Portsmouth Area Signalling Centre
Siemens Mobility
project
in 2005, Siemens Transportation Systems were awarded a £50m contract by Network Rail to replace the signalling for the Portsmouth area. This would provide signalling control for Portsmouth, Fratton and Havant. The project would deliver a new Area Signalling Centre in Havant. Siemens commissioned CCD to provide Human Factors and control room design services to support the project team.
brief
Within our process of human factors integration, we were asked to provide a design for an ergonomic control centre that would conform with good practice and industry & international standards. Our work brief was to work with the operational representatives to define the design requirements for the new ASC, to conduct a design trial, produce an agreed design with a furniture design specification and then support the implementation.
implementation
Our design approach gathered the views and input of operational experts from the local signal boxes as well as Network Rail staff seconded to the project. We involved several current signallers in a full-scale mock-up trial of the room looking at furniture layout and views to the main overview screen. We also worked with Siemens' architects to look at the interior design and the specification of the artificial lighting in the room. Finally we developed a furniture design specification to enable Siemens to procure appropriate technical desking and supported the installation through site inspections to ensure the quality of the finished product.
outcomes
The delivered control room for Portsmouth gained from the inclusive design process which meant that the operators knew what they were getting when they moved in. Both Siemens and Network Rail have expressed their satisfaction with both the approach taken and the delivered control centre.
The quality of the furniture, made by William Garvey Ltd, is a significant feature of the room and demonstrates the benefits of the strong relationship between them and CCD.