Control Room Design
TRAINING
Unlock the key principles of designing efficient, ergonomic, and human-centred control rooms with this comprehensive training.
| Price | Date | location |
|---|---|---|
| 950€ – excl. VAT | Postponed (new dates to be announced) | Remote/online |
In environments where operators must make swift, critical decisions, superior design is paramount for ensuring operational safety and maximising efficiency. This course equips you with knowledge directly transferable to a wide spectrum of control rooms, from traffic and process management to emergency response, (cyber)security, remote operations, command centres, and crisis management. Please note, however, that the principles discussed do not extend to the design of vehicle, vessel, or aircraft cockpits.
What to expect
This training empowers participants with a comprehensive understanding of human-centered design principles tailored for control rooms. You will learn to apply a structured design methodology, guiding you from initial research through to final testing. We will discuss tools and techniques essential for optimising control room environments, carefully balancing technological advancements with critical human factors considerations. Furthermore, we will explore both contemporary and established design methods, providing adaptable strategies to address diverse operational and ergonomic challenges.
Experience a hands-on approach in this training: you will have the valuable opportunity to practice design techniques through a real-world control room case study.
This dynamic training is an ideal investment for engineers, operations managers, and decision-makers actively involved in the crucial aspects of control room design and optimisation. The training is delivered remotely, conveniently structured into three engaging afternoon sessions of 3 hours each.
Session 1: Core concepts of control room design
- Grasp the essential human factors and ergonomics principles that directly influence control room effectiveness, including managing workload, enhancing situational awareness, minimizing human error, fostering effective collaborative decision-making, and building operational resilience.
- Understand why and how to cultivate strong collaboration among all stakeholders, recognising the invaluable operational knowledge of end-users and how their participation leads to meaningful design choices, consensus, and a sense of ownership.
- Navigate the critical landscape of relevant standards, gaining clarity on how to comply and understanding which standards are most pertinent to your specific context.
- Identify the key factors that contribute to the success or failure of control rooms in achieving their mission, including the pitfalls of inability to scale with evolving needs and the challenges of technological obsolescence.
Session 2: Crafting an environment for safe and efficient work
- Master a powerful “inside-out” design approach, starting with a deep analysis of operator tasks and strategically progressing to the integration of equipment, work consoles, and the overall room layout.
- Envision work organisation within the control room space by understanding core operational modes, associated tasks, individual roles and responsibilities, equipment interactions, internal and external collaboration dynamics, and command & control functionalities.
- Optimise the organization of equipment at individual work positions for maximum efficiency and ease of use.
- Gain insights into selecting or designing effective work consoles that enhance operator comfort and performance.
- Master the principles of designing the room layout, strategically organizing work consoles and incorporating essential elements such as remote information displays, operational furniture, and critical additional operational and non-operational spaces.
- Understand and design for effective interactions between personnel within the room and with external stakeholders (via phone, radio, video, etc.).
- Consider and design for any necessary direct interaction with the external physical world.
Session 3: Finalizing the design & managing the project for success
- Thoroughly consider crucial environmental factors that impact operator well-being and performance: lighting, acoustics, thermal characteristics, and overall aesthetics.
- Compare the strengths and applications of various design tools, including 2D, 3D, and VR, with a practical demonstration of Symbio SymLab.
- Learn how to seamlessly integrate Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) and decision-support systems to empower operator effectiveness.
- Develop strategies for productively involving all key stakeholders – operators, line managers, and C-level executives – ensuring their valuable input is incorporated.
- Master change management techniques to effectively address potential resistance and ensure smooth adoption by operators performing critical tasks.
- Clearly define the role of the design team in relation to architects and builders, understanding team structure, workload distribution, and the effective use of specialist expertise.
- Gain insights into controlling project schedules and budgets, understanding typical timelines and budget allocations for specialist involvement and architectural services.
Key takeaways
Upon completion of this training, you will have gained knowledge of:
- Fundamental principles of human-centered design specifically for control rooms.
- Essential tools and techniques for designing an optimal control room environment.
- Proven best practices for creating intuitive workspaces that significantly enhance operator performance.
- Effective strategies for harmonising technology, workflows, and human cognitive capabilities.
Please note that the following topics are not covered in this training:
- Control system engineering.
- Back-end infrastructure and hardware/software configuration.
Who should attend
No prior expertise in control room design is required to benefit from this course. It is tailored for:
- Project sponsors for control room construction or renovation: Empowering you to ensure a strong return on investment through effective design principles.
- Engineers engaged in control room planning and optimization: Equipping you to deliver control rooms that are not only functional but also enhance operator performance.
- Operations managers: Providing you with insights to foster improved decision-making and efficiency among your operators.
- Change managers: Enabling you to cultivate greater acceptance and smoother transitions for operators performing critical tasks.
- Safety and compliance officers: Assisting you in adhering to relevant standards and proactively mitigating risks through human-centered design.
Format
Remote, online training, split up in three afternoon sessions of 3 hours.
We accept at most sixteen participants to ensure a highly interactive session.
Your teachers
Benefit from the extensive 15-year collaboration of Denis and Joannes, who bring a wealth of practical experience from a diverse portfolio of control room projects—ranging from focused, smaller installations to expansive, multi-site operations. The course materials are directly derived from their hands-on application of human factors engineering in the creation of high-performance control room environments, offering you real-world insights and proven strategies.
⭐️ Get 20% off your training course
Companies get 20% off when booking two or more training sessions for one or multiple employees
Students and academics enjoy a 20% discount on all of our courses
Register to our control room design course
(Registrations are not open yet. New dates to be announced)