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Childproof Your TV To Prevent A Tragedy
Childproof Your TV To Prevent A Tragedy |
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| by Brian Eble
Most parents worry about the negative impact watching too much television can have on a young child, but few consider the risks these living room staples can actually pose to their child’s physical safety. Early last month, a 1-year-old boy became the fourth Chicago child in as many months to be killed by a falling television. While this may seem like a rash of freak accidents, it’s actually not that uncommon. Between 2000 and 2010, TV tip-overs sent an average of 13,700 children per year to the emergency room, and while most injuries were relatively minor, 169 children died as a result. A recent study by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio found that injuries caused by falling TVs had risen 41 percent since 1990, an increase that correlates with widespread sale of ever-bigger flat panel TVs. In all four Chicago cases, the TVs involved were older, CRT-type TVs, which are still quite common in many homes. But, before you run out and replace that heavy CRT unit with a shiny new flat panel in the name of safety, you must know that simply putting a lighter model in place does not fully eliminate the risk of a deadly accident. Many flat panels have a very small base and far narrower center of gravity, which makes them prone to tip in any direction—not just front to back. Most also have more glass than a CRT and some even have sharp corners. Besides, no matter how much it weighs, anything that falls from a height of two or three feet or more onto a small child is going to cause injury. Regardless of the type of TV you currently own or plan to buy, it’s critical to childproof the set—just like you would the electrical outlets and other hazards in your home—to prevent a completely avoidable tragedy. How?
While there’s certainly never any substitute for vigilant supervision, every parent knows you can’t keep a watchful eye on your child at every single moment—and it only takes a split second for something to go horribly wrong. Even if you have older children who are less likely to be hurt by a falling TV, it’s a good idea to protect your investment in the set itself—you never know when a video game session might get a little rambunctious. Add ‘secure the TV’ to your list of childproofing tasks for added peace of mind, both for your child’s safety and that of your shiny new set. |
DSF Legislative Committee Co-Chairs Invite Volunteers
The Digital Signage Federation, the only independent not-for-profit organization serving the digital signage industry, recently announced that Linda Hofflander of Saddle Ranch Digital and Jeff Blankensop of Peerless-AV will co-chair the DSF’s Legislative Committee for 2012.
The Legislative Committee develops programs that support the advancement of digital signage rights and seeks to advise on how to improve legislation, regulations, codes and standards that affect the sale and use of digital signage and interactive technologies. The committee also works with other industry associations to partner on advocating for pieces of legislation that affect the industry. Because the committee’s program goals are still being developed for approval by the DSF Board of Directors, now is the time for those who are interested in participating or chairing a sub-committee to contact either co-chair or the DSF to volunteer, said the Warrenton, Va.-based organization.
“As our industry continues to grow and innovate within the public domain, it will need a voice to advocate for them on legislative issues that will have impact on our businesses,” said Jeff Blankensop, director of business development for Peerless-AV. “Through working with other DSF committees, like our Standards Committee, we can voluntarily promote and adopt standards and work with legislators to educate them on steps we have already taken to self-regulate.”
“The Legislative Committee’s work will prove essential to protecting the livelihoods of our members and everyone who does business in this space,” said Linda Hofflander, chief strategy officer of Saddle Ranch Digital. “We welcome the broadest possible volunteer representation to help ensure that everyone’s business interests are represented.”
Those who are interested in volunteering should contact Linda Hofflander atlhofflander@saddleranchdigital.com or Jeff Blankensop at jblankensop@peerless-av.com.
Peerless-AV™ Debuts New 3×3 Universal Video Wall Cart
LAS VEGAS (March 6, 2012) – Peerless-AV, the leader in innovative audio and video solutions, announced today the launch of the industry’s first 3×3 Universal Video Wall Cart, the DS-VWC655-3X3. The product will be on display March 6-9 at the Digital Signage Expo (DSE) 2012 in Las Vegas at Peerless-AV’s booth #1111.
The 3×3 Universal Video Wall Cart is the first of its size to be introduced to the digital signage market and can hold nine flat panel displays measuring 46- to- 55-inches. Aesthetically appealing, the cart features a covered shelf that
effectively hides media devices and upright channels to organize cables. Five-inch casters are sturdily constructed in order to support up to 1,000 pounds of flat panel displays and can swivel fully 360-degrees for
maneuverability. A unique positioning feature enables simple flush alignment without tools.
