With hopes of creating risk resilient organizations, companies from virtually every industry are investing in the creation of mission critical spaces. From SOCs and NOCs to social media and digital hubs, command and control centers can have a variety of applications. While these installations can bring immense value to an organization, they are also a significant investment.
Many command centers are not meeting the potential for effectiveness and value within an organization. Are you getting the most value from your command center?
Here are 5 signs that your command center may be falling short of expectations:
1. Operators are not looking at the command center video wall
The command center video wall is one of the most valuable components in a mission critical space. If your operators are not frequently looking at the video wall display, it is not being used to its full potential. Large scale video wall solutions optimize collaboration and data sharing among operators in your space by allowing the display of multiple high resolution sources on a single, shared screen. The video wall display system is key to providing the situational awareness necessary in a mission critical facility. If your operators do not make use of the large video wall, there is a good chance that the information displayed is not useful to them.
2. The use of mismatched technologies
If your operating team uses a dizzying array of products from various vendors, your command center is likely operating inefficiently and thus below its potential value. While there are a lot of technology solutions that could be helpful to a mission critical operation, they are ultimately of little use if there is no strategy for their implementation. Taking the time and effort to deal with numerous technology solutions that are not integrated with one another may take away from valuable time that, in a mission critical space, should be spent on other things. Your command center technology should make operations more efficient, not more difficult.
3. A lack of key visitors
A successful command center will affect the behavior not only of the command center team but also your executives and other stakeholders. Often, you can determine whether your command center is falling short by observing the behavior of these visitors. While executive visits are not the sole factor in determining whether or not your command center is meeting expectations, these visits can be a valuable indicator of perceived performance. The presence of a mission critical operations center can be a demonstration of your organization’s sophistication and preparedness. Many times it becomes a showpiece for the organization and a regular stop on site tours. If it has been a while since a high-ranking visitor has come through, this may indicate a need for improvement.
4. It has been a while since a refresh in technology
Audiovisual technology changes and evolves at a rapid pace, and it is vital that mission critical spaces use the most reliable and efficient equipment possible. In an operations center with heavy use and 24/7 video wall, the average refresh rate for technology should be about every 5-7 years.
5. Work is conducted in silos
A system cannot be optimized in silos; true efficiency is realized when multiple departments and specialties work together in tandem toward a common goal. Collaboration among disciplines allows the entire room and its operations to be considered holistically so that no one element competes with another or is made redundant. For optimal command center performance, operators should share data and threat mitigation efforts. Multiple elements of control room design, from the configuration of the command center workstations to the video wall solution, can help actively promote collaboration.
If your command center meets the criteria above, there are steps you can take to get it back on track.
These tips for improvement include:
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- Aligning your resources, goals, and priorities
- Internal advocates
- Conducting self-evaluations and measuring performance
- Implementing strong communication systems
- Emphasizing collaboration
- An internal focus on continuous improvement
- Strategic redesign of your command center space
The thoughtful design and implementation of a command center provides a quick return on investment: the benefits to your organization such as improved safety, employee retention, and other critical advantages make it well worth the cost. At Constant we strive to enable our clients to get the best possible value from their operation center installation. If your current space falls short, a purposeful redesign of your critical facilities can dramatically improve the value and productivity.
The experts at Constant Technologies can help you align your resources, goals, and priorities to come up with a control room design that complements your operations and allows your command center installation to meet its full value potential. Contact us today to get started on your command center project.
About Constant:
Constant Technologies, Inc. is a premier mission critical systems integrator providing customized audiovisual integration of
24/7 video walls and control center console furniture worldwide. With over 30 years of experience, Constant’s team has the knowledge and clearance to work with sensitive environments in both the public and private sectors and has implemented turnkey solutions all over the world. Constant designs, installs and services projects of all scopes and sizes to create solutions with the highest levels of security, aesthetics and functionality in mind. Some of Constant’s installations include: Network Operations Center design, EOC builds, Fusion Centers, Security Operations Centers, Social Media Command Centers, Control Room Design, and other command and control environments.
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August 16, 2018
