Our Approach
Our Approach is Simple…
If you ask our clients, you’ll find that Airpacket is known primarily for two things: The results we achieve, and the means we use to achieve them. If you ask us, we’ll tell you that the first of these depends on the second. We’re able to deliver outstanding outcomes – as measured by reliability, cost-effectiveness, suitedness for purpose, and overall project success – because we follow a systematized best-practices protocol designed to drive excellence at each stage of your project.
Phase One:
DISCOVERY
Many so called vendors get comfortable with a solution and then try to shoe horn it into every opportunity that they can. Airpacket’s disciplined process stands in stark contrast to this. Long before we talk any tech, hint at numbers, or drop any names, we first must truly discover what you’ve got, what you want, what you need and where you want to be in 5 years. Once we discover these key critical elements, we begin by mapping out the reality of the situation as it is now, from there we can start to navigate the logical progression of how to get you there.
SITE EVALUATION, SURVEY & SIMULATIONS
At Airpacket we will never speculate or guess about whats going on at a site. We always make it a point to physically investigate all proposed work areas. Sometimes its a quick look around and talking some photos, sometimes we scan the airwaves and create log-files, other times its inspecting the electrical, sometimes its drones and lasers, sometimes its forensic or structural. In some cases its everything. Regardless the next step after discovery is meticulous documentation.
BENCHMARKING
Best practice, before any network designs commence, is to test and measure whats there already. This gives the designers the intel they need to see the problems they are tasked to solve. Furthermore Benchmarking plays a key role in documenting the current state of the work area. This comes in handy later by being able to be used to compare the environment-across the “as is,” “as designed,” “as built.” It even helps later on for maintenance and optimization, should something physical change. Overall this step helps define success and also assures you get what you paid for.
DESIGN AND PLANNING
After discovery, evaluation and benchmarking, Airpacket can then start its planning and design work. With strict adherence to our disciplined workflow, we can design a solution just were you need it, or to meet a specific goal. A key aspect of the value of our methods is best expressed by exposing the fact that most equipment MFG’s, Distributors, VARs and even engineering firms often knowingly skip steps along the way, to not only save time, but also so they can design a “solution” that maximizes their profits. as example for all the floors of the entire building vs. just the basement and first or second floor. While our methods takes a bit more on the front end, it saves you in the long run.
Phase Two:
CARRIER AND OR AHJ COORDINATION
Projects that consist of rebroadcasting a carrier owned licensed frequency or boosting a Public Safety Network signal in your venue for NFPA 72 / IFC 510 Code compliance always require proper coordination, permissions and written approvals of the proposed remediation before any physical work begins. Much like a carrier granting permission to re-broadcast, for Public Safety based networks, the Authority Having Jurisdiction or AHJ has the final say and may require special documentation, testing or verification before granting a conditional or final approval.
PRE-CONSTRUCTION SURVEY
After navigating the project life cycle to this point, we have generated a wealth of deliverables and even may have pending approvals to proceed from all required stakeholders. Many firms, at this point will, without telling you, present you with a padded budget that compensates for the unknowns. At Airpacket, we dig our heels in and require a “PRE-CON” visit of the site, where the humans that will be doing the work and who have studied the plans, put their eyes on your facility and look for variances or challenges not accounted for in the simulations. While onsite we will also finalize the Scope fo work and list of consumables needed for the project and present a fixed cost for labor. All changes, noted in this step will be incorporated into the next step.
FINAL DESIGN
With the most recent real world site intelligence gathered from the specially skilled eyes of the construction team, we can tweak the standing design model to compensate for any unforeseen elements and present the final highly precise single point of truth simulations to accurately certify all aspects of the project and submit for final approvals from any required party.
CARRIER/ FCC/ AHJ APPROVALS
Once we have a single point of truth simulation that accurately reflects the scope in its entirety that all parties, stakeholders or authorities can agree on, the proposal is ready to be submitted for final written approvals. Once we have the required permissions in hand, we can then safely move on to the last phase.
Phase Three:
CONSTRUCTION / INSTALLATION
With the certified and approved design from the earlier stages in hand, we export the BOM and begin the sourcing, logistics and staging. Then with visibility into when and where the hardware will arrive, our construction and project manager teams being scheduling any site preparations as well as the actual network construction.
COMMISSIONING
At long last we are getting down the to final steps. The wires are ran, antennas are hung, electronics are placed, power is verified and the system is flipped on for programming. For Carrier and Public Safety based projects this is a critical all hands on deck time, to assure interference mitigation, proper configuration and compliance.
SYSTEM ACCEPTANCE TESTING AND OPTIMIZATION
Most physical work is complete, punch lists are being addressed, commissioning team is feeling good, system is “on air” its a good day. Time to load up the survey tools used to benchmark the work area in an earlier stage and re walk or drive test the newborn network. The log files and reports generated here either validate the work is done or help ferret out any bugs or errors. Once optimizations are implemented the network is walked or driven again until perfection is verified. Once verified, it can be accepted and put into full production.
PROJECT CLOSEOUT
This step creates a compressive evidentiary documentation package, that serves as proof of how things were left-by each respective team. It also serves as a future aide to help future owners or teams to tack changes or isolate possible problems long after the work has been done.
MONITORING, MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT
Most Carrier or Neutral Host owned DAS systems will be monitored and maintained by the carrier or Neutral Host operations teams. However if you are a venue owner and had your Emergency Responder Radio Coverage (ERRC) remediated, realtime monitoring and alarm response is a critical component to NFPA 72 /IFC 510 Code compliance, as is annually scheduled battery discharge testing, in order to maintain compliance under the code. Also if own a neutral host network that we built for you, we recommend active monitoring, maintenance and support packages, so that we can protect your investment proactively vs. reactively.
From project conception to full deployment and support…
The results we achieve for your organization, drive excellence at each stage of your project.
The Results Are Amazing...
We are always happy to talk about it, but showing and proving our results are what get our hearts pumping. We offer a wide range of services with stunning visual representations of the results. Contact us to visualize your project.