Reduce Eye Strain with Dispatch Console Lighting
Florescent lighting + long hours in front of screens = sore eyes, blurry vision, and headaches. If you are monitoring critical operations you have experienced, or will likely experience, these symptoms. For this reason, dispatch console lighting has quickly risen to the top as a critical addition to the dispatcher’s tool kit. Flexible task lights are even better and here’s why.
3 Trends in 911 Call Center Design
At Watson we have the privilege to work with hundreds of PSAPs throughout the course of a year as they design their new facilities. A few times a year we take a moment to reflect and identify patterns in customer preferences, evolving functional requirements and technology integration. While every center has their own unique requirements, the following three trends are currently driving most of our new project specifications.
When charged to spend municipal dollars for dispatcher desks, it is crucial to make an educated and value-driven choice. PSAPs are discovering they can gain long-term benefit from specific furniture function and design attributes. If your 911 call center or security office is concerned with operator health and focus, maximizing your space, or reducing overflow and clutter, read on.
4 Keys to Selecting the Highest Quality Dispatch Console Manufacturer
Selecting new dispatch furniture can be incredibly exciting. Working with your team to visualize and evaluate the latest and greatest dispatcher desks can boost morale and lead to increased employee engagement. For good reason, features and benefits are major drivers in the selection. Often overlooked, however, are less tangible attributes of potential vendors. Here’s why these are equally important in the decision-making process.
Did You Know that Chewing Gum Can Reduce 911 Dispatcher Stress?
The energy expended during physical activities, other than intentional sporting-like exercise, is called NEAT. NEAT movements can boost calorie burn, increase muscular-skeletal health, and reduce stress. And, yes, chewing gum is one qualifying NEAT activity. That said, learn about more effective NEAT strategies you can incorporate into your day.
Make Sure You "Kick the Tires" on Dispatch Console Furniture in 2018
If you are ready to invest in dispatch console furniture, you want to be sure you get exactly what you need. And it’s not always easy getting your team in front of the workstations you are considering. Short of multiple day trips to multiple centers near you, what is the best way to live-demo dispatch console furniture?
3 Steps to a PSAP, Security or Call Center Furniture Installation
You have researched every furniture vendor in the market. You have reviewed every feature available for modern call center and dispatch console furniture, from ambient lighting and forced heated air to status lights and cup holders. You have reviewed surface finishes and fabric samples with you team. You have braved the RFP process and selected the perfect vendor for your new furniture. It may seem like your work is complete; it has only just begun.
Here's Why You'll Be Glad Your PSAP Call Center Furniture Rep Asks Many Questions
Your workstation purchase is a big deal. After all, if you are manning a PSAP console, your team will use these workstations for ten years or more. If you have ever been at a center during a console furniture purchase, you might have heard this, “Why are they asking so many questions right now. We’re not even ready to buy!?” Here’s why.
5 Ways 911 Dispatchers Boost Energy Without Caffeine
When exhaustion hits, it is easy to reach for a caffeinated soda, energy drink, or an aroma-filled cup of joe. While caffeine has become the standard, there are more effective ways to boost your energy without the crash. Get ready to take your shift head-on with these five alternatives for energy without the caffeine.
High Performance PSAPs Benefit from Top 5 Our Blogs of 2017
More than 10,000 visits by Comm Center managers, IT managers, and 911 telecommunicators have landed these blogs on the top 5 for 2017. If you haven’t had the chance yet, give them a read.
911 Dispatch Console Furniture Quick-Start Buyer's Guide
Buying 911 dispatch console furniture is a big deal. Most PSAPs receive furniture budget every seven to 10 years. When they do it is likely the staffer leading the charge will not have guided the process before. The depth of information related to police and fire dispatch furniture is vast. Many PSAP teams have shared that they have made purchases in haste and not received ideal solutions for their team. You can change that.
The Motivation Myth: Why Your Comm Center Employees Aren't Motivated
In the quest for a fully staffed communications center, it can be difficult to know what people really want out of their work experience. Fortunately, if you don’t know, it’s not a problem. The best comm centers don’t try to motivate their people. They focus on something much more powerful instead.
Shop Wisely for 911 Dispatch Furniture: Up the ROI with Better Design
There are benefits sometimes missed during the evaluation of communications center furniture. Seasoned 911 dispatch staffers will understand why specific feature sets are important for the long-term benefit of a Center and team. Read on to learn how you can up the ROI on your dispatch consoles and commercial furniture purchase.
