"The average office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat."

If you have old-school “edge-banded” desktops in your 24/7 work environment, they’re hiding a dirty secret: The average office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.

Why? Because germs can easily hide in the seams of traditional edge-banded desks. Gross, right? Even worse is how quickly your team of mission-critical operators can get sick when exposed to harmful bacteria. This can increase illness and absenteeism among those who serve the public 24/7: dispatchers, command center operators, and radiologists.

If you’re shopping for new consoles for your 24/7 operations area, you’ve likely heard a lot of mixed messages about wood vs. steel-construction workstations. Why so much conflicting information? Because the best console manufacturers, including Xybix, invest heavily in their manufacturing infrastructures for the products they know are high quality.

So how do you sort through the myriad claims out there and, most important, choose the right materials and products for your operations center or control room? Read on as we address five common, often misleading, claims about wood components in control room consoles—and uncover the truth.

Monitor arms may seem like a good idea at first, but generally they require the user(s) to make a viewing adjustment for each individual monitor. This is a significant problem that compromises the potential for proper ergonomic benefits.

When you're shopping for a new dispatch or command center console, you want to get something that will hold up to the abuse of a 911 dispatch center. Let’s face it; 24/7 use is tough on any equipment. The actual furniture itself takes even more abuse with the constant physical contact.

NOTE: There is a 2023 update to this article available here:
https://blog.xybix.com/casters-v-glides-for-digital-imaging-desks

Many facilities will request casters on imaging desks so that they can easily access the equipment or move a desk for cleaning purposes. Let’s be realistic; if the imaging desk is designed for easy access to the LCD monitors and CPUs, and it has a good cable management system, there is really no need to move the desk away from the wall. To emphasize my point, how many times have you actually seen the desks moved away from the wall? As far as cleaning goes, how often do the facility staff members move the desks away from the wall to clean? The answer is the same for both questions: rarely.

Panel Systems that Make Sense

When customers purchase console furniture, it often includes a discussion about panel systems. If you speak with a variety of vendors, you will certainly get a variety of panel solutions as well. I’ll share with you what is needed from panel systems (or “core systems”) so that you end up with the most efficient option.

Does Panel Size Matter?

Some manufacturers propose that the wider the core is, the more advantageous it will be, as you will be able to fit more cabling or computers within the core. That may be true. The benefit hinges on how you’re running power and data to your workstation and what access you need to those data lines or the computers.

If I said, “Your employees need an ergonomically correct workplace," you may bristle. But if I said, "Your employees will be more comfortable and more productive, and they’ll likely complain less,” I’ll bet your ears just perked up.

Ergonomics is the critical component here. Not only is does it provide a workplace standard, but it also sends a message to your team that you care.

There’s been plenty of talk about what the world will look like post-pandemic. This includes non-essential folks returning to work—and a new reality for mission-critical operations who never stopped working. I see several specific and tangible solutions, some involving cloud technologies, that will likely serve mission-critical infrastructure in the immediate future and beyond.

Here are my top seven predictions, working from the small-scale ideas to the large.

Telemetry labs, aka continuous monitoring labs, help overburdened medical staff spend time on face-to-face patient care.

Even before COVID-19 took a stranglehold on U.S. medical resources, many hospitals and healthcare facilities recognized the benefits of having an on-site (or off-site) continuous monitoring lab.

So, what is a Continuous Monitoring Lab?

Continuous monitoring labs, aka telemetry labs, are remote labs in which trained medical personnel conduct real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, including (ECG) readings, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. Relieving nurses of this burden, which they have traditionally performed during their daily rounds, lets them spend more quality time on face-to-face care—helping to improve the level of patient care and reduce nurse burnout.  

As the need for continuous monitoring grows, along with the sheer number of patients that nurses must care for, so too goes the demand for well-designed telemetry labs that deliver comfort, productivity, and long-term return on investment in your healthcare organization.

So how much does it cost to procure a telemetry desk that will support your patient care team while they do the mission-critical work of saving lives? Read on for answers to this and your other cost questions surrounding telemetry workstations.

Having a solid, cross-functional installation plan for your new workstations is critical for continuation of your mission-critical operations.

Congratulations, you have successfully procured state-of-the-art workstations for your command center or PSAP. While your colleagues in Facilities and Purchasing may start to breathe a sigh of relief, the most critical piece is still ahead: planning and completing installation of your new furniture. Installation of your center's complex communications set-up will take a village, so here’s how “plan your work and work your (cutover) plan” in five steps.