Carver 911 Dispatch Project Profile Carver PD Dispatch

Carver, Massachusetts

Carver Public Safety Dispatch Center is moving to a new building located at the Carver Police Station. The dispatch team has been working from a long countertop alongside outmoded, built-in consoles. When they move, the Carver team will have more space and are looking to bring their 911 dispatching work environment into the present. This includes modern 911 dispatch consoles.

The Challenge

The Carver team desires to stretch their budget to cover fully outfitted, ergonomic console furniture that will provide better health and comfort support for their dispatchers. They desire a clean, professional workspace – no dangling cords or cables. They expect their consoles to serve the team for decades to come.

The Solution

The Carver team desires to stretch their budget to cover fully outfitted, ergonomic console furniture that will provide better health and comfort support for their dispatchers. They desire a clean, professional workspace – no dangling cords or cables. They expect their consoles to serve the team for decades to come.

Overview

2 Positions

7 Flex Consoles

  • Personal Comfort System
  • Gooseneck Task Lighting
  • Ambient Lighting
  • Up-Lit Etched Glass
  • Adjustable Monitors
  • Sanitation Station
  • 360° Central Storage
Installed In 2021

Keeping Operator’s Healthy and Comfortable

Michael Shaw leads the 911 Public Safety Dispatchers for the Carver Police Department. Since the team is moving to a new building, he knows it is critical to create a well-thought space that will serve the small team now, and will prepare them for growth. Hre leads the charge to build the space from the ground up. The Carver team prioritizes three key console furniture attributes:

  • Operator ergonomic adjustment and comfort
  • Concealed cable management and technology storage
  • 365/24/7 decade-plus durability
blue-earth-county-dispatch-6
room-to-move-presentation

Room to Move

Carver upgrades their console workspace style and size to better accommodate equipment needs and work flow, and to be prepared for expansion of duties. The single surface, 90° corner console provides ample room for work tools and equipment.

According to Shaw, “One of the many features that stands out is the ample knee space” – there are no lifting columns, cross bars, or other furniture pieces in the way when an operator stretches or swivels. This “attention to the operator’s needs shows Russ Bassett is thoughtful and creates products designed specifically to meet the needs of dispatchers.”

The larger individual workspaces are set-up in a bullpen configuration. This places the dispatchers approximately 10 feet apart. The set-up is deliberate and helps with social distancing while keeping sightlines open so the team members can easily communicate.

Sit-Stand

The Carver team regularly supports their community in shifts ranging from eight to 16 hours. Historically, their workspace required operators to sit for the duration of their shift. This contributes to lower back discomfort, neck strain and body fatigue. Carver recognizes that their Public Safety 911 Dispatchers perform optimally when they are comfortable, alert and focused.

Carver selects consoles with full, sit-stand height adjustability. Now, every staff member can attain and maintain an ergonomically healthy sitting and standing body position. Moving from sitting to standing is easy with single-touch control. Plus, the entire worksurface, all monitors, equipment and work tools efficiently move with the operator.

Sit-Stand

Carver upgrades their console workspace style and size to better accommodate equipment needs and work flow, and to be prepared for expansion of duties. The single surface, 90° corner console provides ample room for work tools and equipment.

According to Shaw, “One of the many features that stands out is the ample knee space” – there are no lifting columns, cross bars, or other furniture pieces in the way when an operator stretches or swivels. This “attention to the operator’s needs shows Russ Bassett is thoughtful and creates products designed specifically to meet the needs of dispatchers.”

The larger individual workspaces are set-up in a bullpen configuration. This places the dispatchers approximately 10 feet apart. The set-up is deliberate and helps with social distancing while keeping sightlines open so the team members can easily communicate.

Lighting

The Carver team likes to keep the room lighting low. The new consoles help all dispatchers remain comfortable by providing gooseneck task lights at the surface and blue ambient lighting above and below the surface.

Now each dispatcher can position their task lighting where they need it. This helps reduce eyestrain experienced in low light. Under-surface ambient lighting is helpful when accessing equipment (or picking up a dropped pen). Both the task and ambient lights are independently dimmable, allowing dispatchers to achieve maximum viewing comfort.

Carver-PD-Dispatch-workstation
imgpsh_fullsize_anim-3

Storage and Accessories

Important to Carver is keeping an organized and tidy work area. To accommodate shared work tools including a printer, audio/visual controls, binders and folders, Carver adds a 360° access storage unit between positions.

The Carver team really likes Russ Bassett’s slatwall work tools. The Carver team added a Sanitation Station, Disinfectant Wipes Container Holder, and a Paper Towel Holder to their console positions. These items provide assurance they can regularly clean-up, disinfect and maintain a healthy and tidy workspace.

Seamless IT Integration

“I couldn’t have asked for a better product to handle cable management, technology, equipment and monitors,” says Shaw. The technology cabinet has plenty of room and the pull-out tray makes accessing the back of CPUs and equipment easy. “Since we have both a technology cabinet and space within the wall of the console, we can isolate our contracted 911 equipment.” The vendor appreciates having their equipment isolated – it makes access and maintenance easy and there is no chance of accidental disruption to the equipment. In addition, Carver regains valuable workspace by moving the back-up radios off the surface and mounting them on the Slatwall Array.
imgpsh_fullsize_anim-1

More Comfort, Increased Safety, Better Focus

Blue Earth was seeking a more efficient, quieter, user-controlled heating and cooling solution. Dispatchers appreciated having cool air, but the old console fans were too noisy to use regularly. The dispatchers also needed localized heating in the cold winter months. However, the old consoles had ineffective radiant heating panels.

The Russ Bassett integrated Comfort Control System gives Blue Earth operators localized forced air heating and cooling from energy-efficient, ultra-quiet appliances. The desktop fans and under-surface heaters power on with a single touch. Both cooling fans can be placed anywhere on the desktop and directional air flow adjustment allows dispatchers to focus cool air where they need it. Both under-surface heaters tilt up or down to focus warm air where it is most beneficial. Both the fans and heaters move with the dispatcher when they change position from sitting to standing. As an additional safety measure, the system has an occupancy sensor that turns off the appliances when no movement is detected at the console; the appliances re-engage when the operator returns.

russbassett.com | info@russbassett.com | 562.945.2445
Proudly made in Whittier, CA, USA
imgpsh_fullsize_anim

365 / 24 / 7, 10+ Years – No Problem!

The Carver team is confident that their Russ Bassett consoles will stand the test of time. The steel struc- ture and high-quality manufacturing and finishes has a reputation for functioning and looking great for decades. “Everyone that has come in has been impressed,” shares Shaw. “We expect to have these consoles for 25 years.”

“We toured a lot of stations and I did not see a single console designed like these (Russ Bassett’s),” shares Shaw. “What Russ Bassett does in terms of figuring out what the customer wants is impressive. Everything is thought about. Russ Bassett is always willing to help and find a way to promptly figure out what we were trying to accomplish.”

Carver Police Department Floorplan

The Carver Police Department maintains a 24 hour Public Safety Communications Center, which is staffed with one dispatcher who handles Police, Fire and Medical calls. The communications center is the primary answering point for all landline and wireless emergency 911 calls as well as all business lines including police and fire. Dispatchers are trained in NG911, CJIS, EMD (Emergency Medical Dispatching) and Telecommunicator 1.

imgpsh_fullsize_anim-1

Our dispatchers are capable of handling stressful incidents and situations in a calm and professional manner. Dispatchers utilize a touch screen dispatch console to easily and effectively alert and communicate with Police, Fire, EMS, Mutual Aid and the Carver Department of Public Works.

Learn more by visiting carverpolice.org/dispatch.

View More Success Stories