In this edition, and after a deep reflection, I want to share with you, the professionals of the industry, the cycles in electronic security projects.
by German Alexis Cortés H.*
A few weeks ago I have been answering clarifications about the article published in past editions, which teaches how to quickly achieve an electronic security budget by employing estimation indices.
This allows me to suggest an adjustment in the process to be followed during Electronic Security projects in the Latin American region, where things happen in a different way than the rest of the world. Let's look at the background.
to. There are no training programs for our area. The training is biased, because it is in the hands of the factories whose interest is concentrated only on marketing their products and services, but not on fully educating the professional of the sector.
b. Builders and architects mistakenly still think that electronic security is an element of endowment and not of construction. They even classify these networks as special systems so they believe they are used only for projects out of the ordinary.
c. In our nations, there is no clear, comprehensive and detailed normativity. Our integrators and installers do not even follow international quality standards.
d. As the use of these systems has not been massified, the end user does not really know the benefits, limitations and strengths. He considers them a luxury and not a necessity.
and. No one explains to the end user that they must pay for a planning phase, in many cases they omit it, generating the main problems. It confuses the planning and design phases. He doesn't know the difference and use of conceptual, basic, and detailed engineering.
f. There is no adequate maturity in the market of our sector, which allows responsible companies committed to customer service and excellence in technical support.
The markets in technology, follow a process that begins in the commercialization (marketing and sale), passes to the technical part (supply and installation) and ends -closing the cycle-, in customer service and maintenance.
In electronic security, special care must be taken in some phases, due to the widespread ignorance and the sense of "ease" (we want everything easy and free) in the region. I suggest that we add some phases in the traditional cycle exposed.
Due to the widespread ignorance of these systems, many times our client contacts us, seeking only to know how much it costs to have a good security system. You don't really have a purchase intention yet, you just want to know an approximate (but serious and responsible) value to verify the viability of the project or take it into account within the overall budget. You don't want details, you don't want brands, you don't want studies, you don't want visits, you don't want to wait, you just want to know a general estimate.
I would not do this, if I knew about the subject, if I had experience and if it were common to use security systems in any new or remodeling project, but we already know that they consider these electronic networks as luxury or special type.
That's why they need to know more, so all you can think of is to take the phone book or search the internet, some companies that do have experience in the subject. And who better than the same experts who sell this?
But when you quickly explain your project, the first thing they tell you is that they should make a visit, know the plans and ask countless questions to determine the security system that serves you.
The integrator -who has the greatest guilt in the current inefficient processes-, mistakenly believes that it is part of his responsibility to make the design, and then to compromise the client, he gives away a bad design, because he ends up doing it without professionalism in a couple of days and without the necessary conditions.
The end user does not know the cost, human factor, time and wear and tear incurred by the integrator and then, when he sees that his request was not as fast and simple, as it should be, he is embarrassed to accept that he only wanted a general data, an approximate cost, without so much detail.
And then comes the fair of lies: 1. The end user says that there is a high probability of buying (when in many cases, he is only making the work budget and there are no intentions of immediate purchase). 2. The integrator seller guarantees that your quote made in 3 days, is the system you need. 3. The pre-sales engineer of the integrator ensures that its design is professional and accurate. 4. The enthusiastic integrator, inscribes the project in its forecast and expects to close the deal in the next 5 days. The factory plans its production and makes purchases thinking about immediate sales...
And stupidly we create a non-existent film, spending time and money, valuable resources for other tasks that are finally reduced to nothing, when our client does not sign the purchase order as we expected.
And why didn't he? Are we bad sellers? Isn't our product good? Simply because no one had the intention of real purchase at that time and the integrator erred for wanting to do more, appearing to be very expert and professional.
Let's understand that if the company that sells electronic security really investigates the need of the end user, it would easily realize that everything its client is looking for is an estimated value, and that to give that value, no plans are needed, nor technical visits, nor three days of poorly done work, uselessly wearing out resources; but ask the right questions, take a calculator and in 20 seconds give a value with a margin of approximation of 70%, enough for the end user to include that item in their budget and continue to preserve an image of professionalism of the company that sells electronic security.
