Emergency Operations Center Design

Online, February 12, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Americon at Controlroomsusa.com is now offering complimentary command and control room design service. Space planning is an important component of operations center design and a specialization of the Americon design team. An experienced emergency manager recently said to Jerry Herrington, Americon project consultant, that he preferred the multi-room concept for emergency operations centers over the "one room" concept. He said that he preferred assigning separate spaces rather than grouping them in a central location as is common practice.

Jerry Herrington commented that years listening to emergency managers and outfitting emergency operations centers has taught him a few things. First, it's rare that an emergency manager has the ability to create a "ground up" facility where all considerations are made to the ideal space for getting the job done. Secondly, budget is always the primary driver, and third, most emergency operations centers are either limited in space, or considered dual purpose. Jerry Herrington said that the one room concept is alive and well because that's usually what the emergency manager has to work with, however if the overall space is large enough to create individual rooms, then the few smaller break-out, or conference rooms are where the commander does one-on-one and others gain the quiet to address individual issues. It's true that the singular ops center with its hustle and bustle is problematic because of the noise and distracting movement of staff in and out, however Jerry Herrington says that since the advent of crisis management software like Web EOC and modern audiovisual technologies, the one room concept is the most efficient in terms of having all of the right people in the room hearing and seeing the same things on the large screens at the same time.

Jerry Herrington says that technology and information management are driving the one room concept more than anything else, and concluded by saying that taking the technology out of the equation then the one room concept is among a number of approaches that can be equally successful. Jerry Herrington is available to answer questions on emergency operations centers and how design and implementation effects outcome.