I had a great opportunity to go to an open house for a newly remodeled dispatch center. This was in Shawnee, Oklahoma, a city of about 30,000 residents.  They dispatch fire and police for the city.  

I previously wrote a blog highlighting which companies selling imaging desks will be at RSNA.  If you are shopping for a new desk, the following advice should help get you to the right booth without wasting time.  

Once you get to the booth and start talking to the helpful (pesky?) salesperson, what are some good questions to ask?  If you are like me, you probably think of them after you’ve already walked away. Fortunately, I have put together some questions that will help you make your best decision.  

There is no place like the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) to go shopping for new equipment for your radiology center.  Whether you are involved with a huge hospital system or a small reading room, RSNA seems to have it all and then some.  You can get hands-on with all of the latest technology to see what it can do to make your life better and improve the results for your patients.  One major piece of that puzzle is choosing the best imaging desk for your reading room.  

In today’s world, everyone has seen the studies on standing at your desk. They are EVERYWHERE! Seriously. They are in the New York Times,  Forbes , Huffington Post , and Smithsonian Magazine, just to name a few. Don’t worry; in case you have been living off the grid for the last three years, I have linked to a couple of the articles.

When it comes to purchasing dispatch furniture, there are many reasons why touring the manufacturing facility that you’re buying furniture from can be beneficial. Why should you take the time to do this? Why is it important to know how manufacturers build their furniture? Why is a plant visit a critical part of due diligence?

Last year when I wrote my review of the APCO dispatch furniture vendors, I went into the color themes and what I thought I saw as upcoming trends. This year, I noticed that not much has changed in terms of the design and color there is still a lot of dark colors and some wood-looking work surfaces.

What I noticed this year was how many dispatch furniture makers still put electronic equipment, mostly computers, under the console. I saw far too many sales reps doing presentations by bending down and showing the techs how they would access the computers, cables, radio, and power.

In my past life I worked in outside sales and was pretty active; I later accepted a position requiring me to sit at a desk for the majority of my working day. If anyone had told me then, in the nineties, that sitting at a desk all day could be hazardous to your health, they certainly wouldn’t have been taken very seriously.

APCO International’s 81st Annual Conference and Expo is right around the corner, and that means all of the newest and most innovative dispatch furniture will be on display for the world to see. Ha, ha, ha! Ok, not really! Similar to last year and every other year, you'll see almost all of the same vendors making a repeat cameo appearance!

So, same vendors, same sales pitch, pretty much the same product. With a variety vendors offering 911 furniture choices, it can be tricky arriving at an informed decision when it comes to who to make a purchase with for your next dispatch furniture project. This list of questions can be used to help narrow down which vendor has the product best suited for your needs:

Trade show floors can be intimidating and a bit overwhelming. After all, APCO 2015 is one of the largest, if not the largest, trade shows for public safety professionals all year. And, whether you’re a Supervisor, Director, Dispatcher, or Manager, odds are that you’ve got a pretty busy week planned for Washington, DC. Hustling from one session to another, and obviously coming back to your agency with some key take-aways! Trust me, we know the drill.

So, let us help you by giving you 3 great reasons why you shouldn’t come by Xybix’s booth at APCO:

Is a standing imaging desk just a trend, or does it really benefit the bottom line for an imaging center? 

Let’s face it radiologists tend to love new technology (toys) which can hopefully make their job easier, faster, and better. Efficiency is great for both the doctor and the management, who is trying to maintain a healthy bottom line. So, does a height adjustable imaging desk fall into the category of improved efficiency or is it just a new toy for the doctor to use for a few months? 

While the imaging desks are cool, let's face it, there are also some great health benefits to standing at work.