible for now, it is impossible to memorize every feature and function on every product we may run into.  Knowing where to find that information is paramount.  Please forward any questions or possible advice so we may help not only today’s technician, but also the technician of tomorrow.

Let’s get this started.  I will open this up with my first topic:

Tools? Would you let your technicians use car keys for screwdrivers?

Yes, before we should ever hop in the truck, estimate the job or think about doing this for a living, the first question you need to ask is do we have all of the necessary tools for a quality installation?  Hand tools, hammer-drills, ladders, meters and push-poles have become the industry standard minimum expectation of what a technician should have with them at all times.  Guess what?  A laptop has now become a vital tool in the successful completion of most low voltage installations.  Why?  Let’s take a look.

Saving configuration information – Fire alarm panels, security panels and card access system panels, have the option to make a back up copy or to save settings to external devices.  Now, DVR system settings and Router configuration settings have become just as important to save and keep on hand.  The amount of time it takes a technician to return to a site, re-acquaint themselves with the system and to tune and test can be drastically cut to a minimum with the simple action of saving the system settings.  We are all expected to anticipate equipment failures and surges, and prepare for emergency repairs.

Knowledge – Network accessibility has almost become as common and readily available as cell phones.  With this readily available resource, just about every manual, phonebook and knowledge base are available, to those who look for it.  With a little effort, this information can be on hand for all of your technicians.  I have been in many situations where I was asked a question, and didn’t know the answer.  I did know how to find it though.  That alone, justified my purchase of a laptop to use just for work.

Network testing device – Most important, and with minimum training, the computer is the most valuable tool for testing network cable integrity, communication, connection speed and system functionality.  At a bare minimum, a technician can still verify that the system is operational regardless if the customers system is functional.

Professionalism. The “you poke it you own it� rule appears to hold strong in the world of personal and business computing. I don’t think there could be any worse situation than using a customer’s computer and then becoming responsible for its performance. You never want to have a tech sent to fix a bad cable, then end up spending the day trouble shooting a problem unrelated to the original issue simply because he used their computer to ping an address?

Homes and small businesses now essentially have a small network.  We are expected to understand and be proficient with the newest software and technology.  You can see this tool has become and will continue to be an asset to every successful technician in the position of installation, maintenance and service.  The CCTV industry is always growing and advancing with technology, so we too must advance as well.  The concept of what type of training and skill is required will never be fully appreciated by the customer, but the best technicians are the ones that make it look easy.

I look forward to tomorrow, remember the past and appreciate today.  Thank You.