Author: GMI Automation

In the realm of commercial operations, safety and security are paramount concerns. As business owners, it’s our responsibility to ensure the well-being of our employees, customers, and assets. One crucial component of this commitment is the installation of robust fire alarm systems tailored to the unique needs of our businesses. GMI Automation’s commercial fire alarm division will work to design a system to safeguard your place of business.

Understanding the Importance of Commercial Fire Alarms

Commercial fire alarms play a critical role in detecting and alerting occupants to the presence of fire or smoke within a building. Beyond their primary function of protecting lives, fire alarms also help mitigate property damage by facilitating timely evacuation and summoning emergency responders. Moreover, they are often mandated by building codes and insurance requirements, underscoring their importance as a legal and regulatory compliance measure.

Tailored Solutions for Diverse Business Needs

No two businesses are alike, which is why GMI Automation’s commercial fire alarm systems are designed with careful consideration of the unique characteristics and requirements of each establishment. Whether you operate a small retail store, a bustling office complex, or a sprawling industrial facility, your fire alarm system should be customized to address specific hazards, occupancy levels, building layouts, and regulatory mandates.

Key Features of Commercial Fire Alarm Systems

• Early Detection: Advanced sensors and detectors are deployed strategically throughout the premises to detect smoke, heat, or flames at the earliest possible stage, enabling swift response and evacuation.
• Audible and Visual Alerts: Commercial fire alarm systems are equipped with loud sirens, strobe lights, and other audible and visual alert mechanisms to ensure that occupants are promptly notified of an emergency, even in noisy or visually impaired environments.
• Integration with Building Systems: Modern fire alarm systems can be integrated with other building systems, such as HVAC and access control, to facilitate coordinated emergency responses and enhance overall building safety and security.
• Remote Monitoring and Control: Some commercial fire alarm systems offer remote monitoring and control capabilities, allowing authorized personnel to access real-time alerts, status updates, and system diagnostics from anywhere via mobile devices or web-based interfaces.
• Compliance and Certification: Professional installation and regular maintenance are essential for ensuring that commercial fire alarm systems meet relevant industry standards and regulatory requirements. Certification by recognized authorities provides assurance of compliance and reliability.

GMI Automation: The Right Provider of Commercial Fire Alarms In NJ

When selecting a provider for your commercial fire alarm system, it’s important to partner with a reputable and experienced company that specializes in designing, installing, and maintaining fire safety solutions for businesses. Look for providers with a proven track record, industry certifications, and a commitment to customer service and support.

Investing in a robust commercial fire alarm system is crucial for safeguarding your business, protecting lives, and preserving assets. With GMI Automation as your trusted partner, you can ensure that your premises are equipped with a tailored solution that meets your specific needs. Enhance safety, security, and regulatory compliance by taking proactive steps to implement an effective fire alarm system today. Contact GMI Automation to get started on securing your business and peace of mind.

In the dynamic landscape of modern living, home automation has become the beacon of convenience and sophistication. Crafting an outstanding home automation solution requires a meticulous approach, blending strategic planning, collaborative efforts, and seamless implementation. GMI Automation as your guide, that pave the way for a truly exceptional smart home.

Key Components of Home Automation Design

Start with a Visionary Plan – It all starts with developing a clear vision, and GMI Automation is here to guide you. With expert consultations, we help you identify objectives – whether it’s energy efficiency, enhanced security, or creating a luxurious ambiance. Our team assists you in assessing each area of your home, prioritizing your needs, and creating a roadmap that aligns with your vision.

Collaborate with GMI Automation Experts – It’s a team effort! Collaboration with architects, interior designers, and the GMI automation experts is highly recommended to ensure that your smart home not only functions flawlessly but also seamlessly integrates with your design preferences.

Custom Solutions with GMI Automation – Recognize that every home is unique, and its automation should reflect that. With GMI Automation, customization is key. Whether it’s smart lighting, climate control, or security systems, we provide tailor-made solutions that align with your lifestyle and preferences. Your smart home should not only be technologically advanced but also a perfect fit for your individual needs.

Intelligent Integration – Intelligent integration is crucial, and GMI Automation excels in seamless integrations. With GMI Automation, you can seamlessly integrate smart home devices from various manufacturers, ensuring that your smart home operates cohesively.

