Hospitality Technology magazine has published the article, “Interactive Display Yields Immediate and Apparent ROI for Hilton Garden,” which features the hospitality dashboard that we created for Heart of America Group’s Hilton Garden Inn®/Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse® located at Olathe, Kansas. Read the full article.
Blog Archive
QA Graphics Helps NYC Applebee’s Educate about Green Initiatives
Contact:
Sarah Erdman, Marketing Director
515.965.3403
serdman (at) www.qagraphics.com
March 19, 2013
QA Graphics, the provider of the award-winning Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard®, is helping New York City’s first LEED Gold-certified restaurant showcase its green initiatives.
Apple-Metro, Inc., the New York Metropolitan Area franchisee for Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar®, has opened a new Applebee’s restaurant in Harlem at East River Plaza on 117th Street and is using QA Graphics’ Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard to educate on the green features in place. About 5 years ago Apple-Metro began implementing more sustainable features into their restaurant designs and found that they were on the right track for LEED restaurants if they took their designs to the next level. This new restaurant is anticipating Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s® LEED®. Apple-Metro looked to QA Graphics not only because the display helps earn a LEED credit but also for a creative way to share these achievements.
“It’s our responsibility to help inform our staff and customers on the sustainable actions that have been taken,” said Mike Berry, Director of Constructions & Facilities, Apple-Metro, Inc. “People want to know about it. And this is a great way to share the information.”
The Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard is an interactive application displayed on a 55-inch touchscreen near the entrance that shows why this restaurant is green. Viewers can take a 3D tour and see a photorealistic building render of the exterior and interior of the restaurant. On the tour, hot spots are identified, providing information on the more than 40 green features in place. Interactive demonstrations show how some of the sustainable features work and a checklist explains how LEED guidelines were followed. Users can test their green knowledge with a quiz, and the display also shows current weather conditions and a map of local transportation and area attractions.
“The level of detail that QA Graphics provides is outstanding. There aren’t any flaws in its performance and graphics are surreal,” said Berry. “Our staff absolutely loves it. While waiting for a table, our guests and their children play with the display and take the quiz.”
“We knew we were aiming for Gold and worked with QA Graphics to develop this solution during the construction of the restaurant. It was never an issue to make changes or updates as we changed building plans. It was such a smooth process,” said Berry.
Apple-Metro is continuing its sustainable efforts and has another green restaurant in the works in Brooklyn. In addition to this project, QA Graphics’ Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard solution is used by organizations of all types across North America.
About QA Graphics
QA Graphics is an Iowa-based creative design company, specializing in 3D design and interactive marketing solutions. QA Graphics is a leader in the building automation and green building industries, providing HVAC graphic development services and energy dashboards to help organizations educate occupants about building performance and sustainability. QA Graphics provides comprehensive design solutions for restaurants, quick-serve restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores, retail outlets, and others, including nutritional kiosks, digital menu boards, mobile applications, and other multimedia.
QA Graphics Opens Second Office Space
Contact:
Sarah Erdman, Marketing Director
515.965.3403
serdman (at) www.qagraphics.com
March 12, 2013
QA Graphics has opened a second office located in eastern Iowa. This new office space allows QA Graphics’ product developer to work remotely from the company’s main office in Ankeny, Iowa.
QA Graphics has focused on hiring young and innovative talent, and greatly values their employees’ long term commitment with the company. This year when the company’s lead product developer wished to relocate to his hometown QA Graphics worked with him to set up a new office space. The company is renting a remodeled energy efficient office space, located 25 1/2 S Frederick Street Oelwein, Iowa.
QA Graphics Creates Hospitality Dashboard for Heart of America Group
Contact:
Sarah Erdman, Marketing Director
515.965.3403
serdman (at) www.qagraphics.com
February 27, 2013
QA Graphics, Iowa-based interactive design company, has created a hospitality dashboard for Heart of America Group’s Hilton Garden Inn®/Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse® located at Olathe, Kansas. The hospitality dashboard is an interactive display used to educate guests on the new hotel’s sustainable features and serve as a central resource for information.
Heart of America Group is one of the Midwest’s premier design, construction, and management companies with a 33 year history of developing award-winning properties. Located in ten metropolitan areas across six Midwestern states, their portfolio consists of 32 owned and operated restaurants and hotels, 150,000 square feet of office space, and 1.4 million square feet of retail and hospitality. They constructed the new Hilton Garden Inn following the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards. The project is anticipating earning LEED silver, with the hospitality dashboard expected to help earn an Innovation in Design credit for educating visitors on the hotel’s sustainable building features.
“Not only do we receive LEED points in educating the customer, but we wanted to have something in our lobby that stands out and was interactive as a lot of the green elements do not visibly stand out to the customer,” said Damen Trebilcock, Senior Vice President of Heart of America Group. “Customers love it and appreciate the steps we took as owners in regards to the environment.”
QA Graphics Provides Energy Dashboard for Farmington Hills City Hall
The City of Farmington Hills, in Michigan, is using QA Graphics’ Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard® to educate staff and the public on the City Hall’s sustainable initiatives.
Farmington Hills’ City Hall went through a major revitalization project, constructing a new building in 2008. The building earned the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. To inform the community on these sustainable efforts, Farmington Hills looked to QA Graphics to develop an Energy Efficiency Education Dashboard. The dashboard is an interactive application used to highlight the building’s performance and educate about sustainable features. The solution has been in place for over a year now. Displayed on a touchscreen in the main corridor, it serves as a central communication resource to demonstrate the City Hall’s commitment to sustainability.
“The solution looks great and is very user-friendly,” said Nate Geinzer, Assistant to the City Manager, The City of Farmington Hills. “QA Graphics did a great job with the visual content. The interactive demonstrations are the most used feature on the dashboard, showing how the geothermal and solar panel systems work.”