Gimmicks for an advanced emergency operation center

A so called EOC is the central hub for coordinating large groups of people. The EOC itself consists of interacting users, and these users are managing more people outside the EOC for example firefighter, ambulance and other personal.

The importance of an EOC can't be estimated high enough. In case of an emergency, money is not the problem but the bottleneck is to safe life. So the question is, which kind of equippment should be bought for an Emergency operation center if the aim is to maximize the quality? Unfortunately, this isn't easy to answer. Because the technical equipment is limited. It's only possible to buy computer monitors, desktop pc and keyboards which are available as normal products. In most cases a normal computer room with workstations is more what the average EOC will need. If the workstations are connected with highspeed internet cable and the LED lighting on the calling is bright enough, it's hard to tell how to improve the situation further.

In some EOC a screen wall is available with the assumption that this will improve the information awareness. It's correct that such a wall of monitors can cost huge amount of money, but the effect is very low. If the person is far away from the wall he can't see the details so it's more a tool used in Star trek movies than in real EOC.

The perhaps most obvious bottleneck in an EOC is the training of the users. Which kind of skills are needed to maximize the group productivity? Even if the answer is not known, it make sense to assume that the skills of the individual are limiting the capabilities of the EOC. The resulting question is, which kind of training is the best which can be bought with money?

The best training material for EOC users was created by me. Unfurtunately, it's the opposite of a costly training course, but it's a simple github repository. The URL is https://github.com/ManuelRodriguez331/Helpdesk-game

With this material it's possible to explain to the newbies what an EOC operator has to do in an emergency. The program is based on the educational paradigm of self-training. That means a new user has to download the python script, start the slideshow and can lay back while watching the dialogues on the screen. Hopefully, the result is, that the newbie becomes familiar with group interaction.

The most interesting fact for understanding an EOC is, that it's never a problem of directing vehicles to the right place or follow the instructions somebody else has created in the last year. But an EOC works with 99% with interaction on different hierarchies. That means, team building is everything.

Cameras

In movies about catastrophic events an emergency operation center is often equipped with a video wall. The more elaborated equipment is the opposite. The problem is not to display something but to record the actions of the users in the EOC. It make sense to buy lots of cameras and transform an EOC into a Big brother show.

Suppose a traning session was held in the EOC. Without any doubt, the newbies will make lots of mistakes, their missing teamplay will result into taking the wrong decision. The problem is not to make a mistake but not learn from it. After a training session is over, the recordings of the cameras can by analyzed. This allows to blame persons for the right reason. It helps to improve the group communication and can be used for educational lectures.

Before a camera will produce high quality results, the lighting must become ultra bright. It make no sense to install a camera in a low light environment. Instead there is need for high power LED for support the working of the cameras.