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The ACS Process

As technology professionals, we take great pride in having a standardized design-build process in place across our New York City, Florida and California branches to ensure you receive a high-quality, reliable solution that matches your performance expectations.

Our Process
Services
ACS AfterCare

Let Our Process Guide the Way

For all of our projects, we strive for the ultimate professionalism by sticking to a consistent and transparent process. This way you know exactly what to expect throughout all phases of the project and have a clear understanding of how your technology goals are brought to life.

*In the majority of projects the integrator is responsible for all hardware procurement and labor and the consultant has design responsibility.

From start, to finish, and beyond...

Whether you're a new customer interested in our solutions, or an existing customer seeking support, we would love to hear from you. Don't hesitate to call or use our contact form to reach us for any reason. Our talented staff of representatives is knowledgeable, responsive and ready to answer your questions. Our technicians are certified, experienced, and extremely passionate about every project. We take pride in building lifelong relationships with our valued customers. Contact us, we are ready to go to work for you.

1. Discovery Process:

Your project begins with a one-on-one conversation where we learn everything about your needs and preferences so we can design a system curated just for you. We’ll take the time to learn about your lifestyle, interests and budget or space constraints. As we learn more, we’ll be able to better tailor the ideal functionality and capabilities for your system.

2. System Design:

The next step is taking the information from the initial discovery meetings to craft the design for your system according to your performance priorities and budget qualifications. This overview proposal gives an overhead explanation of the subsystems for each room. It outlines the features and functionality you can expect from lighting, multi-room audio, video, motorized window treatments, and networking. We’ll discuss it with you and integrate your feedback before moving on to the next stage.

3. Engineering:

Once we have approval on that original proposal, we’ll use cutting-edge Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology and project drawings to create in-depth documentation for our technicians to follow. These plans include the hardware models, labor requirements, low-voltage wiring, commercial and home lighting control load specifications, engineering schematics and rack elevations. By strictly following these plans, we ensure the final project is in line with the approved design.

4. Implementation Process:

At the job site, our staff uses the engineering documentation to lay out all necessary low-voltage wiring and device enclosures. Knowing the unique requirements for various subsystems, our technicians expertly install and test all devices to ensure they work as specified in the original documentation. How long the process takes will depend on the project scope as well as any change orders along the way. If any changes are made during this stage, they’re included in relevant as-built documentation.

5. Service & Support:

After installation, we ensure our clients enjoy a world-class service experience to keep their integrated technology running smoothly for years. How can you enjoy optimal performance from your system? Every piece of documentation is kept for future service, manufacturer warranties are guaranteed and we offer ongoing tech support. Let us craft advanced service plans for you that include 24/7 remote monitoring, network performance tests and priority response times.

Our Services

Consultation

To create personalized technology solutions for you, we need to know as much as we can about you. All of our projects begin with a thorough needs analysis. After asking a variety of questions to ascertain your needs and performance expectations, we’ll advise you on the products and solutions that make the most sense for your lifestyle or business. We’ll cover your space room-by-room, in many cases doing a physical walk-through, to better understand how you use each room and the ways you could integrate technology for added comfort and efficiency.

Project Specification

Once we’ve undergone that original needs analysis, we’ll document it to include your specific budget qualifications and performance expectations by creating an easy to understand scope of work document. The initial scope of work document outlines the subsystems you want to include in your home in an easy-to-follow room by room format. We go in-depth to outline the features and functionality for each room when it comes to lighting, multi-room audio, video and networking. This room by room narrative scope of work document ensures that your expectations are fully understood for each of the services offered and agreed upon. This document is dynamic, allowing the scope to evolve as the project progresses and the technology & design goals change. After presenting the project specification, we’ll integrate any of your feedback before proceeding to the project design.

Design & Budget

We take the approved project specifications and implement them with exacting detail to match all of the capabilities and functionality you expect. At this stage we’ll outline hardware model numbers and prices as well as all the labor needed to execute the job. Backed with Computed Aided Design (CAD) technology and project drawings, our engineering team crafts a comprehensive plan for all technicians and trade partners to follow. These include vital information on low-voltage wiring, grouping of lighting loads, window treatment details, engineering schematics, rack elevations and keypad specifications.

System Documentation

Extensive documentation in the form of CAD designs and project drawings results in a streamlined and transparent construction and installation process that lets us stay within schedule. This documentation serves as a vital tool for our technicians to use to ensure the end result includes all the capabilities and functionalities you wanted. Our project documentation will include all low-voltage wiring requirements, device locations, power specifications, rack elevations and schematic level engineering. We share this documentation with you as well as any property managers, architects or designers involved in the process.

Project Management

Coordinating the completion of our smart technology projects requires active project management from our staff to ensure we stay within budget, protocols are met, design plans are followed and that any as-built documentation is updated whenever new work orders or changes occur. Since different groups may be working on your home subsystems separately it’s important to have a dedicated project manager in charge of bringing them all together. Our project managers oversee and meet on-site with technicians, contractors and subcontractors to ensure they’re following the project design and staying on schedule and within budget.

Programming

No project is complete without the programming and system configuration needed to create a platform that brings all your technology together. Reliable programming serves as a universal language between your lighting, audio, video, security and more. Each one of our programmers brings their technical expertise to create an effortless control experience via touch screens, keypads, remotes and smart devices. Every job is unique so we will tailor your system interfaces to match your project’s capabilities and desired functionality.

Quality Assurance

Once the initial commissioning of the system in complete, our Quality Assurance team comes in to provide a fresh set of eyes on your system to make sure no detail is left unchecked and your system is operating as initially designed and your scope of work has been satisfied and your expectations have not only been met, but exceeded.

System Monitoring

Our AfterCare team can actively monitor your network and IP connected devices for a remote connection. From a centralized performance dashboard they can immediately gauge the status of all your devices. They will see a real-time update on lighting, climate, security and AV components and know immediately if there are issues that need to be resolved. Just as important, they’ll automatically download any new software upgrades or patches. As part of your system monitoring we’ll also conduct regular network performance tests since latency is often a cause for performance issues.

We offer world-class service for all our projects in the form of ongoing maintenance and support to resolve any issues quickly and efficiently. All technology experiences some wear and tear so we constantly fine-tune your system to ensure it meets all your performance and functionality standards. We offer service plans tailored to your project which include 24/7 remote system management, tech support, priority response time and yearly on-site tech reviews. We’ll also serve as your technology advisor and let you know when we hear of new technology that may enhance your system performance. Need assistance? This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Internet connection monitoring uptime and speed

Proactive alerts for key system components

Automatic and remote device reset available with compatible equipment

Network latency reporting “slow devices”

UPS Battery health and End Of Life (EOL) alerts

AV head-end temperature alerts

Customer-facing app

Network security monitoring that can detect vulnerabilities

Network health reports, including performance

Remote diagnostics that can minimize system down time

System report generation for elevated Technician support

Priority response time and on-site tech reviews

Email our AfterCare team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or use the link below to send a message.

Contact AfterCare

See AfterCare Programs

For immediate assistance and to speak with an ACS AfterCare manager, please call 1-888-724-3004, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.