Kiewit calls its new training center the cornerstone of its educational programming and an investment in the company’s home city of Omaha.
Kiewit is among the largest contractors in the world, and Kiewit University trains over 3,000 learners annually. Their new training center features a variety of technology-intensive spaces, including an auditorium, large and small classrooms, breakout rooms, and conference rooms. A large, retractable interactive video wall in the lobby provides students and staff with a vivid, informative greeting as they enter. A building-wide digital signage with a web-based room scheduling system gets them where they want to go. The 200-seat auditorium contains a triple projection system plus a fixed-frame projection screen integrated into the front wall with three additional ceiling-mounted projectors. The facility features a variety of technology-intensive spaces, including eight active learning classrooms, dozens of breakout rooms and huddle spaces, plus executive conference rooms.
The underlying technology infrastructure is AV-over-IP based — and is truly innovative. The entire AV system is IP-based transport (SVSi), and functions entirely on Kiewit’s converged network. All devices are addressable. As devices are connected, the control system recognizes and adapts to the needs of users. This “Software-Defined Audiovisual System” accesses nearly 350 data-drops just for AV. Transporting virtually any kind of media and control streams from any room to another via the network is as simple as plugging in the device — even if that room is on the other side of the world.
A fleet of mobile display carts was created for use in any of the multiple active learning classrooms or with the main display. These carts don’t even have to go into the same room or plug into the same floor box/wall plate every time. As carts connect, they automatically register with the AV/control system, which “sees” which cart is where and populates the current rooms’ touch panel with the carts as a source. IP-based transport is the magic. Everything audiovisual is just an endpoint — system design now lives in the software. Add lightweight, movable lecterns, and Kiewit now has among the most flexible training spaces and systems in existence. With such a massive amount of content being transported, one might be concerned about crashing the client’s network, but that was not an issue. A combination of SVSi encoder/decoders and controllers, a QSC Q-sys core with expanders, Mersive Solstice pods and Crestron control processors and touch panels were used to create the advanced, flexible system Kiewit had envisioned.
