Most dispatch console manufacturers—including Xybix—are expert with the shoehorn. We help PSAPs and operation centers add or replace consoles as needed, and our designers work with the center to make it all fit. We love the creativity that goes into this process, and we’re happy to be involved in any upgrade or remodeling project.

That said, when console manufacturers get the chance to be involved from the inception of a project, we jump! For a new center—not hampered by tight spaces or weird columns—we can employ all our innovative technologies and years of experience in creating functional and inviting floor layouts. Plus, we bring the expertise in the unique needs of dispatch centers to the architects and interior designers involved in the project. Read on for details.

Well-designed dispatch consoles are so sleek that it’s easy to wonder where the computers go. For most people, it doesn’t really matter until the computer breaks or needs an upgrade. Then you care how fast IT can take care of it, and IT certainly cares about having to crawl around the floor or squeeze behind a heavy desk.

Backup 911 call centers used to be bare bones—just enough to get the dispatchers up and running at a moment’s notice. These days, PSAPs are starting to build more robust backup centers, likely due to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. Whatever the cause of this trend, creating a space with a similar setup helps PSAPs remain mission ready and maintain response times, no matter where they are located.

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.

How often do you google “What’s the best…?” Every time you shop for something unfamiliar, I’m guessing. And shopping for dispatch desks usually falls into that unfamiliar territory. After all, the desks last a long time—10 to 20 years—and they’re not exactly advertised on TV. Unless you intentionally keep up with innovations in the technical furniture industry, the Google machine is often your best hope to start researching the desks.

Carpe diem! Seize the day! But how can you do that if you’re tired or hungry? One way is to start thinking about what’s happening to your body circa diem—in around a day’s time. The Latin circa diem evolved into circadian, defining a 24-hour cycle. Your circadian rhythms, then, are the changes that naturally occur in your body and mind in 24 hours.

I recently got a strong reminder of why I love my job as Director of Key Accounts Healthcare for Xybix. I was at the airport in Austin, Texas, sporting a Xybix golf shirt with the company’s core values printed on the back. A fellow traveler stopped me, asked if she could take a picture of our values, and exclaimed, “Does such a company exist?!” I gave her my card and proudly said, “Yes it does!”

Given the importance of an efficient hospital command center to healthcare outcomes—and the significant costs involved—projects like this require an architect. Their expertise will help with walls, flooring, electrical, windows, and more to create a room that works for you. Even with their expertise, the architects and other vendors still need your input on how the room looks. This means where do the desks go, do you have a video wall, what about ancillary furniture to hold paperwork, lockers, etc.?

As I write this—on May 19, 2022—forecasters are predicting that it will snow tomorrow in Denver. But I know that other parts of the country are already enjoying relative humidity in the range of 70, 80 and even 90 percent. Which brings me to an old myth that seems to circle back on us: That you shouldn’t buy desks with laminate tops if you live in a humid client. I’m always happy to debunk this myth because I hate for people to miss out on all the benefits of 3D laminate. Let’s take a deeper look.

How many times have you bought a larger phone and then had to buy a larger case? Or a larger purse or fanny pack? (If Dr. Rick will let you keep a fanny pack, that is.) That’s what happens with technology—it gets bigger and better, but we need bigger and better spaces to accommodate it. So it goes with telemetry labs.