Acoustic divider panels in a 911 dispatch or operations center can you help walk that fine line between a cubicle farm and an open office. Most employees hate both options—and yet they crave the privacy and relative quiet of a cubicle along with the easy access to their neighbors in an open space. You can get the best of both worlds with a panel system designed specifically for your consoles, your floor layout, and your PSAP’s specific communications style. Here’s an example of panels with glass tiles.

Nothing induces a yawn like the word “ergonomics.” You may know it’s important for health and productivity, but the second you hear all the numbers and jargon involved—like 20” focal depth, 15° viewing angle, and neutral wrist—all you can think is “I just…can’t.”

I get it, and I’m here to help with a clear link between preventing pain and ergonomics. (By which I mean, if something hurts, you can likely tweak your workspace to fix it.) First, let’s take a quick look at how ergonomics can help you.

Building or remodeling the space for the lifeblood of an organization is a serious investment in material goods and services along with employee health and morale. Critical functions take place around the clock at 911 dispatch centers, radiology imaging rooms, telemetry labs, utilities and transportation control centers, and the like. The professionals who work there need spaces and desks designed for their specialized equipment and 24/7 operations.

Long shifts and stressful work result in muscle tension that follows you home in form of headaches and body aches. To help, Certified Personal Trainer and Xybix North Central Territory Manager, Jhovana Cervantes, demonstrates a variety of practical stretches that dispatchers can easily do at their desks or on break. 

At Xybix, we hear—and throw around—a lot of terminology for what you might call a “desk.” Dispatch consoles, healthcare workstations, imaging desks. But no matter what they’re called, the desks are part of an entire furniture system that is customized to each customer’s needs. It's one of the main reasons our name is "Xybix Systems."

We’re not pulling a premade desk off a shelf. We’re designing, manufacturing, and installing the desks, computer cabinets, bookshelves, panel systems, lighting, and more that all work together to create a healthy and productive workplace. Plus, thanks to our degreed and experienced interior designers, the room is not only going to look exceptionally cool, but it is going to function well systemically.

If you’re thinking, “Whoa, this is more than I need,” never fear. Our experts in dispatch, transportation, utilities, security surveillance, and healthcare, work with you to figure out what you need for your project, whether it’s 1 desk or 100 desks, bare bones or with all the bells and whistles.

Read on for how the system approach ensures that everything works together, right away and for years to come.

Let me get right to the point: A desk suitable for dispatch, known as a console, will cost somewhere in the range of $18,000 to $28,000 with shipping and installation. Yes, that is as much as a used car—and the reason for that is the specific needs the consoles meet and the amount of time they last under constant use. Let’s take a deeper look.

A core value at Xybix is innovation, and boy have we been busy this year. Our owners, salespeople, designers, and engineers are constantly talking to people in the industries we serve to learn about challenges, trends, and current and future needs. (That’s why we hit all the premier trade shows.) Then we go back to our manufacturing facility, brainstorm, experiment, and come up with myriad ways to surprise you, delight you, and serve your needs.

Xybix recently helped Brown County Public Safety Communications team replace its decades-old furniture with modern ergonomic consoles sporting innovative features such as app-controlled personalized lighting and climate controls along with under-desk exercise equipment.

At Xybix, we’re happy to share with you all the cool features of our ergonomic sit-to-stand dispatch consoles. Our consoles are packed with tried-and-true basics plus innovative new options designed specifically for the long hours and stressful shifts that dispatchers typically experience. But we know it’s better for you to hear it straight from other dispatchers, so we talked to a few employees at Aurora 911 after a significant remodel that included new Xybix consoles, a new layout from a Xybix designer, and new paint and carpeting.

Over the last few months, various news stories have caught my eye because of their relevance to dispatch centers. My first takeaway from these stories is the importance of attention to detail in everything from mats to lighting to ergonomics. And my second takeaway is that sitting for long hours is no good for any of us! Read on for details.