Designing functional, intensive-use spaces to enhance communication among multiple agencies under the same roof can be a challenge. More so when the users are responsible for managing traffic, transportation and public resources in the wake of an emergency or natural disaster.

So when Raleigh Armed Forces Reserve Center–Joint Force Headquarters planned a new facility to support multiple agencies (including North Carolina National Guard, North Carolina Emergency Management, North Carolina Department of Transportation Emergency Operations Center, North Carolina State Highway Patrol and North Carolina Turnpike Authority) performing multiple functions at different levels of preparedness all within the same location at the same time, project coordinators knew they needed consoles and equipment engineered to handle the job.

According to NC Department of Transportation engineer Battle Whitley, “having (a facility that supports) that direct communication is much easier, much more efficient, much more effective.” Specifically, the new Traffic Management Center for the NC Department of Transportation was designed to monitor accidents, emergencies and other critical situations such as snowstorm and hurricane evacuations.

The project’s scope included design, construction and installation of consoles and equipment that would accommodate a variety of computers along with communication, display and environmental controls for operator machine interface while providing ventilation, cable and wire management systems within the specified consoles, tables and equipment.

Installation solutions for the facility included electrically-powered sit-stand consoles to reduce operator fatigue and discomfort through the ability to change working positions, slat wall-mounted monitor arms to manage sight lines and attain correct viewing angles to lessen eye, neck and arm fatigue along with soft urethane nosing to eliminate contact stress. Additionally, all components provided are modular for ease of installation and de-installation to save costs on future adds, moves and changes.

Completed in Fall 2011, the $2.3 million traffic command center profiled in the video above was a project of Command & Control Environments, Inc. (CCE) through partnering architect O’Brien Atkins. Engineer Whitley says North Carolina DOT’s Traffic Management Center is “moving up” with this facility which WRAL-TV Raleigh news anchor Debra Morgan describes as being like a “scene from Apollo 13′s mission control.”

In mission critical command and control room environments, where incoming data streams in 24/7/365, there is no tolerance for down-time. So, when your command and control room needs to expand, or be re-configured, it’s vital for your space to be easy to rearrange. Raised flooring, a structurally-sound, perfectly-level floor with a 3” to 72” cavity allows for clean and uncluttered delivery of power, data and mechanical (heating and air ducting) processes is increasingly preferred as it allows for efficient and effective re-configurations.

Change is the norm

David Wood, flooring sales representative for Command and Control Environments (CCE), noted that, “Our customers require technology and services when they need it, where they need it with the flexibility to make rapid alterations to meet changes in their mission. Raised flooring coupled with zone power/data distribution allows for point-of-use power/data with virtually limitless delivery options.”

Wood continues, “Factory constructed and UL listed assemblies increase the systems reliability while the standardized pretested components meet the tight schedules that mission critical spaces demand. Adds, moves, and changes are made with ease and done with owner personnel eliminating the need for coordination with outside contractors.”

Planning for expansion

Freedom to respond to changes allows focus on the most important aspect of the command and control room: managing situations, or data or processes.

Wood asserts, this “keeping-the-eye-on-the-ball” ability starts in the planning process and when done correctly creates an adaptable and expandable space allowing for maximum communication of incident/event information and resources to facilities management.

During planning, the company team must realize that due to the very nature of control room spaces and critical environments that all personnel, equipment and technology must allow for dramatic change to accommodate the workflow. If the future is not part of the scope in planning, there is always a danger of falling behind technologically.

Knowledge means peace of mind

Turning to an integrated solution provider with experience in planning, configuring and installing raised flooring and zone power/data distribution means that management will have experts on their side. Everyone will have confidence that specifications will be detailed beyond current standards and the constructs will be clear and concise. Therefore, having subject matter experts involved from the beginning, contributes to a company’s confidence to conduct their business while their needs are met and planned for.

The peace of mind that comes from knowing there are knowledgeable partners means you won’t be left scrambling to alter your control room when changes are necessary.

Acoustic tiles may, in part, be a solution to your call center’s low morale or control room staff’s poor performance

Noise cannot be ignored

While extraneous noise in our everyday environments may be something we can easily ignore, how do you cope with it in a mission critical command and control center?