“We are very pleased to present our innovative 3×3 universal video wall cart at DSE,” said Peerless-AV Director of Business Development, Jeff Blankensop. “This product holds nine flat panel displays, making it the ideal solution for rental and staging companies that need a mobile multi-display solution that offers clean presentation of content. It’s easy to setup, requiring virtually no tools for installation adjustment, and features several alignment options for optimal flexibility.”
Additional new Peerless-AV products featured at the DSE Expo include the landscape oriented flat panel display kiosks KL540-S and KL546-S, and the portrait style kiosk KP555-S.
For more information about the DS-VWC655-3X3, visit www.peerlessmounts.com Keyword – DS-VWC655-3×3. For more information about DSE 2012, visit www.digitalsignageexpo.net/.
Peerless-AV™ Announces Three New Flat Panel Kiosk Enclosures
LAS VEGAS (March 7, 2012) Peerless-AV, the leader in innovative audio and video solutions, has announced the launch of three new portrait and landscape-oriented flat panel kiosk enclosures. The products will be on display at the Digital Signage Expo 2012 in Las Vegas at booth #1111.
The company features two landscape positioned kiosks, the KL540-S and the KL546-S, which are both silver in color and designed for 40-inch and 46-inch ultra-thin televisions, respectively. Also offered is the KP555-S, a portrait oriented silver kiosk for 55-inch displays.
Ideal for a variety of settings including hospitals, retail establishments, shopping malls and higher education institutions, the KL540-S and KL546-S landscape enclosures are designed to blend with the surrounding environment and complement the customer’s branding efforts. Simple to install, the portrait kiosk enclosure feature a hinged display mounting arm offering ease of installation and ease of access to the display. Adjustments to the display are made using eight tool-less adjustment points, allowing staff members to quickly line up the monitor.
The KP555-S portrait kiosk features a slim profile designed to present maximum screen space. It can accommodate several aesthetic enhancements including vinyl wraps and acrylic trim, in order to perfectly fit with the venue’s unique look and feel. A cam-locked rear door ensures the display is secure from theft or tampering, and provides easy access to internal components and a media player.
All three new products can be fitted with optional fan cooling systems, which can greatly expand the life of the electronics by effectively dissipating heat. A depth adjustability feature ensures the kiosks are compatible with a variety of displays that are built to varying dimensions.
“These kiosks feature a clean and modern design, which fits prevalent usage of today’s ultra-thin displays,” said Peerless-AV Director of Business Development, Jeff Blankensop. “Our new kiosks provide a secure and stylish platform that enhances the customer’s multimedia content. We put a lot of thought into these products, including features such as cam locked doors and optional cooling fans and speakers. The stand is exceedingly easy to assemble and adjust, and can be up and running within minutes, giving customers an easy solution for reaching large audiences.”
Peerless Industries, Inc. Announces Formal Expansion Into Healthcare Market at HIMSS 2012
Innovative PeerCare™ Line of Products Comprised of Flexible, Best-in-Class Patient Point-of-Care Solutions Provides Caregivers Exceptional Ownership Experience
Las Vegas – HIMSS Booth Number 7015 – (Feb. 20, 2012) – Peerless®, the leader in innovative audio and visual solutions, today announced its formal expansion into the healthcare market with the launch of the PeerCare™ brand of highly adaptable fixed and mobile IT product mounting solutions for both traditional and emerging computing platforms within healthcare IT.
Peerless’ initial line of Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-compliant products include the PeerCare™ Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Hybrid Cart optimized for iPad and Android tablet platforms; adaptive, fully articulating and high-traffic-area wall systems, including a low profile unit deployable in space constrained areas like hallways; and, the PeerCare™ Enclosure Pod, a lockable unibody constructed design that secures and protects IT equipment accommodating both PeerCare™ and competing wall systems to prevent unauthorized access, such as in children’s hospitals and public access areas. The PeerCare™ Enclosure Pod delivers an industry first ability to convert a standard healthcare wall system into an enclosure.
Peerless also unveiled PeerCare™ Antimicrobial Mounting Solutions, the industry’s first antimicrobial fixed and articulating wall and ceiling mount solutions to use Agion®-branded coatings, long-known for its infection control properties. Available in white and black, these solutions are designed for use in patient and exam rooms, operating rooms, waiting areas, nursing stations and administrative offices to aid healthcare facilities in their overall infection control protocol.
