As AV projects become larger and more complex, they require even higher levels of thoughtful project and crew management. The introduction of the right smart technology solutions may allow AV teams to better manage growing crew member numbers, the search for crew members with specialized skills, and evolving project needs.

AV companies face an interesting dilemma in 2016: companies in industries all around them are adopting SaaS tools to optimize their projects and workloads while gaining better efficiency, while AV companies themselves struggle to find a SaaS solution that can fit their processes well enough to merit a switch from the disjointed project management tools they’ve used for decades.

Process improvements are the key to establishing a workflow that improves your AV team’s productivity and helps your team deliver exceptional work for clients.

But before you can make any crew management process improvements, your organization needs to identify where inefficiencies exist, what possible solutions may fill them, and how to get the rest of your team on board with these new changes.

It’s easy to cling to an AV project planning process that has been with your organization since its start -- your employees are used to it and it works (for the most part) -- but it’s important to consider whether your process is still serving your company as well as it could.

Las Vegas, NV (May 25, 2016) --  Today, Mertzcrew announced they will unveil their newest iteration of smart solutions for AV companies at InfoComm 2016 in Las Vegas. The Mertzcrew team has developed a powerful all-in-one AV crew management system that brings 16 years  of AV crew management experience into a cloud-based service that will strengthen operations, increase efficiency and accuracy, and save valuable time and money for growth-minded AV companies.

Strategic workforce planning is all about having the right crew members in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost. It’s a process that involves internal coordination and communication within your AV team, effective crew member selection and scheduling, and working with crew members to get them on board and up to speed quickly.

Nothing slows down getting paid by your AV client more than waiting for your crew members to turn in their hours and expenses. Without these numbers on hand, neither you nor your crew members can get paid -- or worse, you’re left potentially covering the cost of unaccounted invoices, months after the project has already closed due to surprise, late crew invoices.

Many industries utilize field service softwares as a solution for managing mobile workforces and widespread resources. There are many benefits to doing so, from improving communication and tracking to organizing your internal management processes into one streamlined system.  

Independent contractors have long been a part of the AV industry. We depend on this talented group of technicians for big projects, projects requiring specialized skill sets, and to help when we’re short staffed on a big project. While these folks enable AV companies to operate with maximum flexibility, ensuring contractors on your projects are contracted properly and  properly insured with Worker’s Compensation can be time-consuming and often confusing. But if the contract & insurance are not set up properly, it could place your company at serious risk.

Occasionally, before you even realize it, AV labor costs can spin out of control. By the time this happens, it’s too late to fix the problem. In order to stay on-budget, AV schedulers and planners need to take proactive measures when managing per-project labor costs. While this is often easier said than done, introducing an online platform that tracks labor costs is one of the easiest ways to manage budgets accurately, effectively, and without increasing your workload. Below are just a few of the ways an AV crew management tool can help you manage AV labor costs on any project, before costs get out of hand.