Why buy specialized furniture for control rooms? Won’t office furniture do the job just as well?

Simply stated, furniture designed for command and control rooms offers the most operator convenience, comfort, efficiency, takes up the least amount of floor space, is designed for specialized equipment, and is made to hold up to intensive, round the clock use for many years.

Whether you refer to it as control room furniture, technical furniture, operator consoles, desks or workstations, it the same thing; just designed and outfitted differently for the application.

Let’s break it down.

Operator consoles have ergonomic attributes that office furniture does not. Consoles are designed for operators who spend long periods of time sitting in front of an array of computer screens sometimes stacked two or three high. Some operators, like dispatchers, are tethered to their workstations for long periods of time making adjustable desktops for standing an ideal feature. Conversely, office furniture is designed for administrative tasks that have little to do with the work performed in a 24/7 setting.

Control room desks position the computer monitors at optimum height and viewing angle for the operator and offer the most desk top space in the smallest footprint. Office furniture is typical in appearance and functionality with a rather large footprint and limited desktop space.

Control room furniture is designed to place the most tools directly in front, and within easy reach of the operator. Even a four feet wide console when designed properly, can accommodate two mounted monitors, phone mount, task light, and binder tray with space on the desk top for keyboard, mouse and reading and writing materials. Below the desktop there is adequate space for CPUs and drawer storage. Office furniture is simply not designed for this type of specialized equipment.

Operator consoles minimize the need for floor space; more operators and console hardware can be placed comfortably in less space. In particular, this makes the most of expensive raised flooring.

Control room desks are modular allowing for easy relocation within the room without complicated and time-consuming disassembly and reassembly. Office systems furniture is made of many metal parts both large and small. This necessitates a professional installer to accomplish the task, especially for large projects.

Control room consoles have flexibility that office furniture does not. Modular consoles can be placed in rows facing large video screens, back to back, in quads, back against the wall and done so in a way that office furniture cannot. Hardware is easily accessible either mounted, or enclosed below the desk top. Either way, the cabling is neatly placed and out of view. Office furniture is rather typical in appearance and is a catalogue product prefabricated with little flexibility beyond what most office furniture manufacturers offer.

Control room furniture has a high-tech look that sets it apart from office furniture. The work performed is different so the furniture is different. Aesthetics is important both for employee pride and performance. Consoles look great and serve as an excellent marketing tool that cannot be measured in dollars.

To conclude, unlike office furniture, control room furniture is designed specifically for the tasks being performed in a demanding environment; this furniture is customized, made for intensive use and tailored to individual applications. It is not prefabricated with components stacked in a warehouse waiting to be ordered. Control room furniture has evolved over many years from lessons learned. If office furniture met the needs of control room professionals, then specialized furniture would not be the standard for command and control rooms all over the world.

For more information on control room furniture and video walls, I can assist by email, phone or by information request.

About Jerryh

Jerry Herrington is Senior Project Consultant with Americon. He has over 20 years experience helping people design and outfit their control rooms. Visit Americon at Controlroomsusa.com for technical furniture and video wall manufacturing ideas and practical solutions that capture the imagination. Contact me direct for more information.