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