Better Visitor Experience: Helping You Stay Healthy

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 5/9/2005

Worried about your health and safety? Rest assured that the country's convention centers are too. Next time you visit Orlando's Orange County Convention Center, the Los Angeles Convention Center or the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center, take heart that these facilities are using technological advances to make health and security top priorities.

Segway upright personal transporters, venue virtual tours and filtered water cooler systems are just a handful of the latest convention center offerings that are not only efficient, but aimed at assuring visitors' well-being.

Some show managers welcome the 22 acres of exhibit space within OCCC's North-South Building as a challenging workout. But when hampered by business attire, large binders and bags of show-related materials, that exercise benefit becomes a headache to most. (And that's not even the facility's largest building.)

Enter Segway Orlando, the nation's first authorized dealer of Segway Human Transporters in a convention center. Tally Helman, Segway Orlando president and owner, said his 20 electric two-wheel scooters are helping users save their energy to focus on business, without using wider, less-versatile golf carts to get around the venue's near-2.1 million square feet of exhibit space.

"This has created an opportunity for one to be more efficient at what they really need to be focused on, rather than using a lot of energy," said Helman, who signed a 5-year contract with the facility when his dealership opened in December. Helman's rental prices start at $100 per day and decrease incrementally as the number of rental days increases.

Four of Helman's Segways are on permanent loan to the OCCC's event coordination staff. And during the venue's largest show, January's INTL. BUILDERS' SHOW/TecHOMExpo, Helman's remaining 16 Segways were snatched up by the show manager, the Natl. Assn. of Home Builders, and service contractor, Freeman.

Reducing stress levels is essential for show management executives — especially for an 884,000 net sq. ft. show. Stephen McCollum, IBS operations manager, said he's saving his workout for the gym, not the halls of the OCCC. And because of the Segways, his staff members arrived at their meetings on time (and with their composure).

The NAHB staff initially rented five Segways but upped it to 12 once they realized the benefits of Helman's Segways, which travel at a speed of 6 to 8 mph for up to 15 miles, and can be recharged at any electrical outlet.

NAHB banned the Segways from the showfloor (and consequently forbade show participants from using them). However, the machines' versatility in navigating the vast facility's hallways was priceless, McCollum said. Plus, their handlebar bags were useful for lugging materials around.

"You're not pounding down on concrete all day long," McCollum said. "They save the soles on your shoes."

And although Segway users are still standing upright all day, it helps that "you don't have that constant impact," McCollum added. At the end of a long day on the showfloor, you're still exhausted, he said, "but you feel better. They're really, really good for show managers to get around on."

After Larry Charrlin, floor supervisor for the triennial CONEXPO-CON/AGG at the Las Vegas Convention Center, observed the Segways' efficiency for the NAHB staff in Orlando, he encouraged the Las Vegas facility to take a page from the OCCC and introduce an on-site Segway dealer.

"I think it would be a godsend," Charrlin said. "In a 2 million net sq. ft. show, speed is of the essence."

Kevin Cooke, director of convention services for the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, said he is currently considering the on-site dealer option for the LVCC. Segways are allowed at the LVCC, but the staff is researching regulations on charging the machines inside the 3.2 million sq. ft. center, he said. "There's just so many (fire and safety) regulations out there, you have to be careful."

The Hot Springs (Ark.) Convention Center, along with various police departments, airports and city tour groups, have invested in the 6-year-old Segway firm's four models, which typically start at around $4,500 each.

Imagine a 360-degree virtual facility tour where security, law enforcement, firefighters and other emergency personnel have the ability to see through doors, walls and around corners.

No, this isn't a recap of last week's episode of "24." It's the Tactical Survey security system and it's being implemented this month at the Los Angeles Convention Center, and later this year at Honolulu's Hawaii Convention Center.

This computer-based technology was developed by Southern California partner firms Wireless Facilities Inc. and Tactical Survey Group. It is being funded and managed through the U.S. Department of Defense's technical support working group, a national forum that coordinates international research and development requirements for combating terrorism.

The images displayed by the system are embedded with strategic information, such as the location of valve shutoffs, hazardous materials and key personnel. "They don't need to hunt someone down to get that kind of information," said Jess Fierro, program manager for WFI. "Ultimately, it can save lives and property," he added.

"A virtual tour on steroids," is what the founding companies call the technology, Fierro said. The LACC's iconic value and its events' economic impact on Los Angeles were important reasons to introduce the technology at the venue, he added.

LACC visitors "can feel safer for a good reason," said George Rakis, the venue's general manager. "As a host to more than 2 million attendees annually, advanced planning for event and emergency operations continues to be a priority. This system enhances our capabilities in regards to threat mitigation, first response and incident control, and rapid business recovery to support events in progress."

And the technology will give the LACC and the Honolulu center an opportunity to divert unused security funds to other necessities, Fierro noted. "They can focus their other resources where they need them." Plus, he added, "it will allow them to probably save money on other technologies."

Eric Schlett, director of sales and operations for PennWell, said the technology will help alleviate any security concerns for his June 4–8 Fire Department Instructors Conference West at the LACC.

"I'd love to see that technology save people's lives," he said, adding that he might give some additional business to WFI and TSG. "I could promise you that I'll be calling them," he said.

The security system is already in place at the San Diego Intl. Airport, NASA's Kennedy Space Center and two San Diego naval bases.

Steve Roth, president of the WFI government services division, said he hopes to take the technology to numerous other facilities. "It is our hope to continue to expose this vital tool to as many organizations as possible so that, in the event of an emergency situation, first responders can have the information they need immediately at their fingertips," he said.

The system was introduced in August 2001. Fierro said he wished the technology had been available to emergency personnel responding to the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., two years earlier. "They knew very little about the building itself. And they weren't able to get inside and save people. Out of that was born Tactical Survey."

Next time you visit the Washington (D.C.) Convention Center, fill up your one-pint water bottle with chilled or room temperature filtered water instead of potentially polluted fountain water.

When the center opened in 2003, it introduced 11 coolers from Spectrum Water Coolers to its meeting room corridors to "offer a hotel-like amenity," said Theresa Dubois, manager of community relations for the facility. "We just moved right on into the 21st century."

Because the coolers get water directly from the venue's plumbing system, there is a constant, unlimited stream of water. In addition, the magic trick of replacing the typical five-gallon water bottle (sometimes resulting in injury or, at the least, a mess) is no longer necessary. Also eliminated are storage needs for the filled and empty bottles and the time spent to lug the bottles back and forth to cooler setups.

"We save tremendously on labor costs," Dubois said.

The WCC showcases two of Spectrum's 25 different water cooler models. The WCC models, which connect to any electrical outlet, house ultraviolet lamps "that basically kill everything," said Andy Cuthill, CFO of the 16-year-old Jessup, Md.-based firm.

The coolers reduce water costs by 20 to 60 percent, he added.

The self-sanitizing system "saves the convention center lots of money and lots of headaches," said Jeff Doughty, Spectrum president. "We are going to focus on the convention center market over the course of the next year," he added.

The company currently provides filtered drinking water coolers, water filtration systems and filtered ice and water dispensers to 78 U.S. cities and eight Canadian cities, as well as internationally.

Spectrum is attempting to create a water cooler that retrieves water from the air in humid climates and "zaps" it with ultraviolet light, Cuthill said. "It would simplify the installation process dramatically" since the cooler wouldn't need to be connected to a water system, he added. "It's an ideal application, especially in a humid environment."