Like other Peerless standard products, the U.S.-made antimicrobial mounting solutions are sellable on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule to Veterans Administration hospitals and Department of Defense healthcare institutions.
Peerless will showcase these products Feb. 20-24 at the HIMSS 2012 Conference and Exhibition at Las Vegas’ Venetian Sands Expo Center. The antimicrobial mounting products are available immediately, with the remaining products available for general sale during late Q1 to early Q2 2012.
“The PeerCare™ EMR Hybrid Cart is optimized for iPad®, Android® and other tablet platforms 
within hospitals that use such devices for charting, and is available in both powered and non-powered configurations,” noted Will Townsend, Peerless Managing Director of Healthcare. “In addition to being the industry’s lightest weight user-configurable powered cart, when used with its modular battery system accessory and available external charging station, it delivers more than 24 hours of multi-shift use on a single charge.
“Smaller than laptop batteries, the cart’s lightweight battery fits into a nurse’s or other healthcare worker’s palm, as compared with standard powered carts that use heavier lead acid batteries, which, in addition to being hard to maneuver, are prone to dangerous overcharging,” Townsend said. “The PeerCare™ EMR Hybrid Cart’s light weight and modularity is particularly useful to meet the needs of the U.S.’ aging nurse and caregiver population. The cart, as well as other PeerCare™ products we’ll showcase at HIMSS, reflect Peerless’ hallmark commitment to designing innovative, easy to use, easy to manage, next generation healthcare products.”
Peerless co-developed the modular battery system with industry leader Belkin. “Working with Peerless to develop a modular battery power system specifically for the healthcare industry was a strategic opportunity for Belkin as we look to serve the industry more robustly,” said Luis Artiz, Belkin’s Director of Product Management. ”We are proud of our work in development of the power system for the PeerCare EMR Hybrid Cart and look forward to collaborating with Peerless in the future as there is a natural synergy between our solutions.”
Following its participation at HIMSS 2012, Peerless will continue to expand its PeerCare™ portfolio of fixed and mobile healthcare products over the coming months, all adaptable to new and emerging computing platforms within healthcare IT. While formally announcing its expansion into healthcare, Peerless first entered the market in 1964 with the development for Zenith Electronics of the first CRT television mount for patient rooms.
“We are excited to expand our footprint in this high-growth vertical with an innovative, yet affordable, set of products that deliver exceptional ergonomics, best-in-class design, ease of use, and most significantly represents one of the only entire portfolios in the industry that is TAA compliant for sale to the VA and DoD hospital systems,” Townsend said.”
For more information about Peerless’ PeerCare™ healthcare products, visit www.peercaresolutions.com
For Peerless A/V, the Costs of Doing Business in China Weren’t Worth the Savings
Two years after pulling out, the Aurora, Ill.-based manufacturer of audio/visual mounts still pays ‘seven figures’ in legal fees to fight intellectual-property theft in China.
By: Josh Cable
Some time after Peerless Industries Inc. decided to outsource a portion of its manufacturing to China in the mid 2000s, a strange thing happened.
The Chicago-based manufacturer of audio/visual mounts began noticing its patented products “showing up on the Internet, around the world,” recalls company President and COO Michael Campagna.
“And not in our boxes,” Campagna adds. “And not in our sales.”
Nearly two years after Peerless pulled out of China, the company still spends “over seven figures every year chasing, litigating and trying to shut down the knockoff artists,” Campagna says.
“You can buy Louis Vuitton and Gucci purses all over China for real cheap,” Campagna says. “Everyone’s getting knocked off.”
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| Campagna: When Peerless looked at the total cost of doing business in China, “we made the strategic decision in 2009 to bring everything back.” |
The cost of intellectual-property protection was just one factor that pushed Peerless out of China, where the company had sought to perform aluminum die-casting more cheaply than it could in the United States.
When company leaders analyzed the cost of freight, the cost of carrying extra inventory, and the cost of conducting additional product inspections due to quality concerns, “we found that the total cost of manufacturing in the U.S. was not that much more than manufacturing in China,” Campagna explains.
“So we made the strategic decision in 2009 to bring everything back,” he says.
In May 2010, Peerless consolidated its China operations and two of its Illinois sites into a 319,000-square-foot facility in the Chicago suburb of Aurora. The new 22.5-acre campus, which also houses the company’s corporate offices, employs some 400 people.
