The Comfort Factor in Control Room Design Standards

Control room design standards often focus on function, traffic flow, and technology. However, many times, the design leaves out the one factor that is one of the most important: comfort. Here’s why it’s critical and why you should incorporate it into your control room design.

A Chair Is More Than a Seat

A chair you sit on at a table for half an hour while you eat lunch does not impact your day. The seats you choose for your technicians to sit in for hours on end during a typical shift, however, can impact their day. Furthermore, the seats can impact their health, physical well-being, and ability to perform their job functions.

The wrong seat can take a toll on an operator. It can cause back pain, joint pain, and fatigue. It’s hard to focus on the task at hand when you’re experiencing discomfort. The seats you select for your control room need to provide comfort and support. In addition, it should have ergonomic positioning to allow each technician to work without the distraction of aches and soreness.

Reach for It

Repetitive motion injuries are among the most common reasons for workman’s compensation claims. However, you can avoid them. Reach is a substantial contributing factor. This is why a control room’s workspace set-up, technology, and furniture placement are critical.

Everything needs to be within easy reach to avoid stretching, pulling, and repetitive motions. Things as simple as proper keyboard and mouse placement can result in a drop in workplace injuries. The furniture you incorporate into your control room design will enable you to manage workspace functionality and comfort. It will help you avoid injuries and increase comfort and productivity.

It’s All About the Placement

When it comes to comfort in a control room, placement of your control room consoles and technical furniture is key. It’s not just about where you put the chair, or how far away the monitor is from the operator. It’s also about the room’s layout. In addition, where the work spaces are in relation to the video wall and other technology and how far apart the operators are is also important.

When done right, the control room layout can help promote communication, collaboration, and easy access to equipment and personnel. This includes not only the location of workstations but also factors such as desk height, lighting, and acoustics. All of these affect the comfort of the staff while working in the room on a daily basis.

For your control room to be effective and functional, it has to have more than just state of the art technology. Comfort for the individuals who work in the room and who are responsible for making it run should be a primary consideration. To make sure you’ve got comfort at the top of the priority list and that you get it right while setting your control room design standards, talk to our team at Fountainhead Control Rooms.