Control Room Design and Cost Reduction
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Transcript of Control Room Design and Cost Reduction
The Effects of Cost Reduction in Control Room Design
IBC Control Room Conference | September 2011
David Watts| Managing Director
Themes of the Presentation• How the economic environment is
driving cost reduction• Benefits and risks of consolidation of
control rooms• Extending the life of control rooms• Improving efficiency without
compromising safety
The Economic Drivers• Budget cuts
– Land & property– Assets– Maintenance & support costs– Operational costs
• Costs of materials & services• Technology change• ...but expectations on service quality
higher
The impact• Leaner operations – more with less• Consolidation• Merger• Technology investment – e.g.
systems integration• Life stretch
Streamlining Operations• Analysis – where are the opportunities• Likely to be unpopular
– Changes in roles– Redundancies
• Are there positives for staff?• Can service quality be retained?• Can workload be managed?
– Automation of systems might help
Case Study• Analysis of information
flows in emergency conditions
• Showed the reality• Highlights opportunities for
improvement• Facilitated FCC and NR
finding the solutions
Communication analysis for Network Rail and First Capital Connect
Consolidation, Co-location & Mergers• Consolidation – reorganise number of small controls into a
one or more larger controls usually performing same function– E.g Network Rail closing signal boxes and creating large regional
centres• Co-location – accommodating related control functions in the
same physical location– E.g. BAA looking at co-location of various Heathrow controls in one
central location• Mergers – co-location or more integrated re-organisation of
control functions or associated organisations– E.g. Tri-services controls in Emergency Services
Benefits• Close, sell, dispose of property & other assets• Reduction in staff costs• Fewer systems; less support costs• Opportunity for organisational change – get the lean
operations too
The pitfalls• Understanding the operations
– How do we function now? How might we function differently in the future?
– Can they be brought together?• Integration of cultures• Change management
– Staff resistance– How to keep the good stuff– Perceptions of different functional groups
• Design for those at the coal face– User engagement
Case Study• Multiple groups to get to
common operational model• Diverse regional variation• Massive HR impact• Buildings before systems
and before operations• Systems design in “you
first”• COTS systems with no
integration
FiReControl
Technology Change• Short term investment for long term £££ gain• User led – deliver tasks
– Avoid unnecessary functions & features– Video walls, 3D mapping, etc
• Part of long term strategy• Automation
– Keep operator in the loop– Automate the right stuff– What are people bad at?
• Open architecture - expandable
Case Study• Rationalise systems• Deal with obsolescence• Better way of working• Integrate stand-alone
systems• Designed around user
needs, information flow & decision making
• Automation to improve performance & increase capacity
Transport for London Road Tunnel Control
Life Stretch• Small changes to extend life of existing• Systems struggle with parts• Improve working environment• Prioritise spend – max impact
Summary• Economy is catalyst for change• Many options often with real benefits• Clear pitfalls with short term & financial motive• Risk of failure of operational performance & safety• Must involve users in process• Organisational & technological change needs management• Prioritise intervention with max long term benefit
CCD Design & Ergonomics Ltd95 Southwark Street | London | SE1 0HX
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7593 2900www.ccd.org.uk