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April 06, 2009
"Shovel-Ready"
We were pretty shocked when we started getting estimates for installing these devices. I'm not blaming Plant Operations (the group that does such work on campus) - if it's anyone's fault for not being prepared for these numbers, it's our own. It's expensive to hang up 95-pound steel enclosures with commercial touch panel monitors in them, it's expensive to run cable, and it's expensive to make sure everything complies with fire code and the Americans with Disabilities Act. One thing that we had to consider was that these devices need to have "cabinets" built under them if they stick out from the wall more than 4" - so that visually-impaired guests can detect them with their canes as they navigate our hallways.
Running cable is more expensive than you think, too. Now, a lot of people already have experience with this kind of thing, but if you'd asked me before we started, "how much would it cost to install these per sign," I probably would not have answered "over $5,000."
This number isn't entirely realistic, but it is a real example of the upper boundary of proposed costs we encountered. We've managed to whittle these costs down, but my point in posting this is to warn you to get your estimates for construction early and often!
Posted by dchase at April 6, 2009 05:32 PM