Prioritize Security with GMI Automation – In today’s age of connectivity, security and privacy are paramount, and GMI Automation takes this seriously. With the assistance of our parent company, GuardMe Security, incorporate robust security measures, ensuring encrypted connections, secure networks, and regular software updates. We prioritize your security and privacy, providing a peace of mind in your smart home.

Test…Adjust…Test Again – Before finalizing your home automation solution, GMI Automation conducts thorough testing. Our team evaluates functionality, identifies potential glitches, and fine-tunes the system for optimal performance. User-friendliness is key, and we ensure that every family member can easily navigate and control the automated features.

Embrace Scalability with GMI Automation – As technology evolves so should your smart home in NJ. GMI Automation provides scalable solutions, allowing you to incorporate new devices and features as they emerge. Our adaptability future-proofs your investment, ensuring that your home remains at the cutting edge of technology

GMI’s 3 Step Approach Ensures Outstanding Results

Designing an outstanding home automation solution is an art, and with GMI Automation as your partner, it becomes a seamless and enjoyable journey. Our expertise, collaboration strategy, and customized solutions ensures that the end result is exactly what you envisioned. Your NJ home can become a symbol of convenience, sophistication, and the perfect blend of technology and design. Contact GMI Automation’s to discuss your next project with one of our automation experts..

In today’s digital age, entertainment at home has evolved far beyond cable television and radio. With the rapid advancements in technology, homeowners can now immerse themselves in a world of entertainment that’s not only convenient but also seamlessly integrated into their daily lives. Welcome to the new era of home automation, where entertainment is elevated to new heights.

High Tech Home Entertainment Solutions

Custom Home Theaters – Enjoy a cinematic experience from the comfort of your own home. Whether you’re a movie enthusiast looking to recreate the magic of the big screen, a gamer seeking an immersive gaming environment, or someone who simply values quality family time, a custom home theater is a luxurious addition to your home. Our home theaters are designed to personalize your home entertainment space. From immersive sound to large, ultra high resolution screens, custom home theaters can be designed to fit any budget and space.

Whole House Audio – Imagine having a sophisticated audio system that enables seamless distribution of music or audio content to every room, or zone, in your home. Imagine being able to set the mood with your favorite music throughout your home, or switching between different audio sources effortlessly. GMI’s whole house audio systems offer flexibility and provide you with the ability to play something different in every room. Whether it’s soothing background music in the living room, energizing tunes in the kitchen, or a relaxing ambiance in the bedroom.

Virtual Gaming Simulators – Are you a gamer looking to play that newly released video game on a large screen? Perhaps you are an avid golfer and have always dreamed of playing virtually from your home the you are unable to get to the course. GMI Automation understands that the concept of “enjoyment” can vary significantly from person to person.

Lighting Control – Save energy and set the perfect ambiance with our lighting control solutions. Whether you need dynamic lighting scenes or automated scheduling, GMI Automation’s expertise ensures energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing illumination.

Let GMI Design Your Custom NJ Home Automation System

The rise of streaming platforms, ultra high definition televisions, advanced audio systems, and gaming consoles has transformed how we entertain. However, to truly enjoy these technological advancement, a well integrated and smartly automated home is becoming increasingly essential.

By understanding your lifestyle, requirements and wishes, GMI Automation designs systems that are easy to use and convenience and work seamlessly with your daily routines. Our custom automation services allow you to control various aspects of your home, including lighting, climate and entertainment from anywhere with intuitive interfaces. With GMI Automation’s custom automation, you’re not just embracing innovation – you’re creating an environment that reflects your distinct style and elevates your everyday experiences.

When a prospective client contacts us for a consultation, we know that they have been seeking out home automation solutions from a variety of sources. The fact is that there are many integration companies out there, each with their own levels of expertise. We understand this, which is why we make it our mission to go above and beyond the typical integration company and create reliable and intuitive automation systems designed to simplify the lives of the people who use them. One of the most important ways we do this is by providing value at every step of our process.

Below are three ways that GMI Automation and the #DoneRightNotEasy crew bring value above and beyond a traditional integration company.

Going Deeper

As we’ve discussed previously in this blog, many Crestron systems fail to deliver the desired effect because the integrator fails to properly consult the customer and in turn design the system properly. GMI takes care to adequately consult our customers on the scope of the project, taking their needs and concerns into account. The value of our work comes from our honesty about the real costs and benefits of the products we will be using in our clients’ systems as well as making sure they have an understanding of exactly what we are putting in their home.

