Providing the perfect meeting room equipped with projectors, audio visual equipment, HVAC, blinds and lighting features highly in the ‘must haves’ of any professional meeting room environment. Phil Main, Global Product Marketing Manager, Philips Dynalite, reviews the best ways to manage these elements.

The key to this offering is the user interface. The control of equipment and facilities provided in a modern meeting room can be daunting to the visitor who is unfamiliar with the system setup. The choice of interfaces available can itself be intimidating, ranging from a basic remote control, through to touchscreen panel or tablet PC. The options on the interface should be intuitive, self-explanatory and give the expected result when operated. The ideal user interface will have clearly labelled ‘buttons’ on one device that will enable a visitor to operate the facilities quickly and easily without having to locate the air conditioning, blinds, or projector controls individually.

For more experienced users of the room, the decision to use advanced options to access specific settings should be equally as straightforward. Incorporating the user interface into networked management services will facilitate optimal room usage. Communication between the facilities manager and presenter via a graphical user interface can be advantageous to both parties. For the facilities manager, notification to the occupant of services such as meal delivery can be conveyed, and at the conclusion of the meeting, rooms can be taken to an energy efficient state and cleaning services requested. Conversely, should the presenter require assistance, the user interface can be a useful tool to contact the facilities manager. Scheduling calendar software can further aid energy management by coordinating meeting room bookings and availability of resources. If the room is booked, the facilities can be automatically set to ‘meeting’ status, and conversely turned off at a preset time after the conclusion of the booking.

Occupancy sensors can be programmed to override this feature if the meeting runs overtime. Should the room be required on an ad hoc basis, communication with facilities management via the user interface can activate the room. Lighting control systems for meeting rooms will need to consider the position of the speaker, the use of audio visual equipment, the location and seating arrangements of the guests.

Alternative preset compositions for lighting, blinds. HVAC and equipment, based on the room’s configuration reduces the complexity for the presenter to establish presentation conditions. Communication is the key to a successful and professional meeting. Intuitive user interfaces allow the presenter to optimise the meeting room environment at the touch of a button, while ‘behind the curtain’, facility managers coordinate services and equipment to maximise room usage and energy savings.

Source: Hiddenwires