Designing a consolidated 24/7 communications center presents many opportunities and challenges. Such was the case in Oklahoma City, OK, where E9-1-1, Police Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, Public Service Dispatch and the local EMS provider (EMSA) recently joined communications operations in a new facility. The challenge was to create an efficient center that would accommodate each agency and meet their unique operational needs while providing an ergonomic and aesthetically pleasing environment.

Following a comprehensive selection process that involved having each console vendor demonstrate their consoles, design support capabilities, and project management services, Bramic Creative Business Products (Stouffville, ON) was unanimously selected to provide 26 Marathon 6 and 24 Marathon 4 dispatch consoles.

Immediately following the award in April 2005, Bramic was tasked with the design and development of the communications center layout. Bramic initially met with the Technical Review Committee to discuss layouts and obtain a clear understanding of the specific needs of each agency, including space requirements, proximity concerns, and shared resources necessary to develop a highly functional coexistence. By gathering this vital information final layouts were established for each agency. Technical drawings were then completed for the electrical, telephony, data, and radio requirements of each agency’s area, indicating the exact placement of each piece of user equipment. Great care was taken to determine the precise placement of floor access points for power distribution in order to ensure a seamless installation.

Bramic was also tasked with accommodating several special pieces of equipment, such as the phone system "herbie box" and the radio system audio enclosure. Early in the process, the city recognized that they would like to have future flexibility with respect to reconfiguring workspaces and this would require the consoles to be easily moved with minimal cost and downtime. With the Marathon 6 and 4, Bramic was able to meet these requirements and expectations.

Once the final layout was approved, the Bramic team set out to develop the production schedule and installation plan. With many customized features and specialized accessory furniture required, Bramic worked to meet a very tight schedule. Considerable detail was required to develop specialized storage and mounting for building monitoring equipment, weather observation equipment, and radio/video distribution.

Bramic delivered the training room consoles in September 2005. The initial installation of the training room gave OKC personnel a glimpse of what to expect in the final phase of installation and allowed the other suppliers an opportunity to "mock up" consoles with the different pieces of user equipment. This created a precutover opportunity for the users to understand how their new positions would look and function, and supported the testing and development of the center’s new CAD, radio, and phone systems.

The final installations were completed on time and within budget. Staging the various areas and coordinating all of the vendors involved was accomplished by a strong relationship between Bramic, the installation crew, and the communications center manager. By October 14 the entire center was completed and ready for user equipment and on November 18, 2005 the center went live. For more information call (905) 686-6950.