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Technology:
iPods and iPads
It all starts with clarification. True to the lean approach,
all good consulting services should start with the ba-
sic understanding of our clients needs. This was also
the case in this case study project. After meetings
with the hotel management and staff, it was clear that
the existing room technology operating concept was
burdensome for both customers and staff. The graphi-
cal implementation of all the room technology made
it «leaner» to operate, or in other words, more user-
friendly!
Mobile conference room operation
Web technology and the iPad
The minimalistic design offers added convenience and time benefits for
operators and customers. In the Holiday Inn hotel in the BernWestside
shopping centre, a fully graphical operating interface was created as a
mobile alternative to the standard operating unit with black and white icons.
The joint iPad and PC operation of the conference management system has made the
technology comprehensible.
Author: Rolf Nussbaumer
As the popular saying goes: «Pictures say more than a
thousand words». This is also the key to achieving satis-
fied customers and less work for operators when deal-
ing with building technology. From a technological
perspective, this means flexible and open automation
technology with fully integrated web and IT technol-
ogy. In other words, the features of automation and
operation which have a major effect on sustainability
and efficiency combine the values that represent the
idea of «Peace of Mind». Fewer concerns when dealing
with technology!
In the current example with the existing EIB/KNX
installation technology, open Saia® PCD automation
technology was used to build a bridge from conven-
tional static technology to the open and flexible world
of the internet and IT. The simple wireless operation
via iPad is a major success and has boosted motivation
throughout the entire hotel industry.
The Holiday Inn Westside on the outskirts of Bern
has 11 modern conference rooms, which are regu-
larly used by business customers. Despite the modern
equipment, the hotel customers were often unable to
use the stationary technical controls.
As stated by Oliver Bittner, General Manager of the
Holiday Inn Bern Westside….
«
Frequent questions about how to operate the in-
stalled wall-mounted devices and their unclear icons
overwhelmed the conference room users and often
led to unnecessary staffing requirements.»
Each of the eleven conference rooms has it own station-
ary EIB operating unit. Individual rooms can be tailored
to customer needs by opening partition walls, howev-
er, the rigid wall operating unit requires a great deal of
operator discipline. Despite the partition wall status
message (open/closed), the inflexible light, shade,
ventilation, temperature and presentation technology
always has to be operated using precisely the «right»
touch screen even though up to three touch screens are
available when the partition walls are open. With
flexible web technology, this is no longer the case!
To prevent the need to remove or modify the entire
existing operating system, which acts as an addi-
tional fall-back, the conference rooms on the second
floor (Room 9 / 10 / 11) were retrofitted with an
additional WLAN network connection.
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