Spectrum Brands

Case Study

Building Community & Collaboration

The Client

Spectrum Brands is a global consumer products company that supplies hardware, appliances, locks, pet products, lawn care products, and pest control solutions. The company is a member of the Russell 1000 Index and includes widely-respected brands like Kwikset®, Nature’s Miracle®, Black+Decker®, Remington®, George Foreman®, and more.

The Challenge

As a large and fast-paced company, Spectrum Brands needs meeting rooms that support efficient interpersonal collaboration. However, most of their previous meeting room technology was at least 7 to 8 years old and was subpar for their needs. Spinitar was charged with designing and installing tech-enabled rooms with world-class audiovisual integration.

Before the project began, Spectrum’s employees were frustrated by the state of their meeting rooms. They were constantly stepping on wires that were strung throughout the space and were tired of using worn connector cables with old, broken pins. They wanted their new rooms to have easy functionality, clean aesthetics, and fast troubleshooting of any issues that might arise.

Plus, the COVID-19 pandemic had heightened their awareness of health and safety issues. They urgently needed touchless or one-touch handheld solutions for displays, sound, lighting, shades, and other in-room environmental features.

The Approach

Based on conversations between representatives from Spinitar and Spectrum Brands, it was clear that the new rooms must be totally wireless and infused with the latest in touchless technology. They also needed a wide range of built-in features like cameras, microphones, speakers, large shared displays, and individual displays.

Spinitar proposed using one-touch Microsoft Teams’ meeting capability for conducting fast, efficient meetings. Another recommendation was the installation of a scheduling panel on an exterior hallway wall to facilitate setting meeting times. Features like these take a company’s meeting rooms to the next level, maximizing the benefits clients get from Spinitar’s designs.

The approach to this project also took into consideration that Spectrum Brands operates as a hybrid in-person/remote environment. Remote workers had to be welcomed into the meeting rooms as seamlessly as everyone else.

The support we got from Tim was outstanding … Johnny on the spot. Call any time of day. Always available. Get the right people on the call if they have questions … Crestron technology exceeded expectations.

Nathan Hunter

SR. MANAGER OF IT COLLABORATION, SPECTRUM BRANDS

The Technology

Spinitar was aware of current issues related to existing technological infrastructures. Prior to beginning the project, existing equipment lacked the technical capabilities required for company growth and expansion. Although current accommodations worked for smaller teams, a number of technical issues existed. Microphones and insufficient computer hardware caused individuals to become frustrated and inundated with mindless tasks. Furthermore, existing equipment and sporadic technical components created frustration amongst leaders.

In collaboration with Happy Money, Spinitar used their years of AV integration experience and design expertise to create highly functional yet sophisticated and innovative technological solutions. This gave Spinitar the creative flexibility to implement a design geared towards Happy Money’s specific business needs.

Since Happy Money was moving into a brand new office building and was the first company to occupy the space—it was easier for Spinitar to create designs with specifications geared towards company objectives and goals. With a heavy emphasis centered around automated functionality, Spinitar attempted to make the interface as straightforward as possible.

The following technologies were implemented throughout the new Happy Money office space facility:

19 Huddle Rooms

Each of the rooms contain a 65” mounted Samsung commercial grade display monitor.

Creston Mercury devices with built-in VoIP functionality were used with swivel mounts integrated directly into the table.

Cameras were then attached to the bottom of displays and USB/HDMI extenders were used for connectivity from the Mercury devices at the table to the displays on the wall.

2 Interview Rooms

Each room received a 55” Samsung wall mounted display.

Creston Mercury devices with built-in VoIP functionality were used with swivel mounts integrated directly into the table.

Cameras were then attached to the bottom of displays and USB/HDMI extenders were used for connectivity from the Mercury devices at the table to the displays on the wall.

All Hands Area

The All Hands area consisted of a 4x4 video wall which utilizes (16) 55” LCD monitors mounted to form a 165” diagonal display with (8) dedicated electrical circuits.

A 24 port network switch and (1) POE+ injector facilitates the networking side of the equipment and is well hidden inside a credenza rack underneath the video wall.

The audio consists of (4) JBL speaker line arrays which were floated from multiple I-Beams along with a DSP for line level mixing, zone control, and equalization.

The lighting is made up of (4) Martin LED lights mounted to lighting pipes attached to I-Beams in front of the stage.

An in-wall transmitter is provided to allow for quick local display of video and a nearby in-wall video transmitter allows for plug and play of a local video source. By distributing this feed back to the MDF and into the NVX matrix, this allows the feed from the All Hands area to be routed to any other signage displays in the building. This includes any display on a separate floor or even the video wall in the Reception area.

