Category: Console Technology

From Dispatch to Design: 3 Tech Priorities for Your Console Upgrade

Upgrading your Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is about more than accommodating technology-it’s about creating a workspace that works for everyone. From dispatchers on the front lines to IT technicians keeping systems running and facility managers ensuring long-term functionality, the right console furniture offers a holistic solution that supports the entire team.

Watson Consoles at APCO Conference – Baltimore 2019

For the last 84 years, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, otherwise known as APCO, has served as an international leader in the public safety industry. Providing complete public safety communication expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy, and outreach to the public, APCO features commercial vendors with innovative products and solutions for Next Gen 9-1-1, cybersecurity, and much more.

Dispatch Workstations: Manufacturing with Steel

Steel manufacturers throughout the United States are facing challenges associated with managing the cost of goods and wages alongside the need for healthier materials and more environmental sound processes. It is a real WIN for us all when manufacturers rise to the challenge and invest in their communities and their customers. Watson is one such manufacturer.

Along with the challenges, manufacturers have some exciting opportunities to positively impact the domestic manufacturing landscape: design cutting-edge products, provide living wages that boost manufacturing careers in the US, and drive materials providers to deliver high-quality, environmentally responsible products for use in agencies across the nation.

Dispatcher Desk Solutions for Emerging 911 Technology

Old-school police officers can recount the days of the desk sergeant sitting with his feet up, waiting for the phone to ring and putting out calls over the one button radio. Dispatching was simpler back then. As societal norms have grown more complex, the role and technology of first responders has matched the pace.

Public safety call center technology has progressed incredibly far, allowing quicker response times and more accuracy. Technology advancement has improved nearly every aspect of dispatching. As systems advance, they have become more complex. Within the scope of modern emergency communications technology, foremost in the mind of call center administrators are systems like NG911, Firstnet, CAD and other high-end public safety management software.

Why 911 Workstation Design Impacts Your Work

For 15 years, the landscape of the modern-era PSAP remained virtually unchanged with operators sitting in pods at 90 degree corner workstations. When the 90 degree style made its debut, it was revolutionary and capably accommodated critical technology. Today, changes in technology, ergonomics and use-of-space have rendered the style outmoded. Learn why.

Here's Why Your PSAP Should Care About Pencil Trays

If you are a public safety communications professional, you know the best dispatch console workstations are designed, engineered and built to meet the distinct needs of multiple groups – dispatchers, IT specialists and facility managers. Of all the unique features on a 911 workstation, a pencil tray is rarely among them. So, you might ask, “Why is this relevant to my PSAP?” Here is why.

The lesser-known benefits of investing in "special" dispatch console desks

If you are not directly involved with staffing a 911 communications center, you likely do not realize the challenges cities face to retain telecommunicators. Providing the right tools for the job, including specialized dispatcher desks, is one way Comm Centers prioritize community safety, and protect public funding from the high spend associated with higher-than-average turnover.

Do Operators Benefit from "Special" 911 Dispatch Console Desks?

Recently, a customer’s procurement team asked why the dispatchers required 911 dispatch console work stations – versus standard desks. This is a great question and something public agencies should ask when allocating public funds as it is not always easy to balance limited funding across multiple agencies. Being informed about why certain tools are right for the job is one way organizations demonstrate good stewardship of the funds, and respect for the teams and communities they serve.

Consider FCC Title 47 When Selecting Dispatch Consoles

In our post, Simplify Your Data Management Solution, we addressed the need for separate cable channels for video and data to mitigate signal interference. Another signal interference risk to your dispatch center communications system may come from unintentional radio frequency contamination. Here’s what you should know.

Which is the best material for my dispatch console, wood or steel? (part 3)

Did you know that the aesthetic impact of 911 dispatch furniture can have a lasting effect on your team? That effect – good or bad – influences focus, efficiency, comfort and, ultimately, a center’s churn rate. And the ripples of your purchase impact the economy. Learn how your single 911 dispatch furniture purchase can do so much.

Which is the Best Material for My Dispatch Console? (Part 2)

This installment focuses on the technical reasons why wood-core substrate is a durable and functional material for PSAPs and Ops Center dispatch consoles. This will include evidence for functional strength, lasting durability, and technology interface benefits.

Which is the Best Material for Dispatch Console, Wood or Steel?

You may have been recently misled with a false claim. The pitch may have gone something like this: “I understand your agency is planning to replace your consoles… …That’s great news. As you consider your options, you should really stay away from the wood-based products. Steel is so much more sturdy! You need a console that is built to last and wood can’t do the job.”

New Console Trends Put the User First, Boost Employee Satisfaction

The adjustment controls integrated into a dispatch console evolve just like the technology the console is designed to hold. The catalyst for change at the manufacturing level is typically related to updates in safety and ergo standards, and feedback from users related to comfort preferences. For the PSAP, seeking out new features may be inspired by dispatcher complaints about current features, a renovation, a move, fluctuation in staffing, or team consolidation. Regardless why you are considering new console options, you should know that well-designed consoles help improve user satisfaction and PSAP team performance.

Small-format PCs Can Mean Big Savings for PSAPs: Space, Time, Money

Technology drives efficiency within the PSAP. In addition to making sure your center has the most current systems capability, it’s important to consider how the hardware impacts your space. By now it’s a familiar refrain: as technology gets better, technology gets smaller. For PSAP centers, this is a good news/bad news scenario.

Simplify Your Data Management Solution & Get Better Performance

Technology has done wonders for the PSAP industry, allowing safety centers to respond quicker, more proactively, and more accurately. It’s improved everything from phone calls to radio communication, and made emergency vehicles trackable via GPS. And without exception, these new technologies require a data cable and a connection to the Internet. As the number of technologies helping to facilitate exceptional public safety has grown, the number of data cables and connection points has grown with it. Unless PSAP centers give serious thought to the problems associated with increased cabling volume, this complexity will only get worse in the years to come.

Future Proofing the 21st Century PSAP with Multi-Monitor Arrays

Technology evolution continues to be a large part of planning and maintaining efficient PSAPs and Operations Centers. Over the past few years we have seen an increased need to provide immediate monitor array solutions that will also work for imminent upgrades.

Future-Proof Your Emergency Dispatch Consoles

For over 35 years, Watson has been designing and building dispatch center products specifically for 24/7 environments. Working side by side with our forward thinking customers has deeply influenced our manufacturing and product development philosophy. M