When we take time to ask second level questions about how our clients will be using their systems, we uncover issues and needs that other integrators never will. An inexperienced integrator may also ignore the customer entirely and simply install a cookie-cutter system that is not specifically tailored to the end user, delivering value above and beyond the just the costs of equipment and labor.

Simplifying the Job Site

Along with the routines and responsibilities of everyday life, having multiple vendors and workers in and out of your home can be a stressful situation. When you hire an integration company their work will inevitably touch every part of the home, and with that reach comes responsibility to effectively manage the site at large. This is why we work closely with all of the other professionals on a job site to ensure they are maintaining a level of integrity and excellence, not limiting this too the parts of their work that the automation system interacts with. Our clients have trusted us with simplifying their lives, and our value is created by making the installation process as stress free and streamlined as possible.

Customization and Service

Almost any integrator can acquire and install the equipment needed for a full home automation system, but it takes the right team to turn this into an automation experience the end user can enjoy free of problems. Take for example our distributed audio systems, while high end speakers can be installed, left alone and still sound great, the #DoneRightNotEasy crew shows our value by specifically calibrating every speaker to it’s space.

Providing a customer with a high end automation system with no service to back them up is like leaving a NASCAR driver without his pit crew. Even after we step off a jobsite we continue to bring value to our customers at the highest level. This includes proactive monitoring of their system to ensure we can stop issues before they happen; and the ability to remotely access the system and address issues regardless of how far away we are from the physical location. Just one of the many reasons why we continue to service every customer we have, including our first, and there simply are not many integration professionals who can make that claim.

A person’s home is their castle, and GMI Automation not only designs out-of-this-world automation systems for luxury homes throughout the country, we also take the additional steps needed to adequately secure your home, property, and life. Today, we will review four ways GMI Automation and the #DoneRightNotEasy crew protect your home through reliable and intuitive control.

Security and Video Surveillance

The first and most obvious way your home is protected by GMI Automation is through the integration of monitored security into all of our Crestron control systems. What many in the industry fail to realize is how deeply connected luxury home automation is with security system technology. Starting with controlling the access to your home through automated door locks, intercoms and security gates. We program all of our systems to ensure that anyone attempting to access your home without your permission or knowledge, is held at bay and authorities are alerted. In the event that your home or property is the target of criminals or vandals, integrated video surveillance systems can help you and the authorities put an end to any nefarious activity. Professional installed cameras are integrated directly into the Crestron control system and are accessible from any panel or device in the home, and can even be brought up mobily with ease.

Life Safety

GMI takes care when designing our systems to make sure they are wired, built and programmed to the highest of standards, this much is obvious. However, the importance of this cannot be understated. Electronic components by nature produce heat and failure to adequately account for this can cause significant issues. We find all too often that pieces of electronic equipment are placed in cabinetry, closets, and other enclosures without proper ventilation or cooling, and in some cases no ventilation or cooling at all! Not only can overheated equipment run slow, intermittently, or not at all, it can also create significant fire and life safety hazards if not built and placed properly in a home.

Lighting

At first thought, one might assume that an automated lighting control system in a home would be for both aesthetic and energy saving purposes. While these are of course the two primary reasons homeowners choose to build in lighting to their control systems, there is a hidden benefit of home protection. We have all heard the expert recommendation that when you’re away from home, you should leave lights on inside to create the illusion that the residence is occupied, thus reducing the potential for crime. With programmed lighting and Crestron automation, you never have to think twice about this very important rule. The system will know when the home is occupied, for how long, and by whom, and lighting scenes can be programmed to protect your home from a possible break in, without you even lifting a finger.

Cyber Security

The protection of your home does not stop at the physical items inside, or even the safety of the home’s residents, it includes the network and data running through the system itself. All of our standard level systems are programmed with customized firewalls, built to understand the nuances and interconnected networks of a Crestron control system. These systems work by isolating out individual packets and ensuring any packets that do not belong are eliminated prior to entering into the system. In systems in need of a higher level of network security we deploy Advanced Threat Protection, or ATP, which refers to a category of security solutions that defend against sophisticated malware or hacking-based attacks targeting sensitive data. Using Sonicwall managed switches we are able to run software that anticipated threats from the outside, and intelligently mitigate the system to prevent them from getting in.

