Anyone who’s ever gotten on their hands and knees to reach around behind an AV rack hoping to find the loose wire or funky connector knows that the word “accessibility” takes on new meaning under those circumstances. Access — to racks, to wiring, to devices, to consumables like lamps — is too often not part of the conversation during the systems design stages. Putting that concern earlier in the discussion can reap significant rewards later on for technical staff and maintenance crews.
Aim high
A basic key to accessibility is what items and devices are placed especially high in a space. Two items come to mind in particular for Duke DeJong, vice president of sales and integration for Olympia, Wash.-based integrator CCI Solutions: powered speakers and lighting. Self-amplified speakers have some key benefits, the top one being power matching speakers with the amplifier. But when they’re flown, the entire assembly is usually well out of reach of ladders. That means planning and budgeting in the design phase for a motorized lift to reach them for servicing or repositioning. Man lifts can start in the neighborhood of $10,000 and go up from there depending on the need for height and reach, and that capital cost, or the cost of renting them occasionally (don’t forget to factor in the delivery charges) should be factored into the overall cost of the system, as well as part of the planning for future accessibility of the system.
“I never dismiss the idea of powered speakers simply because of what it might take to access them later, but you definitely have to consider the cost of accessibility as part of the equation." Duke DeJong, Vice President of Sales & Integration, CCI Solutions, Olympia, WA
“I never dismiss the idea of powered speakers simply because of what it might take to access them later, but you definitely have to consider the cost of accessibility as part of the equation,” says DeJong. “Depending upon your regular maintenance budget and/or how capable and available your staff is to do the work, separately amplified speakers can prove to be easier to maintain since the amplifiers are more accessible.”
Lighting is another area where installation height is a function of accessibility. “One of our biggest arguments for LED lighting, past power savings, is that accessibility becomes a little less critical,” says DeJong, which is to say that LED’s lack of need to replace illumination elements means not having to climb ladders and lifts as often as incandescent lighting requires. He especially recommends LED fixtures for house/work lights, which often necessitate moving seating around to bring a lift into the sanctuary. For the same reason, he suggests avoiding light fixtures that need cooling fans. “Convection-cooled fixtures mean one less thing to fail and force you to go up,” he says.
“One of our biggest arguments for LED lighting, past power savings, is that accessibility becomes a little less critical." Duke DeJong, Vice President of Sales & Integration, CCI Solutions, Olympia, WA
However, LED can’t get around the need to reposition lighting fixtures for different applications, and when the truss is very high above the stage the tech staff is faced with the same issue as changing light bulbs when they need to change lighting designs. However, he’s got a solution he’s implemented in a few churches: specifying wash lights with pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities.
“As our church’s lighting designs have become more dynamic, churches often need more flexibility to illuminate certain areas or people strategically from week to week,” he explains. “By using a moving-head wash, such as the Chauvet Rogue R2 wash with pan and tilt, as well as zoom functionality, positioning changes are made from the lighting console instead of trying to maneuver a lift on stage. That’s a huge advantage if you need to do that once a week.”
On the wire
Cabling is an area that benefits from thinking ahead. DeJong recommends leaving either additional room in wire trays or conduit, or even empty conduit that’s ready when additional wire needs to be pulled. But most important, he says, is the need for documentation. “Even when you can reach the wiring, if you can’t figure out which wire is the one you need you might as well not be able to get to it,” he says.
Networked AV, which is rapidly becoming more common in house-of-worship installations, can benefit when the hubs and switches for both the AV and enterprise networks are positioned together in the design phase.
Networked AV, which is rapidly becoming more common in house-of-worship installations, can benefit when the hubs and switches for both the AV and enterprise networks are positioned together in the design phase. Extending network jacks out from a central location makes trouble-shooting easier, says DeJong, who adds that CCI Solutions now routinely handles audio and lighting needs via network, and has recently begin adding up to 4K video to networks via various products from Visionary Solutions.
“Planning good accessibility for network AV and control means it’ll be easier to maintain and troubleshoot them later,” he says. “And ensuring you plan for more ports than you need at installation allows you to grow your accessibility as your needs change.”
Rack it
Finally, racks need to be made as accessible as possible. Despite there being clear and ubiquitous fire-code regulations around rack installation, DeJong says he routinely finds racks installed in locations that make accessibility a challenge. Easy-to-access rack placement encourages routine but important maintenance procedures like wiping dust off of connections and equipment fans, and also allows quick access to your gear in case something goes wrong. The same goes for placing racks somewhere that tends to collect other stuff — extra chairs, music stands, and other day-to-day items.
“If something goes down just before a service or a performance, you don’t want to have spend 20 minutes moving stuff out of the way to get at the back of the rack,” he says. “All of this can be planned in before you start putting the AV in. You’ll be glad you did later.”
