4 minute read
Dear Expert
Upgrade Without Upsets
Tech specialist KEITH HANADEL explains how to avoid unfortunate surprises when making news-facility improvements.
Dear Expert, My company’s news operations are about to receive a big technology upgrade to support our increased online activity and to provide a better workflow. How can we make sure we do this in the best way possible? Prepping in Pittsburgh, PA
Dear Pittsburgh,
First, congratulations on getting a green light on your company’s new technology overhaul. I’m happy to give you some pointers on how to make sure the whole process goes as smoothly as possible.
The first step is to develop a “project program.” Begin with a discussion among core project team members when the technology selection process is underway. This conversation should focus on the operational issues, activity sequencing and work flow for each task within the entire facility – even the ones that are not slated to be changed.
Examining the entire workflow process will add to the clarity of the results and may turn up unexpected information that is valuable for an overall solution.
The project program should take stock of staffing needs for each task in the newsgathering operation. Consider the critical space requirements. Is a given work area going to be occupied by one person or 10? Also look at mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) infrastructure requirements.
Question every assumption about future needs: the physical space size, location and infrastructure needs of each work space. Each activity in the workflow – from ingest and logging, all the way through to the final edit and insertion into the rundown – has a specific set of space needs supported by lighting, cooling, power and data infrastructure requirements.
As these criteria are reviewed and developed, they should be compiled into a project program document. This becomes the place where all the requirements – both the data points and the narrative – are noted.
After the project program document is thoroughly developed, use it to compare future needs with the facility’s existing rooms, spaces and MEP infrastructure. Broadcast technical requirements must be tested against the size and location of the available spaces and the level of power and AC in each space. Room sizes should be checked against staff levels and adjacency requirements. Adjacencies must be reviewed and tested.
Spatial considerations are key. Sometimes when news operations are upgraded, the work areas that make up the facility are overlooked, or a set of “workarounds” are established that can hinder a team’s ability to use the new technology to its best advantage (or to its full potential). Production and post rooms may be oriented in a way that makes more work for the staff responsible for them. A room may be sized incorrectly, enclosed when it should be open, or located at too great a distance from something it should be close to.
Accurately scaled plan drawings of the existing facility are a critical tool for the ultimate success of this step. These are sometimes available from a facility’s manager, but sometimes must be created for the task. In either case, plan drawings allow for the overall organization of the facility to be viewed. An accurate look at room sizes and distances is invaluable for understanding existing assets and challenges moving forward.
Different versions of the plan drawings can be developed to look at the cost benefit of various approaches to the required renovations. One proposed plan may require too much time and have too many interim moves. Another may involve the relocation of critical systems or services that cannot be interrupted. A third may result in the relocation of building structural elements, causing it to be too costly and invasive.
As you study the options, an additional approach may emerge that is more cost effective and that would result in fewer disruptions to ongoing operations. This previously unknown solution then becomes the most likely to achieve the crucial portion of the project’s goals.
The entire planning process can help to determine the level of renovation required to make operations run more smoothly. It will not only help produce an “ideal” solution from the standpoint of technology, but also show your team the optimal way to utilize available resources and maximize the usefulness of the facility. This will all support the organization’s mission and the creative staff’s work.
Today’s successful media facility is built for a creative staff; powered by innovative technology; and supported by clever use of space. By evaluating the existing conditions along with new technology solutions, you’ll yield the most productive outcome.
Do you have a professional puzzle that
MFM and BCCA experts might be able to Keith Hanadel is principal, media and answer? We’ll mine the contact base and find entertainment of HLW, which designs and builds the right person to answer your question. technology architecture. He can be reached at Just contact TFM editor Janet Stilson at (212) 353-4946 or khanadel@hlw.com.