There’s no denying that we live in a wireless world. It seems that everywhere you turn there is a new device that is equipped with wifi designed to connect with other devices to make your life easy in some new way. With many different wireless devices bouncing around a home or office, it becomes increasingly more and more difficult to ensure a powerful and reliable wireless signal when it matters most. While on a smaller job, this may not be a problem, once you get into larger jobs wireless networks become an undertaking that can constantly fail, no matter how great your hardware is. This is GMI and the #DoneRightNotEasy crew take the extra steps in understanding and designing our Crestron control systems to work effectively with reliable Wi-Fi signals throughout the space.

The most important thing to understand about the ubiquity of wifi equipped devices and how they work together with your Crestron automation system, is that not all Wi-Fi is created equal. Wi-Fi routers and devices operate on one of two frequencies, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. The primary difference between the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz wireless frequencies is range as the 2.4GHz frequency is able to reach farther than the 5GHz frequency. This is a result of the basic characteristic that waves attenuate much faster at higher frequencies. While 2.4 GHz frequency may travel farther, 5 GHz is a wider band that is more stable, carrying more data from more devices with less interference. Unfortunately though, there are many devices and situations that require the use of a 2.4 GHz frequency, making it unavoidable.

This is where having the appropriate training and experience with Wi-Fi and connected devices allows the #DoneRightNotEasy crew to effectively design a system for a large home or estate. While many of the primary devices in the Crestron control system will be hard wired, that doesn’t eliminate the end user’s need to have functioning and fast Wi-Fi on their handheld remotes, smart phones, tablets, and laptops when moving throughout the home. To ensure this, we take care to design our system properly to make sure that all wireless components can communicate properly with one another, and play nicely together. This means understanding the concept of co-channel interference.

Co-channel interference is where devices take turns talking, so the more devices on one channel, the longer it takes for a device to talk since it has to wait for its turn. This interference isn’t a major problem until there are too many WiFi devices on the same channel. Luckily, these interferences can be reduced or eliminated by selecting the proper WiFi channel. Each channel on the 2.4 GHz spectrum is 20 MHz wide. The channel centers are separated by 5 MHz, and the entire spectrum is only 100 MHz wide total. This means that the 11 available channels have to squeeze into the 100 MHz available, and in the end, overlap. However, there are three channels that don’t overlap: 1, 6 and 11. Understanding how the network at large as well as individual components are operating on the network, and which specific channels they are on, allow us to ensure the reliability of an end user’s wireless signal.

Issues can arise however long after we’ve left a job site, thanks to the ubiquity of wireless devices on the market. Accessing the network from the back end and using a spectrum analyzer, we can identify what frequency and what channel a particular device is operating on, and how it may be affecting the system at large. We can then reorganize the network devices onto the appropriate channels, restoring the system to it’s proper level of functionality.

Readers of this blog know how complicated a Crestron automation can be on their own .Adding the additional complication of reliable and stable Wi-Fi throughout a large job can create pitfalls that will trip up a less experienced integrator. GMI and the #DoneRightNotEasy crew have the knowledge, tools, and experience necessary to simplify your life through reliable and intuitive control, every single time you reach for a device.

When working on a full home automation job site, it is extremely important that integration professionals take a whole project view of the site. Crestron control systems, by their nature, reach out and connect to every system in the home, which is why working closely with other vendors on a project is vital to our success, as well as the end user experience. In the coming months we will be highlighting how we work on site with specific types of vendors to ensure our clients have concierge level service during all parts of the installation process.

Today we begin that series by discussing how we work alongside landscaping professionals to elevate their work and make every part of the job a success.

At first glance, landscaping and outdoor work may not seem like it would have anything to do with an automated home, but in reality they are connected in a myriad of ways. First and foremost, a properly built Crestron system relies on hard wired components throughout the entirety of the space, often including outdoor cameras, speakers, televisions, and swimming pools. More directly, Crestron systems can often include connections to yard irrigation and sprinkler systems which can be impacted by landscaping changes or a careless crew.

If a landscaping crew is working on site during our installation it can disrupt operations in significant ways. The first of which is simply access to the site, if major landscaping work is happening during our installation schedule which blocks entry to all or part of the home, our engineers can lose critical hours that could push us off a tight schedule. To combat this we communicate with the crew leader to ensure our schedules align and we properly prepare for loss of access.

Complicated landscape projects can also disrupt the delicate process of laying out conduit or fiber optic cables for outdoor audio or video systems. Oftentimes we will have to dig trenches or holes to house these enclosures or an outdoor speaker system, and without proper coordination with landscaping crews as to the locations and direction of these wire runs we are left open to the risk that during the landscape work they could accidentally damage or destroy a delicate part of the control system infrastructure.