When employee surveys return results indicating raised stress among staff, look to what may be the most overlooked source: noise. It’s well documented that excessive noise leads to increased operator stress, decreased accuracy and illness. In an online forum, one call-center telecommunications manager said,

“We are facing an excess noise issue and would like to address it with relevant equipment which could help us reduce noise….”

Noise as a stressor

According to The Franklin Institute,

“Sudden sound is an urgent wake-up call that alerts and activates the stress response – a biological alarm that affects the brain in powerful ways.

Not just loud or sudden noises provoke a stress response. Chronic low-level noise also negatively influences the brain and behavior. …low-intensity noise has a subtle yet insidious effect on our health and well-being.

Bad moods, lack of concentration, fatigue, and poor work performance can result from continual exposure to unpleasant noise.

According to Dr. Alice H. Suter, an audiologist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: ‘Included in noise-related problems are high blood pressure, peptic ulcers, cardiovascular deaths, strokes, suicides, degradation of the immune system, and impairment of learning. Noise is also associated with an increase in aggression and a decrease in cooperation.’”

Therefore, without an effective noise dampening solution in the command and control center, companies can have a culprit contributing to poor performance, poor employee health and low morale.

Dispatch/Call center and command and control room needs

John Reeves of Command and Control Environments says, “Noise and lighting are the two most difficult challenges to control in a mission critical environment.

Whether it’s a large room with 50 operators or a smaller facility with five operators, noise is a leading cause in operator distractions and inaccurate information. For example, imagine a 911 operator taking an emergency call from a frantic caller on a busy highway.  That operator must get all the call details into the computer system correctly and accurately as quickly as possible in order to dispatch the appropriate first responders. In addition to the confusion and background noise the 911 call taker is experiencing from the caller, two other 911 operators are answering other emergency calls. As everyone continues to speak, each operator starts to speak more loudly so they can be heard. Very quickly, the entire 911 dispatch center is experiencing a “crescendo effect” until most of the conversations become inaudible. This real-life scenario can lead to confusion, misinformation and lost time for the first responders.”

In this environment, tension escalates and mistakes increase. And as Reeves points out, “our job is to make control rooms more accurate, increase operator efficiencies and to reduce operator fatigue.”

Simply by modifying the command and control center with acoustic tiles or panels, noise can be reduced and performance can be improved. Acoustic panels or tiles come in many types and can be designed to complement your control room’s décor. They are a relatively low-cost solution to a high-cost problem.

On October 5, 2009, Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, was signed, calling for more stringent standards to be met by all governmental agencies through integrated sustainability plans.According to the White House, the executive order,

“sets sustainability goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy and economic performance. The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce fleet petroleum consumption; conserve water; reduce waste; support sustainable communities; and leverage Federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.”

Whether a new construction, major renovation or repair, all designs created and products purchased must also take into account future growth and change and how the agency’s processes, goods purchased, and operations will meet and/or exceed the sustainability requirements.  As well, all products and services under new contract must be energy efficient , environmentally preferable, contain recycled content or be composed of non-toxic or less toxic alternatives.

Impact of sustainability measures on mission critical spaces

Command and control rooms operated by the military, as well as other mission critical facilities, while always having to be mission-ready, now are required to think more about sustainability in all aspects of their operations, not just in the materials they use, but how they can maintain a sustainable environment long term.

Katie Van Es, Western Region Manager at Command & Control Environments (CCE), advises that those planning to re-design and equip control rooms ensure that vendors from whom they request services verify that the vendors with whom they contract for products and services provide information to show their efforts to build sustainable products, as well as providing modular solutions. Van Es knows that because “most of these facilities in which we work are ever changing, we need to provide products that can flex with those changes. This is why we specify modular, sustainable solutions, and include modular walls, floors, power, data, and furnishings.”

Modular, reusable solutions
According to Van Es, a military or Federal Government control room must select “products that can be reconfigured and reused over time. This provides for cost savings. It also means reducing wastefulness and providing an easier, more convenient way to change a facility, when necessary, with less impact to operations and less down time. Not interrupting the mission and current operations is a critical factor to customers in a 24/7 environment. Selecting modular, reusable solutions not only provides less impact to the customer, but the sustainable, modular products that CCE recommends also prove much less impactful on the environment.”

