“I’m on the phone!”

Never has that phrase been more important than when you’re taking a 911 call where your every bit of attention needs to be to the caller on the other end of the phone. You’re responsible for asking questions, gathering information on the emergency as well as dispatching fire, police or an ambulance. Heck, that’s a lot of pressure! Not to mention, you’re also being recorded on the line.

You’ve heard a lot lately about Xybix's new Eagle Line of Dispatch Consoles, but what exactly is the “Eagle Difference”? Let us explain...

What’s the Eagle Difference?

Can you picture that black edge that practically EVERY piece of industrial furniture you’ve seen since you were in grade school has? You know, the stuff that looks like it belongs on a bumper car?

Well, it’s gone. G-O-N-E! Gone with the wind! You get the picture.

You may hear the term “slatwall” being used to describe part of your furniture, but what exactly is slatwall? What does it do for your dispatch furniture?

The slatwall panel was originally designed to serve as shelving in a retail store so that retail workers could hook merchandise onto the wall. Slatwall panels are made up of rows of dovetail-shaped slots, and they are designed so that items can be hooked into the slots and hung from the slatwall. The most common use of slatwall in the 911 Public Safety industry is to hang monitors. A panel is usually mounted at the back of the monitor surface, and it moves up and down with the height adjustment of that surface.

Slatwall has also been adapted to be used on dispatch consoles due to Xybix creating and patenting RollerVision, which is a monitor mount with focal depth adjustment.

You've received the "go-ahead" to start planning a project to get new workstations in your 911 Comm Center. You begin by researching possible console suppliers, or you might already have a vendor in mind. After you’ve done your research on the consoles themselves, you begin to weigh your options, but...have you thought of everything? One thing to consider that is sometimes overlooked is the addition of custom cabinetry and office solutions. If you are able to customize your console, why can't you customize your cabinetry and offices as well?

You’re right in the middle of shopping for new dispatch furniture, and you realize that you don’t know what to do about all the ancillary storage and furniture in the room. You can’t just keep the old steel HON file cabinets when they are ugly and do not match anything. So how do you complete your room after shopping for dispatch furniture?

Xybix has mentioned plenty of times throughout our blogs how incorporating movement while working at your dispatch console can help you burn more calories, improve your focus, and even lower your risk of developing certain ailments. The good news is that there is no shortage of tools on the market that are designed to get you up and moving at work. After evaluating quite a few of them, here are five of the best accessories and exercises to help you stay healthy. We will start with the easy and low-cost (FREE!) items and work our way up.

Keeping your computers cool is an important concern to address in your dispatch center as a hot, running computer will show you the blue screen of death if it gets too warm. While this is a built-in fail-safe for the CPU itself, this is not what a dispatcher wants, especially in the middle of an important call. Computers that run on higher temperatures also tend to have shorter life spans which can lead to spending budget money sooner than you would like.

As a Communications Supervisor, I often wonder how we can better protect ourselves from the germs, common cold and flu type symptoms, we all bring into the comm center on a daily basis. In my own center and in many of the centers I visit, I notice air purifiers, hand wipes and hand sanitizers sitting throughout the workplace.

At Xybix headquarters, our team of engineers are continually improving upon our product with new ideas and options. End users are some of the most important people to use our product. If it weren’t for you, we might not understand the importance of individual heat and air control at a workstation, or even the need for individual lighting.

Over the years, our engineering department has listened to you, your ideas and your concerns. They have taken this feedback and come up with some great ideas to enhance your comfort at your workstation in a communication center. Antimicrobial worksurfaces and bias lighting are just a couple of items that Xybix has introduced over the past two years. This year, we are introducing acrylic shrouds. Now you’re asking, what are acrylic shrouds?

When you start thinking about your 911 Comm Center and those little things you'd really like, you might start to come up with a wish list. Let's face it, everyone has a wish list! The focus is usually on the basics: height adjustable workstations, monitor mounting, cable management, and CPU storage. You've been good all year, right? So ask yourself - what about those little extras on your wish list? What do you really 'want for Christmas?'