I am new to my position managing the Multimedia Technology Services group in the School of Medicine at Indiana University. Support for the A/V equipment in our auditoriums, meeting spaces, learning spaces, and other common areas was previously provided by the group that preceded me which reported through the library Education Technology team. The former group, known as Presentation Technology Services was primarily focused on charging batteries, powering on equipment before lectures, handing out laser pointers, making sure presentations were loaded on the desktop, setting up PA systems for events, and then going back and closing up shop when events were complete. The team providing this service before me was not at all concerned with life cycle, equipment maintenance, or inventory.
When I took over this operation our mission and focus changed. My team is now aligned with the IT Support group for the School of Medicine and no longer under the umbrella of the library. My mission is multifaceted, but in general it is to provide more support for the technology in the rooms from projectors to TV screens and desktops and all peripherals in between and to decrease the amount of human intervention required to use these rooms. We are doing less hand holding of faculty and staff and trying to empower people to use these rooms without having to wait for us to get there and set them up before every event. One big way we hope to accomplish this change is by standardizing equipment and providing clear and concise documentation in each of our rooms to aid in the use of our technology.
I inherited this portfolio and unfortunately it did not include an accurate inventory or a formal life cycle plan. I am wondering if anyone in this group would be willing to share helpful hints for creating these resources and if anyone would be willing to share templates or tools that you use for life cycle and inventory management at your institution. What kind of information and to what level of detail should I care about our inventory? What key do you use for life cycle in regards to length of time to keep different equipment? What kind of information is important to present to school leadership when requesting life cycle funds that have not been previously considered?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Patrick Phillips
Manager, Multimedia Technology Services
Clinical Affairs Information Technology Services
Indiana University
Hey Patrick,
Congratulation on the new position. I was in your shoes 12 years ago and struggling with this until about a year ago. After trying many products and ideas the one that seems to be working great for us is a simple Google form. The staff are required to fill the form out anytime they move any equipment. I now have a complete inventory of all my gear and a history of where it has been. Since they all have smart phones the form is easy to use and manage.
Sincerely,
Dwayne Smith, CTS, DMC-E
Classroom Central Senior Engineer
Information Technology Services (ITS)
Old Dominion University
1316 Perry Library
Norfolk, VA 23529
757-683-5940 (office)
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Patrick,
Great examples, thanks for sharing!
Sincerely,
Dwayne Smith, CTS, DMC-E
Classroom Central Senior Engineer
Information Technology Services (ITS)
Old Dominion University
1316 Perry Library
Norfolk, VA 23529
757-683-5940 (office)
The information in this email and any attachments may be confidential and privileged. Access to this email by anyone other than the intended addressee is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient (or the employee or agent responsible for delivering
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Patrick,
Congrats on the new position. My group moved from Academic Affairs to IT about 4 years ago. I had been managing the group when the change happened so it was a little different for me. We had a life cycle plan in place (it was not always funded, but the needs were presented and it helped prevent “surprise” failures of older equipment). We expanded the plan when we moved to IT (we now had a leadership group who understood that technology needed to be maintained and upgraded). I also know that Health Science campus has different technology requirements than most other types of campuses.
When developing a plan for scheduled replacement, consider all pieces of the puzzle, not just the major capital components. We have a life-cycle expectancy chart for each piece of equipment in our systems, developed around warranty and history, as well as input from this group.
I was very nervous about making the transition to IT, but it has been the best thing to happen to my department.
Ernie
Ernie Bailey, CTS
Manager of Classroom Technologies
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Information Technology Division
Voice: 501.686.5556
Mobile: 501.765.1725
Fax: 501.686.8352
From: av...@googlegroups.com [mailto:av...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of Phillips, Patrick Allen
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2014 7:31 AM
To: 'li...@av-1.org'
Subject: [av-1] Inventory and Life Cycle Advice
I am new to my position managing the Multimedia Technology Services group in the School of Medicine at Indiana University. Support for the A/V equipment in our auditoriums, meeting spaces, learning spaces, and other common areas was previously provided by the group that preceded me which reported through the library Education Technology team. The former group, known as Presentation Technology Services was primarily focused on charging batteries, powering on equipment before lectures, handing out laser pointers, making sure presentations were loaded on the desktop, setting up PA systems for events, and then going back and closing up shop when events were complete. The team providing this service before me was not at all concerned with life cycle, equipment maintenance, or inventory.
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Joe Bonchi, (bon...@njit.edu)
Assistant Director
Instructional Technology and Media Services
New Jersey Institute of Technology
GITC 0300
218 Central Avenue Voice (973) 596-3005
Newark, N.J. 07102 Fax (973) 596-6465
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