Technical Support for Conferences & Events

Technical Support for Conferences & Events

Our company, American Language Services, has been providing professional interpreting services, equipment rental & sales and full technical support for almost 4 decades. We work On-Site & Virtually in over 200 distinct languages, throughout the U.S. and internationally.  It is safe to say that we have vast experience and knowledge in this area and are happy to pass some good tips along to you.

Technical Support is Critical When Equipment is Utilized

The first thing to look at is what equipment you are renting for your event. Not all equipment requires technical support. For portable equipment, technical support is not needed. This type of equipment is pre-set at the warehouse is compact, easily transferable, and simple to operate. For virtual assignments are you going to live stream, do web casts or record your event? These all are important technical considerations to be considered when determining if technical support is not on or offsite.

When you are renting out Tabletop Booths or Fully Encapsulated Booths, an on-site technician or multiple technicians may be required. On-site technicians are responsible for the overall coordination and pre-planning of your event for technical requirements. They work in close coordination with your team, the onsite AV crew & Venues. They set up, test, monitor and breakdown all interpreting equipment.

There are numerous factors that determine the number of technicians needed. Factors such as the number of booths, the type of booths, the use of portable equipment, the number of rooms, the specific location of the rooms, the time allocated for setup and breakdown and the number of venues will ultimately determine the number of technicians needed to successfully set up, monitor and break down the event.

There are too numerous factors to provide an exact number of technicians needed, however, the on-site technical team will work in conjunction with our off-site interpreting department to determine the best, most cost-effective course of action.

Pre-Planning is a Key Element

It’s important to make sure all aspects of your event are planned on a timely basis; this is especially true with the technical elements. In general, for larger events, these should be booked 90 + days in advance. For smaller events, 60 – 90 days is appropriate. Once your event is scheduled and booked, we should immediately start the coordination process between our technicians, your team, and other on-site personnel.

Coordination with the Venue

Our project management team works directly with your team to understand your goals, technical requirements, and equipment layout. Once we have a good grasp of what these requirements are, our technician needs to be in contact with the venue itself and be in touch with the personnel in charge of coordinating the event activities

The on-site technician will work closely with the venue and make sure that the equipment will fit in the rooms that will be utilized. Once this is determined, the next step is to obtain a layout of each of the rooms and coordinate exactly what pieces of equipment go in which specific area of the room. Also, we will need to understand the type of technology that exists in the facility to ensure the compatibility of the equipment.

Bringing Together the Technician and On-Site AV Team

After the overall strategic plan is made in conjunction with the venue and input from your team, it’s then time to be in touch with the on-site AV Team. The on-site AV Team will have very specific knowledge of the exact equipment they will be planning to use, its technical requirements and other factors that relate to the setup.

For example, for larger events located in large rooms, the booths may be set up behind the stage area or in a separate room that will allow the interpreters to hear everything that is being said but they will not be seen by the general audience. In this scenario, the AV Team will be setting up monitors so the interpreters can also see the event in real time. Our technician will gather the information necessary to work with the AV Team for this type of setup.

There are many other scenarios possible, such as setting up in multiple rooms, setting up at multiple times, setting up at multiple locations and working with a combination of portable equipment and booths. In each of these various scenarios different elements come into play. The technician is responsible to develop unique strategies to best manage the equipment setup based on a multitude of factors that defer from event to event.

Equipment Delivery

After the basic coordination takes place with the venue and the AV Team, the technician then works directly with each client to determine the logistics of the equipment. Decisions need to be made in terms of when the equipment needs to arrive at the venue, specifically, where the equipment get shipped or delivered, and the dates for setup and breakdown. This information will have an impact on overall strategy to achieve the goals each client outlines.

Communication is a Key

Once all the planning is made and a sound approach is in place, it’s time to execute the strategy. Good communication needs to exist between the client, technician, venue and AV Team. For all personnel involved, contact information including emails, cell numbers and room locations should be clearly identified prior to any setup. This will ensure smooth and seamless implementation of the planning.

Once the Event is Going

After all the planning is done, the strategy is complete, and the equipment is on site, it’s now show time. The technician(s) arrive on schedule, coordinate with the personnel on site as planned and then set up the equipment in the specified rooms and locations.

In each of the rooms after the equipment is setup, the technician will test all the equipment to make sure that everything is working correctly. If it is not, then the technician will complete the necessary adjustments and retest to confirm everything is working 100%.

As the event is proceeding, the technician(s) will closely monitor all activities related to the use of the equipment to ensure that everything is going smoothly and to make any immediate adjustments if any are required.

About American Language Services

Founded in 1985, American Language Services was there to help pioneer the rise in remote ASL interpreting options. Our dedication to quality and client satisfaction in interpreting allowed us to shift from a one-woman agency into one of the most successful language agencies in the world. Our language experts provide CART and ASL interpreting services to people all around the world. Because of our 24/7 availability, you’ll never have to worry about us not picking up the phone.

AML-Global has some of the most impressive linguistic talents in the world. These highly skilled language professionals are recruited, screened, and tested to ensure high-quality work.

Contact us by email at interpreting@alsglobal.net or via phone at 1-800-951-5020 for a free estimate.

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