Overview
In response to the rapidly-changing and intensifying global pandemic, AV Projects – like all organisations across the globe – has had to make significant fundamental changes to our company, very much on the fly.
Fortunately, for a number of years we have maintained a ‘video-first’ remote working solution. This has allowed us to run a lean, semi-national team, without requiring dedicated premises in each state (with exception to our main office in Darwin, NT).
Our Installation Technicians
For our installation technicians, we are working directly within the guidelines and mandates handed out by territory/state, federal, and world health departments and organisations.
This means that we are conducting installations and maintenance where possible and permitted, but have also extended discretion to our individual staff members regarding proceeding with work.
These are unprecedented times, and our technicians will not be obligated to proceed with work, should the official Government health agencies advise as such; or they are feeling unwell or vulnerable.
The safety of staff and customers is our only priority.
If you have scheduled installations, much like the environment in which we find ourselves, arrangements may change rapidly– and we may not be able to keep our pre-arranged installation dates. If this is the case, we will contact you directly as soon as we are advised.
Response time for enquiries
What we anticipate will change significantly however, is the type of work we are conducting, as well as our response times to enquiries and and support requests.
Over the past 4-5 weeks, there has been a major shift towards supporting organisations to adopt a video conferencing systems and culture, and to enable organisations to facilitate work-from-home arrangements, and our inbound enquiries have come under strain.
For the next foreseeable future – while this post remains active on our website – we will be triaging our inbound enquiry and support requests, and giving first priority to the following clients:
- Frontline healthcare and medical research facilities
- Critical care hospitals and inpatient services
- Primary, Secondary, and Early education facilities
- Mental health and remote counselling services
- Essential local, state, and federal Government services
For the above, where possible, we will be enacting a ‘drop-everything’ attitude and delivering priority attention to those essential and critical services that are keeping our country running.
Second priority will be given to:
- Tertiary and other education facilities
- Non-essential local, state, and federal Government services with whom we have existing service contracts
- Other medical, health care, and outpatient services
- Existing customers transitioning to a mandated work-from-home arrangement
While we will respond to all other inbound requests not covered across the above categories, we ask for your understanding that we may not be able to respond within timeframes that you usually expect.
Freight and Equipment
Additional impacts on installation projects will include our ability to source equipment, and to arrange for delivery in a timely manner.
Many of the products we use are sourced from overseas directly, or are obtained through an Australia-based wholesaler that will do so on our behalf.
As of early March 2020, we have noted a number of equipment shortages as well as significant delays in getting said equipment into Australia due to restrictions on freight and cargo from international ports.
In many cases, we will not be advised of national/international equipment shortages until after our orders are placed. If we are unable to obtain equipment for an agreed-upon quotation or project, we will deliver a like-for-like substitute where possible.
We will authorise on your behalf a substitute of the equipment is considered equivalent and within a 20% variance on the line item cost, or on a 10% variance on the total project cost.
For anything exceeding this, we will either schedule installations within the original equipment stock ETA, or we will obtain your authority to proceed with a change-order for alternative equipment.
Pricing on equipment
A final consideration on stock and equipment is price variance, particularly subject to exchange rates for international products.
For all quotes submitted by AV Projects prior to 18 March 2020, we will validate quoted prices upon your quote acceptance, and if there is a variance higher than 10% on equipment items, we will require your authorisation to proceed with the new rates.
For quotes we submit after this date, we may only able to provide a 7 day expiry on the quotation (subject to equipment selection).
In closing
We are all in testing times that require us working together, unified, and compassionately.
While we ask for your patience and understanding on the operational priorities and arrangements we have made, we also acknowledge the extraordinarily difficult circumstances that we all might be facing both professionally and personally.
We extend our deepest warmth towards all of our customers, colleagues, competitors – our fellow humans – and wherever we can, will do whatever we can to help.
Rob Di Toro