No lies, no deception, no guilt, no fruitless wear and tear, no frustrations. Only recognizing a part of the process that is the viability or feasibility within the planning of a large work.
So within the Marketing process (Marketing and Sale) we must now add an activity that we will call estimation (technical and commercial). This phase must be carried out in many cases even before the conceptual engineering, classifying the project under some normal customs that are known, due to the use that the building will have.
For this, the indexes mentioned and explained in the articles of past editions are used, in order to generate approximate figures with little preliminary data and correctly estimate an initial budget.
Let's notice that the current mistake is to make a poorly made design for free and pretend that with that data you can build a professional solution.
Within the normal process, once our client has included that estimated value -which we gave him in a very short time-, in his general budget and recognizing that it is desired and feasible to buy electronic security, then we move on to the next stage: Make the basic design.
In this case, we must charge for doing a study and carrying out the basic design of the equipment. Here if risk analysis, plans, technical visits and several meetings are required to clarify concepts, understand the real needs, explain in great detail the strengths and weaknesses of each subsystem, evaluate different technologies, know the market, compare specifications, determine which is the best combination of products that meet the needs of the end user and translate all this into serious and responsible documents that allow to continue with the process of basic engineering.
Statistically at this stage, the budget can be estimated with an approximation of 85%. But we must understand that all this engineering work well done and suitable, without commercial interests in between, but thinking about the needs of the end user, has a cost and must be paid by the owner, because the direct benefit is for your project.
The consulting company that carries out the design, becomes a true advisor to the end user and helps him to make intelligent decisions, which allow him savings and efficiency. With this information it is possible to tender or make serious invitations so that the integrating companies can – now if – make "grounded" offers and approach reality without deception, guilt or lies, but above all without working for free.
When the integrating company is the one who carries out the basic design (it is not the most recommended, due to its lack of impartiality, the result of its commercial commitments), it must know how to differentiate it commercially from the supply and installation stage.
This way we teach our client to pay for the planning stages and decrease the risk of doing the work for free, so that others benefit from it. The only way is to charge this phase separately.
Missing is the final process that allows the construction of the electronic security solution in a professional manner, which we call the detailed design.
They are the construction documents, with the real specifications of the products to be installed, with the exact architecture and configuration that is required, with the plans that include location of elements and exact wiring routes, with the necessary calculations, detailed tables, and exact schematics of all the integrated subsystems.
The design includes not only the electronic part, but the rules and operating procedures necessary for the correct use of the equipment and the test protocols that will be carried out to ensure that the investment made complies with what was designed and agreed. Normally at this stage the accompaniment, technical supervision and commissioning service is also contracted (if it has not been done yet).
At this time the supply and installation phase is well supported and supported by a professional work team that guarantees the success of electronic security systems.
The cycle closes again with the maintenance and customer service phase and there are more errors that I have detected, but that will be part of another article, because the topic is long ...
Could you have supplied and installed correctly, with a poorly made and gifted design, which the integrator pretended to do, when asked for the first price estimate? Do you now understand the mistakes and the solution so as not to make them anymore? Re-read the index article.
Finally I want to tell you that this error is not the responsibility of the end user (after all, many times it is the first time you take us into account). The mistake is ours, that is, the electronic security guild, for not having clarity in the processes.
It is we who must kindly educate the end user, teach them the way and take them through the appropriate phases, avoiding misusing our resources and serving as a showcase for deception and lack of professionalism.
Think about it and remember that if we want different results, we must act differently.
* Germán Alexis Cortés H. is a Colombian Electronic Engineer, with a postgraduate degree in Engineering Management Systems. Consultant of the National Institute of Standards and Technology – NIST, in Electronic Security and Building Automation. CCP of ASIS, and CISSP of ISC2. He has over 20 years of experience in the electronic security industry. Renowned lecturer and university professor on high-tech issues at the Latino level. He has been a director of several companies in the sector and is currently a partner and directs Insetrón Ltda, an engineering and technical consulting company in electronic network projects for security, communications and automation. He has successfully participated in more than 150 projects at the Latino level. Contact him in the email [email protected]
