Control rooms

Control rooms

Three key design principles

In a context where operators are at the heart of critical decisions, the rapid transformation of control rooms highlights the importance of optimised design. This transformation, driven by the ever-increasing amount of information required to make decisions and decisive physiological factors such as fatigue and stress for operators, reveals three structuring design issues:

The normative challenge of reference frameworks : How can standards and best practices be effectively integrated to ensure both compliance and operational excellence?
Multidisciplinary expertise: How can collaboration between different experts (ergonomists, engineers, architects) optimise the functionality and efficiency of control rooms?
Stakeholder engagement : How can involving operators and internal stakeholders from the design phase onwards help to create spaces that are better adapted to their real needs?

These challenges underline the importance of a holistic and collaborative approach, an approach that Human design Group has been developing for many years for the most demanding sectors and the most ambitious projects.

The normative challenge of reference frameworks

At the heart of control room design, aligning ergonomic standards, This synergy ensures that the project is carried out in accordance with the relevant standards, such as ISO 11064, with standardised project engineering protocols. This synergy ensures seamless integration of ergonomics from the outset, ensuring that every stage, from specification to implementation, complies with rigorous ergonomic principles.

Particular attention is paid to the preliminary analysis, which includes understanding the project's challenges, This leads to the establishment of robust planning and organisational principles, guiding the development of well-founded planning scenarios. This leads to the establishment of robust planning and organisational principles, guiding the development of well-founded planning scenarios.

These critical phases are illustrated by plans and 3D representations, leading to a complete consultation file, which includes precise ergonomic justifications, the layout and furniture specifications, The choice of materials and colours, for a design that combines functionality and well-being.

01.

Analysis
preliminary

Project challenges
Understanding operational needs
Analysis of agent activity (REX)

02.

Principles
development

Organisational principles
Development principles
General development scenarios

03.

Specifications
general

Sectional views
Ergonomic findings and constructions
Acoustic, lighting and thermal environments

04.

Specifications
(DCE/PRO)

Detailed specifications for fittings/furniture
Ergonomic justification
Materials, colours
3D representations
Virtual visit
Graphics
Estimated

Multi-disciplinary expertise

In compliance with the requirements of the applicable ergonomics standards (ISO 11064), the design of high-performance control rooms relies on the synergy of a multidisciplinary team. Each member brings unique expertise in a particular aspect of operational efficiency and the quality of the integration of ergonomics into project engineering:

ergonomic project manager specialising in the computerised management of complex systems,
an ergonomist specialising in control room working conditions,
interior architect and/or DPLG, in line with the company's brand image,
technical design engineer,
acoustician (sound environment),
lighting designer (lighting environment),
Thermal engineer (thermal environment),
digital modelling engineer (2D, 3D, CAD, Virtual Reality/XR).

In line with the standardised project engineering approach, once all the ergonomic requirements of operators‘ work situations and their operating needs have been established and validated, fitting-out projects must be able to translate these requirements into technical and budgetary constraints.

Mastery of plan productionThis ability is based on the production of plans using tools (2D, 3D) that are compatible with engineering standards, as well as on cost control for the construction of the various work packages (furniture, finishing work, lighting, etc.).
Mastering ergonomic requirementsThis capability enables us to master all the ergonomic requirements needed to define the adaptation of layouts to operating needs. This completeness (ergonomic requirements, technical plans and budget estimates) means that the project's DCE (Dossier de Consultation des Entreprises) can be produced as quickly as possible, in a reactive manner.

Stakeholder engagement

It is crucial for the alignment and acceptability of developments by their stakeholders (operators, project owners, engineers, etc.) to use simulations of workspaces and the efficiency of operating activities as early as possible in the engineering project and at a reduced cost (vs. physical scale 1 models).

The adoption of advanced simulation technologies, such as 3D modelling and virtual reality, has transformed control room design by enabling immersive visualisation of spaces and operational efficiencies even before physical construction, providing early proof of concept and reducing the costs and risks associated with late modifications.

From the sketch phase onwards, simulations facilitate the approval of spatial layouts, the macro-implantation of furniture and the optimisation of traffic flows, while the advanced design phases enable detailed validation of tactile, visual and organisational aspects. This approach significantly improves the acceptability of layouts by stakeholders, ensuring that layout solutions precisely meet operational and ergonomic needs.

Simulation tools are particularly effective in these engineering phases:

L'EsquisseValidation of the main operational dimensions of the layout (space zoning, macro layout of furniture, work positions and main equipment, traffic flow, partitioning, etc.).
Simplified and/or detailed preliminary designDetailed validation of the dimensions taken into account in the sketch phase, tactile and visual accessibility, furniture, its location and layout. Finally, validation of the layout project with regard to the organisation of work between operators.

In addition to digital modelling and immersion in representative and interactive environments (simulation ecology), it is necessary to rely on a methodology (protocol) for experimental evaluation in ergonomics, human factors and organisation. This will provide objective information on operational requirements and their translation into useful data for project engineering.

Immersive virtual reality (VR, AR, XR)

Explore your possibilities

The layout of a control room cannot be limited solely to compliance with ergonomic or technical standards. It involves sensitive dimensions: perception of the situation, collective coordination, mental workload, accessibility to critical information. In this context, immersive virtual reality (VR) is a decisive lever for projecting users into realistic operational scenarios, well before the space is commissioned.

Thanks to VR, it is now possible to validate layout choices in situ, test interfaces, traffic flows and working postures, and simulate nominal or degraded situations, involving operators from the earliest design phases. This immersion makes it possible to objectify friction points, fine-tune the environment to actual use, and optimise safety, performance and comfort.

However, the use of virtual reality in this type of environment cannot be left to improvisation. To produce reliable, usable results, immersive tests must be based on a rigorous protocol.

Control cyber risks

Control room layout

A multi-sector issue

The efficient layout of a control room meets a number of cross-functional challenges:

Legibility and prioritisation of information : support decision-making in a constrained context with a high cognitive load.
Operator comfort and vigilance: integrating human factors, mental workload, circadian rhythms, acoustics and light.
Reliability of human-system interactions : guarantee continuity of operation, robustness in the event of a crisis and adaptation to degraded scenarios.
Adaptability to technological change : anticipate evolving configurations.
Support for collective coordination : organise the space to encourage exchanges, shared supervision and controlled initiative-taking.
Integration of regulatory and sectoral constraints : cybersecurity, safety, confidentiality, accessibility, industry standards.