Case Study: Crestron System Takeovers

The Crestron Doctors proven method to repairing your system the right way.

Throughout my years with GMI Automation we have taken over dozens of Crestron systems for customers who just aren’t happy with something about how their system works. Today I’m going to take you through the process of how we effectively turn these broken systems into well oiled machines which keep our customers coming back.

The first step in any effective system repair or takeover is to diagnose the problem at hand. 

Diagnosing The Problem

The way to go about this isn’t to jump right into the system hardware or code, it’s to simply find out from the end user how they are being affected by the problem. What is making them unhappy and what is keeping them from using the system to it’s full capacity. It’s also important to use this conversation with your client to find out how they are using the system and what their overall needs are.

Defining The Process

Once we’ve spoken to the customer about the issue we begin to put together a game plan for how to resolve. We examine the existing system and learn how it was put together. Many systems we find are thrown together without room for upgrade or ease of service, which makes the next step even more important; a complete overhaul and cleanup of the wiring. It is imperative to be 100 percent sure that all the work we are doing is reliable down to the terminations of each individual wire.

Cleaning up and reorganizing wires isn’t just for aesthetics, it is the bedrock of any properly functioning Crestron system. During this cleanup process we learn the ins and outs of the system and identify possible failure points in the equipment itself. Once this is complete we begin to test each hardware component and earmark any for possible replacement or redistribution within a rack.

Wrapping It Up

The user interface of the system, while the first thing you talk about, it’s the last thing you touch. It is the granular work of reorganizing wires and system components which ultimately brings the solution your customer is looking for, even though they may not understand the importance this level of install brings beyond beyond mere aesthetics.

This is why the most critical part of rebuilding and taking over a Crestron system is not about wires or components or code or any of the above, it’s about communication and setting customer expectations. We take the time in the beginning of the process to explain to the customer why we need to rebuild from the ground up, and that only taking care of the surface issue will ultimately create a liability and potential for additional service needs.

In Summary

Sometimes it is difficult to convey all the work that went into fixing a system because at the end, all the customer sees is that their problem has been solved. This is why the final step of our process requires more than just technical expertise, it requires great customer communication. We take the time to demo the system, listen to customer issues and revue how we fixed their problem in a language our customer can understand.