For the Federal government and its agencies, green is no longer just a color, but a way of operating, and partners like CCE are all the more valuable because they know the requirements for mission critical spaces and are committed to offering environmentally friendly, long term solutions that help support the government’s directive on sustainability as well as day-to-day operations.

People sleep at night. It is the way we are wired. So, it should come as no surprise that there have been so many reports recently of air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. What should be surprising is that the recent reports assume this is a new phenomenon.

Air traffic controllers, as well as operators in all types of command and control operations sleep at night occasionally. In fact, studies show that 30% to 50% of workers report falling asleep on the job at least once a week. Since people are programmed by nature to sleep at night, and since many mission-critical operations require 24×7 attention from operators who must remain alert all night, fatigue management and fatigue mitigation measures must be part of every command and control operational plan.

“Fatigue management is a primary concern when we design new command centers,” said Steve Whitley, Managing Partner at DesignMatters, “and fatigue management elements must be part of every control room project and operational plan.”

The goal in focusing on fatigue management is to keep operators within the control room awake and alert. Problems arise when the control room doesn’t function properly and if controllers or operators are asleep it is safe to say the operation is in jeopardy. Experts even point out that sleeping employees are more dangerous than intoxicated employees since an intoxicated employee has at least some reflexes. A sleeping employee has no reflexes.

Managing fatigues takes many forms. First, the room has to be designed with proper lighting, acoustics and ventilation. Second, accommodation must be made for rest and recovery areas – break rooms, kitchens, exercise rooms, and even nap rooms. Technology in the room should include a visual overview of the operation so when operators are in rest and recovery mode other employees in the room can oversee their area of responsibility and cover for them. Third, staffing levels and schedule must take into account the need for adequate personnel so that rest and recovery time away from the console is possible.

Recognizing that one of the critical functions in all mission-critical spaces is the ability to easily reconfigure and upgrade technology with minimal disruption to the room’s operational staff, CCE recently acquired the assets and key personnel of a North Texas raised access flooring company.

Operating as a new division of Command and Control Environments, Inc., raised flooring options are now seamlessly integrated into many CCE projects around the world.

The primary product line recommend by CCE is provided in partnership with ASM Modular Solutions and is the strongest, most flexible raised flooring product on the market. ASM manufactures a traditional raised flooring product that supports weights in excess of 3,000 pounds per square inch and is capable of heights ranging 3″ to 72″. ASM allows the creation of a perfectly level floor, which is often required for the proper installation and function of many control room devices. Walking on the substantial ASM tiles feels like walking on a concrete slab.

For applications where ASM may prove too substantial or ceiling heights are a concern, we also offer low profile flooring solutions. These rest on the building floor and provide a small void for wires and cables. Though they don’t allow for leveling the floor, they do provide flexibility in running cables and reconfiguring over time as needs change.

In addition to raised flooring products, CCE provides a wide range of carpets, rubberized flooring, and a host of innovative floor coverings suitable for all command and control centers.

Staffing for the new division consists of two industry experts. David Wood leads the sales effort, helping CCE clients develop requirements and offering the most appropriate solutions. Tim Henrie leads the service and installation department and has traveled around the US servicing and installing projects.

Command & Control Environments, Inc. took a major step recently to reinforce the company’s position as a global leader in providing command and control center solutions around the globe by expanding with a permanent physical presence in Europe.

Based in central Germany from an office in Stuttgart, the company will focus on US Military projects in Europe, industrial and commercial opportunities with European Union companies, and opportunistic projects in the Middle East and Africa. Having high caliber staff in the region will greatly enhance the customer experience and allow a greater ability to capture and understand client requirements and match the requirements with the most appropriate solution.

Leading our efforts from a business development standpoint in Europe is John Flodder, a US Naval Academy graduate and former Navy pilot. Operations in Europe are led by Tom Floyd, who is a recently retired US Army officer.

Initial projects in the region include a successful operations center for US Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Stuttgart, Germany and an Air Operations Center for the US Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Central Germany.