Lincoln's high school drama and film studies teacher Iain Cowieson was searching for a company to deliver and install a new lighting system for the hall, and discovered DWR Distribution, MA Lighting's South African distributor, based in Johannesburg, on the internet. DWR technical African sales representative Johnny Scholtz just happened to be in Accra working on another project when the office received the call, so was able to visit immediately and access the situation.
He met Iain and the school's chief procurement officer Anthony Quainoo, who discussed their needs and invited him to propose a specification for some new LED lighting and control. "We were impressed by his professionalism and understanding of our situation and the clarity and flexibility of his recommendations," commented Iain, adding that it was definitely a case of "right-place-right-time".
Johnny takes up the story, "They needed a cost-effective, easy to maintain and use system, so I proposed LED PARs and a dot2 core for control to start off with."
They also wanted a product they could grow into, learn and expand their knowledge of lighting control, as the plan is to add more stage and house lighting fixtures into the system as capex becomes available. "dot2 ticked all the boxes and also fitted nicely into their budget," says Johnny. DWR also supplied a selection of LED PAR lights chosen for their power saving capabilities and general adaptability.
Training was integral to the package, and Iain and other staff received basic instruction from Johnny on the dot2 which they could then share with students using the lighting.
(Jim Evans)