Shop for 911 Dispatch Furniture: What Does Your Team Need?
With thoughtful research you can stretch your budget and give teams what they need to be comfortable, focused and productive. Furniture provides value beyond the basic features sets. Your dispatcher workstations, desks, conference and training room tables can influence mood, team dynamics and the public’s perception of your organization. Learn how you can up the ROI on your dispatch consoles and commercial furniture purchase.
Shop Wisely for 911 Dispatch Furniture and Get More Bang for the Buck!
“I wish selecting dispatch furniture was easier. How do I keep the operator’s happy and the consoles within budget?” “How do I get more bang for the buck?” …Sourcing complex technology furniture can be a challenge. You CAN have it all. Learn why some features matter more than others and discover long-term payoffs that you may not have thought about.
4 Powerful Steps for Less Stress as a 911 Dispatcher
During her nearly three-decade career as a front line telecommunicator, Laura’s passion for the job waned. More recently, things had gotten worse. She was short with callers and impatient with coworkers. Her daily attitude, usually positive and upbeat, turned sourer each day.
Learn How Scent Impacts Employee Wellbeing
If you are a dispatcher, you have one of the most stressful jobs out there. To be ready and focused for the next call, we know you can use all the help you can get! Read on to better understand the powerful impact of scent on mood and productivity. And we’ll share a great tip that we accidentally discovered while setting up for APCO.
6 Energy Boosters Help 911 Dispatchers Overcome Winter Blues
Winter is nearly upon us. Did you know that as many as 4 of 6 people experience the effects of “winter blues”? For 911 dispatchers dealing with high-stress calls, the added strain of dreary skies can take a toll. Here are some tips and resources for battling the darker days of winter.
Our 911 Dispatch Consoles Now on Navy BPA Spiral III
Now through June 2021, if you are part of a Department of Defense agency, your group can receive discounts on Watson Consoles’ height-adjustable desks and technology furniture. Watson Consoles is the proud recipient of the Navy BPA, Spiral III awarded for work surfaces, workstations, computer furniture and accessories as outlined under Watson Furniture Group’s GSA agreement.
View from the Top: How Leadership Vision Can Improve PSAP Culture
A compelling and passionately communicated vision can change the world. President Kennedy put a man on the moon and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream inspired hundreds of thousands. Communications Center managers may not be sending rockets into space, but their vision can have a similarly inspirational effect.
A Clean Dispatch Console is Good for Your Health
Cold and flu season is nearly upon us. Experts agree that you are most at risk for catching (and sharing) viral infections between October and May. When your team is committed to front-line community help, keeping sick days at bay is a necessity. Making sure your dispatch console clean is one way you can guard against the spread of cold and flu germs.
New USB Connection May Impact Your PSAP
USB chargers are everywhere. In fact, they have become more necessity than convenience. What’s great is that you can find them just about every place you need them – wall outlets and car panels and even airplane seats.You are probably most familiar with USB type-A – the standard. USB type-A connectors only plug in one way (which is most always never the way you try to plug it in the first time) and are big and bulky. The good news is that USB type-A has some competition. USB type-C is a technology that is gaining steam.
Positive, Not Pollyanna: 5 Keys for Happiness in Your PSAP Career
As a heroic caregiver to the world, it’s easy to put others’ needs first. This “putting others first” is a hallmark of 9-1-1 superheroes, who are committed to helping others both on and off the job. In many cases, however, this wonderful quality can stretch thin the most resilient caregiver. Identifying the hallmarks of happiness and prioritizing your own today can make it easier to weather the ups and downs without turning into Negative Nelly.
Creating a Problem-Solving Culture at Your PSAP Center: Part 2
In this installment, you’ll learn steps you can take at your agency to create a culture of problem-solving. And you’ll learn to identify and work-through common roadblocks. Read on and discover how you can be part of a lasting and meaningful shift at your agency.
Creating a Problem-Solving Culture at Your PSAP Center: Part 1
In PSAPs and operations centers across the country, “the way we’ve always done it,” is no longer a viable business practice. Entire organizations, from the top-down and the bottom-up, are devoted to uncovering novel approaches to solving challenges. Wouldn’t it be nice if the problems at your comm center solved themselves? This is the promise of encouraging innovative thinking across all levels of the organization. By addressing the thoughts and behaviors that prevent innovation, you can unleash the potential hidden within the members of your existing team.