Installation designs, customer assistance, analysis of specifications and estimates, together with a deep knowledge of products and solutions and, of course, of technologies and regulations on EVAC. Andrea Bigiarini and Aldo Grandi from the PASO Technical Office gave us all of the inside details.

Andrea Bigiarini  – Our department deals with the design and quotes for sound diffusion systems, with features that make them suitable for various functions, from service communications to music and, of course, for emergency announcements in structures open to the public.

Aldo Grandi – We study systems “tailored” to customer needs, in compliance with the functions required by the EN54 standards, trying to combine the characteristics and costs of the system. In addition, we provide technical support both during the sale and after the purchase, once the system has been installed.

Could you tell us about your typical working day? And perhaps even an atypical one!?
AB – I spend a lot of time online or on the phone providing technical assistance to our representatives or directly to our customers, who are mostly electrical installers and the fire safety sector in buildings. I also receive many requests for quotations on specifications or on floor plans of new structures yet to be built. I must say that video calls have been of great help to me lately! There are also special days in which I go out for tests or inspections, and sometimes I have to visit museums or other well-known locations where it is only possible to enter with an invitation, so sometimes a working day becomes an event for me!

AG – Alongside the Sales Department, I try to support our sales network with the preparation of quotes and the related technical documentation accompanying the project. Most of the time, just as Andrea said, is spent on the phone to our agents, installers and designers to support them in solving technical problems regarding the use and installation of our products. Unfortunately, at the moment it is not possible to participate in sector fairs, but I believe that they are fundamental in approaching work on site. They are a particularly important networking opportunity, above all because it is possible to meet our foreign partners so we can compare and improve skills, therefore creating special, human and professional experiences.

What other departments do you collaborate with?
AG – Obviously with the Sales Office and its network of commercial agents, who make up our external department. We also have constant feedback with the quality department for the necessary product updates and company procedures and we are also lucky enough to interact directly with the technicians of the R&D department and with the internal production department. This ongoing collaboration between the PASO departments allows us to give prompt feedback and resolution in case we need technical insights on our equipment.

What are the strengths of your department?
AB – Paso’s products have a strong technical ingredient and require expertise to be installed and used in the best possible way. We know them very well and we try to be as up to date on technologies and regulations as possible, which puts the customer in a situation of tranquillity. On the other hand, knowledge of the market brings incentives to the company to improve and produce new equipment, in line with what customers require. Finally, as my colleague Aldo said, we are transversal, therefore synergistic with the other “souls” of the company, from the commercial one – during the sales phase, for example – to that dedicated to research and development: being at the forefront we often have to proactively predict in advance what the market is going to require.

AG – I believe that the efforts to give prompt availability with telephone assistance, trying to maintain a rigorous technical approach but without losing the human side in relationships, are well received by our interlocutors. Furthermore, it seems to me that the commitment to seek a solution that is first of all technically correct before the eventual sale of a product has been repaid by our customers with trust.

What do you like about your job?
AB – I would say everything! Mainly the possibility of keeping both the technical and commercial parts alive, interacting with personnel both inside and outside the company.

AG – Thinking of the multitude of activities required in the construction of buildings such as hospitals, schools, shopping centres etc. and to the complexity of the integrated systems, the idea of having given my very small contribution to the team of people who participated in the construction is a source of great satisfaction for me.