The timing of the move was fortuitous, Campagna says. The company took advantage of the slump in the commercial real estate market and the collapse of the auto industry in 2009 to purchase the building and the die-casting machines at a deep discount.
“We paid pennies on the dollar for our equipment,” Campagna says.
Less Inventory, More Cash
Since pulling out of China, Campagna notes that the company’s lead time to the customer hasn’t changed. Peerless sells to OEMS, dealers and commercial installers, who typically demand same-day or next-day shipment — “two days at the most.”
“They don’t stock anything,” Campagna says. “And if we don’t have it, they just move on to our competitors.”
What has changed, though, is the amount of inventory that Peerless now carries.
“Our ability to react and not have one, two, three, four months’ worth of inventory because our stuff is being made halfway across the world has been a major savings,” Campagna explains. “We’ve been able to bring our inventory down 20%. So that just frees up 20% more cash.”
Peerless, with a product portfolio that includes flat-panel mounts, projector mounts, A/V carts and cables, also has found that its ability to implement product or process changes has improved since pulling out of China.
When you’re making product in China, “you have to have at least a 30-day supply, if not a 60-day supply, in your inventory,” Campagna says.
“You have another 30 days on the boat. Your supplier is working on the next 30 days of inventory, and then his supplier making all the components has another 30 or 60 days of supply.
“So your supply chain is huge. If you want to make a design change, it takes forever.”
Add up the costs of IP protection, quality control, freight and other factors, and Campagna estimates that it was 10% to 15% cheaper for Peerless to manufacture in China versus the United States.
“So for 10% to 15%, we’d rather have a little bit less profit and a lot more control.”
©2012 IndustryWeek. All Rights Reserved.
Large-Scale Challenge Met With Peerless-AV Innovation
Going With The Flow
The open air atrium of the Campus Centre at the New Westminster Campus of Douglas College in Vancouver, BC, is the heart of student life and the visual centerpiece of the campus. Three floors of open air and natural light provide a framework for casual and formal meetings as well as easy access to campus business and student support services. As the administration began planning renovation of the facility and an update to the centre’s architecture, they quickly realized a large-scale presentation system would be needed to facilitate communication with visitors to the building. A few discreet video monitors were not going to cut it – this job was going to require something extraordinary.
The Challenge
It became clear to the Douglas design team that a hinged mounting system attached to a main structural upright located in front of the student commissary might be the only viable location. With the right design and hardware, a large presentation screen could be suspended in a way that would enable the display to be turned to the back and left for general viewing, but also turned forward for formal presentations. No commercially available solution could handle all the requirements for strength, durability, and fluid motion that this project presented, so Douglas College called on the Peerless-AV Custom Solutions Team.
Peerless-AV Comes Through
After the architectural firm’s designs were presented, approved, and accepted by the College in May 2011, the Peerless-AV Team took on the challenge. They came back just eight weeks later with a preliminary design and concept.
The video wall matrix would hold nine 46” NEC displays in a 3 x 3 array. Each screen would need to independently move in and out to address any maintenance or service issues. The total weight that would have to hang and move on the two hinges was approximately 1,800 pounds. The entire apparatus would be balanced so that one person could change the viewing angle of the display.
After the concept was approved, work began on fabricating the mount. Custom hinges were designed using needle and bronze bearings ordered specifically for the project. The finished product was tested at four times the required weight capacity and passed seismic guidelines for the installation.
By early August, the final product was completed and shipped to British Columbia. Once on the site, installing the unit was the final challenge. Special scaffolding was erected just for the installation of the mounting system. Almost a ton of weight was being added to the structural upright so careful adjustments had to be made to counterbalance the additional load that the structure would bear.
On Time and Done to Spec
By September 22, 2011, the Douglas College administration and student body unveiled the new display system at a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by the Peerless-AV Custom Solutions Team. Everything worked perfectly. The display, easily moveable by a single person, could face outward for general usage, or turn inward for formal presentations.
The product ultimately delivered by the Peerless-AV Custom Solutions Team was strong, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing, fitting in seamlessly with the design of the space and the needs of the people who use it.
On time, on budget, on target, and exceeding expectations, this project was a win for all involved.
Everyone have a great first day at CES?
Everyone have a great first day at CES? Ready for day two! #PeerlessAVCES #AVTWEEPS #CES
HD Flow has been named to SVC’s “Bold Engineering 2011″ list
HD Flow has been named to SVC’s “Bold Engineering 2011″ list of the 30 most innovative products of the year!
