Demand for Control Centre Manufacturing Increases Significantly

Whether it is the world’s infrastructure or a high tech meeting room, control centres are often the underpinning technology running the show. Over time, control centres have become more sophisticated in design, taking into account aspects such as air quality and adjusting for vibration and heat given off by the machines.

Companies such as Gesab who specialise in control centre manufacturing are thinking outside the box to create control centres that not only allow users to keep systems on track but create the optimal working environment to assist users to do their jobs.

Growth Factors of Control Centres

The growth of control centres has come about for several reasons. Consider the following:

• Expansion of infrastructure – Should transport infrastructure change a whole new control centre is needed to keep everything running smoothly. It is not just the planes that need to be guided to take off and land at an airport, for example, but the support vehicles also have to be tracked and directed to avoid collisions and other disasters.
  At the Bucharest-Henri Coandă International Airport, for example, a dedicated control centre has been set up to direct luggage transport, fuel trucks, cleaning vehicles, security cars, and passenger transport from one area of the airport to another.

• Conferencing – Today, especially in light of Covid-19, video conferencing services have experienced a significant increase in demand. This has given rise to the need for IT companies to need ergonomic control centres to ensure that video conferencing is on point, providing crystal clear broadcasts.
  Israel based Fiverr sells digital services and has recently installed a state of the art centre to ensure both the corporate image of the company is conveyed, and the video conferencing facilities operated efficiently.
  Another example of good design at work can be found in Saudi Arabia. Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University’s new conference room is a good example of using space saving measures that doesn’t compromise the overall quality of the design.

• Controlling large spaces – Security has always been a significant factor in the growth of infrastructure. It is not just for security that to be able to monitor a large space is needed. Safety, and recently Covid-19 has seen demand for control centre rooms spike.
  Technology has evolved where it is possible to monitor important roads, cities, and manage things like medical track and trace apps.

Such is the demand for control centre manufacturing and design that the industry is expected to be worth US$52.8bn by 2030, according to Transparency Market Research.

The Rise of Technology in Control Room Manufacturing

It is relatively simple to spot key trends that are driving the increase in demand for control centre technology. If we explore in more depth, we find the following:

• Security and Network Operation Centres Expanding their Scope – The development of technology is truly driving change within the industry. Whereas control centres were used to monitor and control infrastructure, now this scope is expanding.
  Smart technology is more in demand than ever before, and this has to be managed. There can also be no doubt that more and more industries are using it for a range of operations including risk management.
  Control centres when configured correctly, allow for the integration of several business aspects. This is proving invaluable to industry as integration of technologies is essential to keep the wheels of industry turning.

• The Understanding and Need for Productive Working Environments – A significant development in mindset is the understanding of having productive working environments. This has taken the form of ergonomic design, air quality, equipment position, and room layout.
  Many control centres are high-stress environments where mistakes can cost lives. As such, everything is configured to help the operators do their jobs effectively. This is taken to the nth degree where the human machine interface is optimised to make it as intuitive as possible, and warning indicators are programmed to sound to avert disaster.
  The whole design is often based on assessments where screens, desks, operator positioning, even chair comfort is taken into consideration.

• Technology – Technological development happens at a rapid pace. What was state of the art today will be at best second best in a few years’ time. To cope with the pace of change, manufacturers have built in upgrading into the design. As new technology in both hardware and software forms comes to the market, it can easily slot in and replace obsolete systems.

• Capable of Working in Decentralised and Centralised Environments – Typically operations were centralised using a hierarchical system to control branches of control centres. Recently, however, some industries have been bucking this trend developing decentralised operations to improve productivity and efficiency.
  That said, some industries still depend on a centralised infrastructure to work coherently. Thanks to enhanced software most control centres can cope with both decentralised and centralised control systems, allowing industry workflow to work to optimal capacity.

There can be no doubts that control centre manufacturing will continue to grow over the next few years, and our lives will to some degree, depend upon its success.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes