When it comes to responding in a swift and unfailing manner, the Colorado State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) realizes the stakes are high. It is the central hub for all tribal, local, state and federal agencies to coordinate responses to hazard events, incidents, and disasters throughout the state. Additionally, a steadfast rise in the volume of information from various outlets has made it necessary for the SEOC to monitor many different sources simultaneously.

The Challenge

Operations Section Chief Chris Sorensen and his team dealt for years with close out equipment installed when the organization subleased the building that houses the SEOC. It consisted primarily of six-foot drop-down projector screens, overhead projectors, and three 42-inch plasma screens. By 2014, much of the equipment was either non-functional or faced a dwindling life span.

Additionally, the former setup obstructed the view of some team members in the emergency operations center space. The room is roughly 25 x 60 feet with 9-foot ceilings, providing space for about 50-60 work stations. This set-up made it difficult for some team members to see the important information being displayed because space lacked the signal replication capabilities that a video wall can offer.

Visibility issues extended to the projected images, which were not bright enough for team members to view. And lowering the lights rendered the environment adverse to video conferencing, which is a feature team members use for their day-to-day activities. The SEOC desired the ability to replicate signals from one side of the room to the other, in order to provide redundancy and increased angle of use. This would enable all team members in the emergency operations center space to view the content regardless of the side of the room where they sat. With a video wall, the team would also be able to place different images on the displays that comprised the wall.

Facility:

Vertical:

  • Command and Control

Location:

  • Centennial, Colorado

Challenges:

  • Attain enhanced, real-time visibility into emergency situations

Solution:

  • NEC Display Solutions X464UN-2

Result:

  • Ability to display a much wider and greater volume of information

Date of Installation:

  • June 2014

Ed Kern, Director of Installations at CCS Presentation Systems, oversaw the process of selecting equipment for the SEOC’s upgrade, which had an exceptionally tight timeframe. CCS recommended NEC Display Solutions products because it found the displays easy to install and calibrate during a similar project where NEC was installed. Sorensen and his team agreed readily, based on NEC’s stellar reputation and the ultra-narrow bezels featured on its X464UN-2 displays, which were an important consideration for the video walls it envisioned. NEC offered a level of support that the timeframe of the project
demanded, as well.

“We worked together with the SEOC electricians, the IT department, management and facilities staff to execute the installation in a timely manner.
Everyone jumped through hoops to make it happen. NEC was also extremely helpful,” Kern said, adding, “Our contact, Eric Fatovic, was stellar in reserving products for the task, as we had no room for error in delivery. He also ensured that NEC would ship the displays to us in a timely fashion, which they executed successfully. Without NEC’s support, we could not have made that commitment to the state.”

If you want to see the full article, straight from NEC, follow this link. If you want to see the post on CCS Colorado’s site, you can follow this link.

Apply the expertise of CCS New England to your venue or governmental place of work, by contacting us today!

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