mikeprice Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Apparently in the past the Head here has insisted on taking all the projectors down and locking them in a secure room over the summer. I assume this is due to potential thefts as the school is in an area known for high crime figures and the classrooms are all on the ground floor - and the grounds are frequented by some unusual people at night judging by the little packets with the remains of 'herbal substances' that the caretaker finds fairly frequently.(obviously he reports it to the cops but......) We have some new projectors just arrived and I am not planning on installing them until sept - and I intend to leave the old Kn******d ones up HOWEVER - I was just wondering if there is still a problem with projectors being stolen - I have never had a problems with this in my previous schools (laptops - several times but not projectors)
gaz350b Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Depends how many you have and if they are in cages? We don't have any projectors but sounds like a good excuse to give them all a good clean while they are down too.
kennysarmy Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 All ours are kensington locked to the pole or something secure in the ceiling.... Can't imagine the ball ache it would be here to remove and refit them all - we've got about 87 fitted!
ITGURU Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Really?! What a task to then put them all back up and re-calibrate the Interactive whiteboards. Surely that's what an intruder alarm is for?! Never had any issues, only thing intruders went for once was a TV but left after the alarm activated!
comrade Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 At my old place we had one stolen in the middle of main assembly, they jumped the fence and went in through a window. After that the head ordered all projectors must be in a cage. I personally think the cages are a deathtrap, the ones we had at least, the door weighted a ton and was not fitted, so if you forgot to lock it, it would just fall off. Never happened thankfully. A nightmare and I was glad when we replaced the projectors without cages, they are much cheaper now. I don't think its as much as a problem now, back then they were very very expensive. But if the head wants it the head gets.
Homer Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Mmm depending on your set up there are far more high value and easy to take items around these days. Back in the day the money was in projectors but nowadays they really aren't big money unless they are brand new or Full HD monsters. I'd go for kensington locks on them to start with, and raising the issue of a decent intruder alarm system with police response as a proper solution. But I think actual computers/tablets/anything portable is more at risk these days as they're easier to fence
ITGURU Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 They'd either have to rip the whole mount out the ceiling taking the pole with them, or remove the bolts/mounts from the projector first!
Sagima Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 We've not had one stolen since locking doors behind you out of hours was implemented
kennysarmy Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 At my old place we had one stolen in the middle of main assembly, they jumped the fence and went in through a window. After that the head ordered all projectors must be in a cage. I personally think the cages are a deathtrap, the ones we had at least, the door weighted a ton and was not fitted, so if you forgot to lock it, it would just fall off. Never happened thankfully. A nightmare and I was glad when we replaced the projectors without cages, they are much cheaper now. I don't think its as much as a problem now, back then they were very very expensive. But if the head wants it the head gets. Then your head sounds like an arse....there are often things here our head "thinks" he wants, but after actually discussing with him the issue or problem he can change his mind so that what he "wants" is a reasonable request...
halbaradkenafin Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 All ours are kensington locked to the pole or something secure in the ceiling.... Can't imagine the ball ache it would be here to remove and refit them all - we've got about 87 fitted! Now imagine losing the keys/combinations to most/all of those projectors. I've had to replace ~40 projectors like that and luckily for us they'd been up long enough that the glue holding the cable bracket things to the projector was starting to fail so some work with a screwdriver was enough to get it off. Still a pain of a job.
ITGURU Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Then your head sounds like an arse....there are often things here our head "thinks" he wants, but after actually discussing with him the issue or problem he can change his mind so that what he "wants" is a reasonable request... If projectors are such an issue then perhaps we should move all our Apple macs to a secure place too, 'Just in case'?
crc-ict Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Sounds ridiculous to be honest. Also bear in mind that this is not something that can be safely achieved by one person according to working at height, unless you are appropriately trained and using a tower or platform. I'd love to see one person get a projector down while maintaining three points of contact with a ladder!! (No, knees and/or shins don't count as points of contact!) I would think a great way to nix this idea would be to give him a quote to get someone in to take them down, and then reinstall again. Or even a time/cost analysis for your team doing it. Edited July 17, 2015 by crc-ict
Chris_Cook Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 I would suspect the vast majority of classroom projectors are maintained and installed using a ladder or table. Towers can be far more work and risk for small jobs like this. Think about getting one, moving it, putting it up, taking it down, clearing enough tables and chairs to get it in. Its about risk assessment and using the most suitable method available, and ladders for most 10 minute jobs are fine. The HSE says so. You would need to assess the risk of theft for the school in question. If its a difficult building to secure in a high theft area with known intruder problems, then taking them all down and putting them all back up again might not be much less work than sourcing and installing a schools worth of projectors in a hurry in September. If people really want your stuff, they will take it. We've had macs taken from a first floor classroom a couple of years back. Through the window, down a ladder. There was that school recently where they cut through the wall to get the ipads. Work with your insurance company and slt to make sure you have taken appropriate steps and its all good.
Edu-IT Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Now imagine losing the keys/combinations to most/all of those projectors. I've had to replace ~40 projectors like that and luckily for us they'd been up long enough that the glue holding the cable bracket things to the projector was starting to fail so some work with a screwdriver was enough to get it off. Still a pain of a job. Key cabinet / master list in the safe.
Chris_ Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Sounds ridiculous to be honest. Also bear in mind that this is not something that can be safely achieved by one person according to working at height, unless you are appropriately trained and using a tower or platform. I'd love to see one person get a projector down while maintaining three points of contact with a ladder!! (No, knees and/or shins don't count as points of contact!) I would think a great way to nix this idea would be to give him a quote to get someone in to take them down, and then reinstall again. Or even a time/cost analysis for your team doing it. From the HSE: You need to have two feet and one hand on a stepladder at all times when carrying out a task No, this isn’t true. When you need to have both hands free for a brief period to do a job using a stepladder (eg putting a box on a shelf, hanging wallpaper, installing a smoke detector on a ceiling) you need to maintain three points of contact at the working position. This is not just two feet and one hand, it can be two feet and your body (use your knees or chest to help with stability) supported by the stepladder. Ensure a handhold is available to steady yourself before and after. Source: Work at height Common work at height myths
clockend25 Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 We had eight nicked last summer, though there were some unique circumstances at the time that meant we were more vulnerable. They clearly just swung on the things until they came loose, and so mounts and ceilings were ripped down in the process.
howartp Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 I was asked to remove all ours about 3 years ago so I locked them in an IT Room in the middle of our school building. Got a roasting from the site manager three days later when he found them. Apparently the quadrangle next to the IT room is regularly visited overnight without ladders despite 15-18 foot walls to it.
Meldrew Posted July 18, 2015 Posted July 18, 2015 I didn't think there was much of a market these days for projectors - surely there's more of a demand for 50" TVs than something you've got to stick in the middle of your living room. Meldrew
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