As with every vendor we work with, we take the time to communicate and work with landscaping crews to bring them up to the level of excellence a client expects when working with GMI and the #DoneRightNotEasy crew. While many high end landscaping companies will be familiar with outdoor automation and audio/video components, many are not, which is why we take the time to educate and ask second level questions about their work and process so we can ensure positive performance and improvement all around. This extra effort and commitment to concierge level service is what allows us to keep our clients happy with not only their automation system, but with all the work going on in and around their home.

When clients are tired of using challenging installations, they call the Crestron Doctors to diagnose and cure their problems. In this case, a video conferencing system was driving a finance company crazy for several years. While the boardroom was of an enterprise-level, the video conferencing was overly-complicated and never worked as it should. The team flew across the country, ready to do what they do best – troubleshoot and repair with the trademark high quality of the #DoneRightNotEasy crew.

The Issues Pile Up

Upon arrival, the video conferencing system had a laundry list of issues, including: wrong microphones, an overly-complex routing of the audio, balancing issues, an incorrectly configured codec and amplifier, limited muting options, and wrong wire types that were incorrectly terminated. Other providers couldn’t seem to fix the problems, but the GMI team knew there was a way to greatly improve and streamline the existing setup without replacing it entirely.

Just Another Case for the Crestron Doctors

It only took a week for the GMI team to get the once-frustrating video conferencing system running optimally. Wires were replaced with the optimal types, the codecs and amplifiers were re-configured, and the audio was re-routed properly. The client was thrilled with the updates and was relieved to no longer worry about delays, bugs, or other issues that might arise.

A Video Conferencing System, and More!

If you’re dealing with a troublesome installation at your home or business, consider giving the Crestron Doctors a call. We have a long track record of fixing existing installations and making them work better than their owners ever imagined. Schedule your free consultation today!

As we have discussed in previous entries in the vendor relationship series, when working on a full home automation job site, it is extremely important that integration professionals take a whole project view of the site. It is because of this simple fact that it’s especially important to form a great relationship with perhaps the most important employee in a luxury home environment, the house or estate manager. Estate Managers are the top-level executive position in a large household or complex of properties that employ a wide array of staff or vendors. They are responsible for working directly with the owner to plan and execute the overall plan for management of the property. Due to the wide ranging nature of the estate manager’s duties, it is imperative that as a technology integrator we form a great relationship with these individuals.

As one could imagine, the position of estate manager comes with its share of stressful situations. Luxury homeowners, especially those with multiple homes in multiple states, are busy individuals whose time is extremely valuable. This is one of the many reasons they work with GMI and the #DoneRightNotEasy crew, as our Crestron control systems are designed to streamline their everyday lives. We find the first step in this streamlining is to ease the load of the estate manager to ensure all home projects and systems working with the automation system are working at the highest level possible. Estate managers appreciate the extra effort put forth by a capable integrator working other vendors in a home or group of homes to make sure they are working to our level of expertise.

One of the ways we ease the burden of a busy estate manager, allowing them to better focus on the other needs of the household, is by proactive monitoring and maintenance of the control system itself. Scheduling any kind of service visit is just another item on the long list of demands a typical estate manager will see on a daily basis, and we prevent this by setting up alerts for  any device failure or latency. These systems can even be programmed to notify of negative trends, allowing us to address system failure before it happens. Back end access to both the Crestron system as well as the home networks also allow us to fix any issues that pop up easily without having to send a technician to the site. Properly documented and mapped out system specifications also make it easy for our techs to know exactly what component may be causing an issue, allowing for quick repair or replacement if needed.

Being a ‘Five Star’ dealer, offering concierge level service, and delivering a quality product is not a simple task. It means working with the customer and meeting their needs at every step of the way. To do this you must manage every aspect of a project from the initial consultation to the final finished package and beyond. There are hundreds of Crestron dealers throughout the country who do quality work and build quality systems, but it takes hitting your mark at every turn to truly shine beyond just the technology you install. House and estate managers appreciate this level of detail in the same way the homeowner appreciates the simplicity and reliability of their Crestron system, reduced stress and an easier day to day.

Are you a house or estate manager for a luxury property or group of properties? Learn how GMI can help simplify your life by contacting us today!