Robust Systems – Tech Team Tribute

This was a sweeping effort to instill industry best practices into all of our technical systems – including sound, projection, telephones, copiers, furnaces, boiler, computers, network, website, and email. Here are a few examples.

Make Worship arts volunteer friendly

Simplified labeling of equipment
Cover equipment buttons that we do not use
No interruptions just before and during Services
Use two way radios to communicate among the team
Written procedures for all tech roles
No putting volunteers “on the spot” without proper training

Pre Service verifications

Cross team checklists of all technical operations
Verify heating/cooling temperatures and air flow by walking through all areas
Personal check-in with each Worship leader for last minute changes and microphone testing

Technical documentation

We compiled twelve binders documenting everything technology related that were maintained on an ongoing basis. These were put in a common area in the balcony for use by other teams and for those who come after us. covering telephones, copiers, furnace, boiler, computers, sound and video equipment, etc. These are stored in the balcony for safekeeping; we encourage other teams and staff to make use of them as needed. We have also created operating procedures and checklists for worship sound and video.

Telephone user manual
Telephone feature programming
Photocopier user manual
Photocopier procedure and maintenance log
HVAC procedure and maintenance log
Boiler operation
Furnace operation
Computer network design
Sound system design
Sound and video equipment user manuals
Worship arts procedures
Web design manual

Three tier support

We adopted this strategy to make getting support as easy as possible for our users while at the same time being realistic about expectations from volunteers supplying that support. All support requests start with a simple triage and then a hand-off to an appropriate volunteer.

Tier I – Routine user support and training issues

Tier II – Equipment malfunction and repairs needed

Tier III – Requests that require new equipment or architecture changes

Demarcation points

Demarcation points let us quickly isolate where in the building a problem is occurring

Electrical room – isolated technical power troubleshooting, air conditioner cut-offs, HVAC emergency off switches, stubs for temporary tech power
Attic – ventilation dampers, speaker wire routing, legacy telephone cables
First floor wiring closet – all network and telephone wiring runs here into a patch panel for quick re-routing
Second floor wiring closet – projection screen controller, remote power switches

Standardization and spares

We have standard configurations for all computers that is deployed by Remote Desktop. This means that all user files and settings are stored on the server. When a user logs into any computer on the network they will have the same consistent experience. When a computer fails we just swap it out with one of our preconfigured spare computers and the user is good to go. We then troubleshoot the failed computer and return it to spares inventory once it is repaired by a volunteer.

Notifications

Critical systems such as our website, email, and furnaces have two independent notification systems in case of a failure. One notification goes to Tech Team members with another escalated notification going to designated member of the Board of Directors.