A white Crestron 10” touch panel is mounted in-wall nearby to provide control of the whole system for on/off functionality, volume, microphone selection and lighting control.

Additionally an external iPad was provided which mirrors the in-wall touch panel and allows for wireless control from anywhere in the room.

Large Conference Room

The conference room was outfitted with an 82” wall mounted Samsung commercial LED display and a Vaddio 30x PTZ USB camera.

A Shure MXA910 in-ceiling microphone was used in conjunction with a Crestron sound bar allowing for VoIP calling and echo cancellation.

A white 10” table mounted touch panel allows for control of systems on/off, microphone muting, audio volume control, camera adjustment and VoIP call dialing.

Experience Center

The Experience Center is a two way combinable room.

Each room consists of a 2x2 video wall which utilizes (4) 55” LCD monitors mounted to form a 110” diagonal display.

USB PTZ cameras were installed next to each display to allow for video conferencing sessions.

The audio is made up of (1) Shure MXA910 in-ceiling microphone which is pole-mounted to the ceiling along with (8) Crestron pendant speakers in each room.

When combined both rooms act as one utilizing all (16) speakers and both Shure MXA910 microphones in conjunction with each other.

Each video wall mirrors the other depending on which room you select a source from.

The system is controlled by (2) Crestron 10” wall mounted touch panels, one for each side of the space.

Additionally an external iPad was provided which mirrors the control panels and allows for wireless control from anywhere in the room.

3 Mix Training Rooms

An 82” wall mounted commercial grade Samsung display was used along with Creston Mercury devices with swivel mounts integrated into the tables. The Mercury simultaneously acts as both the speakers and microphone while an HD Huddly GO camera is attached to the bottom of the display in the front of the room.

An Intel NUC with bluetooth capabilities functions as the processor in these spaces and acts as the Zoom Rooms hub.

1 Game Room

An 82” wall mounted commercial grade Samsung display was used along with (8) Crestron pendant speakers.

This area functions as one of the main controllable zones for background music which utilizes a Sonos Connect box on the network, one of four distributable background music sources that can be changed on the fly throughout the building.

1 Reception Area

The reception area contains a 2x2 video wall which utilizes (4) 55” LCD displays mounted to form a 110” diagonal display.

A nearby in-wall video transmitter allows for plug and play of a local video source. By distributing this feed back to the MDF and into the NVX matrix, this allows the feed from the Reception area to be routed to any other signage display in the building. This includes any display on a separate floor or even the All Hands video wall.

A 10” in-wall touch panel is used for control to turn the wall off/on, select a source and control volume levels for the speakers.

1 IT Lab

The room consists of (4) 40” wall mounted commercial grade Samsung displays and (4) HDMI input wall plates for local plug and play at each display.

1 Coffee Bar

A 55” wall mounted commercial grade Samsung display was used in the area. This location also acts as part of the distributed digital signage destinations and can be controlled wirelessly via an iPad.

Digital Signage

A total of (13) 65” wall mounted commercial grade Samsung displays were used along with 2 NVX Encoding/Decoding card frames and (16) NVX box decoders located at each digital signage location (This includes the All Hands Space, Reception area and Coffee Bar).

A total of (4) BrightSign media players are used for signage content management along with a Mac Mini, while (4) mobile iPads act as the main interface for control of the signage locations.

The system was set up with user friendly “pick and poke” routing for simple management of all content. Simply pick a source and then pick a destination to route the desired content. If a display is off it automatically turns on. A scheduling system can also be put into place to have all displays turn on and off at specified times of the day.

Distributed Audio

A total of (112) speakers were used along with an (8) channel QSC digital amplifier and a (12) channel Biamp DSP.

Audio systems consist of (5) audio decoder cards, (1) paging microphone station, and (4) Sonos players.

There are a total of (7) speaker zones that can be controlled from touch panels on the 3rd and 4th floors with optional passcode protection.

Sound Masking

A well engineered Biamp/Cambridge sound masking system is used in the 4th floor open office areas to allow for noise management between the call centers and private office areas.

The technological infrastructure was made with the help of several top notch manufacturers, most notably including several products from:

The Solution

Spinitar designed and installed fully wireless rooms using in-room technology from Crestron, a Spinitar manufacturing partner and provider of innovative audiovisual integration solutions. The new rooms look tidy and professional from an aesthetic perspective because the wireless technology eliminates visible cords and connectors.

Wall-mounted video units, dimmable lighting, and sound masking create a high-quality audiovisual experience. Video and sound controls are easily adjustable using on-screen technology, and meetings can start and stop with a tap.

Today, Spectrum’s employees can run or join efficient meetings inside their building, plus they can participate from anywhere in the world. The tech-infused new rooms fully meet the client’s expectation to, in their own words, “walk into a conference room and just have it work.”