Background

Are you thinking it is time to invest in your controls and control buildings but not sure where to start?

Many companies are moving to new consolidated centralized control rooms but this can be an expensive, multi-year commitment. An alternative may be to re-use the existing control rooms by undertaking extensive refitting, however, this will almost certainly lead to compromise and the cost may be close to that of a new building. So how do you decide how to proceed? Leveraging UCDS’s experience of involvement in over a hundred control room projects across multiple industry sectors around the world we can help in the decision process.

Driven by today’s demands for safer, more reliable, cost effective and efficient operations, control room designs are relying more heavily on automation and centralized supervisory control. The operator, however, has retained a critical role in making these systems work. Our methodology, based on the International Standard ISO 11064, ensures that all important aspects of the operation of a modern control room are considered. Our approach focuses on four main areas:

• Developing a shared vision by defining the needs and requirement of your organization

• Determining the suitability, number and style of control room(s)

• Reviewing your current practices and how they will be impacted by proposed changes

• Identifying areas to improve the operator’s ability to detect, diagnose and respond to abnormal situations, including:

• Console Furniture

• Ergonomics

• HVAC and lighting

• Noise Control

• Traffic Flow

Service Description

We schedule a site visit to evaluate the existing control rooms. Typically, one or two representatives of User Centered Design Services visit the site for three to five days, depending on the number of control rooms. During the visit UCDS performs interviews with multiple representatives of those departments involved in the management, implementation, use, and maintenance of the control room. This typically includes: Senior Management, Department Management, Instrument Engineers, Instrument Supervisors and Technicians, Process Engineers, Training Supervisors, Trainers, Procedure Writers, Control System Engineers and Technicians, Operations Supervision (all levels,) Field and Console Operators, Health and Safety, and Process Safety Management.

Following the site visit we generate a report detailing the current state of the control room(s) along with identifying specific gaps versus Best Practices.

For additional information or to book a workshop please E-mail us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it