Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center

Holbrook RECC: The First Regional Communications Center in Massachusetts

Director Stephan Hooke and Deputy Director of Communications Lauren Mielke were in the process of building out their facility, the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center (HRECC). In this 6,000-square-foot building, they wanted a state-of-the-art control room with the newest technology and design features. The center was built to serve the greater Holbrook area, assisting a population of over 105,000 with emergency response. The HRECC also works with several partner agencies, including:

• Rockland Police and Fire Department,
• Abington Police and Fire Department,
• Holbrook Police and Fire Department,
• Canton Fire,
• Sharon Fire,
• Whitman Fire, and
• Norfolk County Control.

These partner agencies help provide mutual aid to Norfolk County to an additional 600,000 populace.

With so many responsibilities, Director Hooke and Deputy Director Lauren knew that their facility needed to be designed with their operators first in mind. To that end, she wanted to ensure that everyone was kept comfortable by ensuring the optimum ergonomic standards and promoting maximum situational awareness. That was when Deputy Director Lauren called Evans to help design and equip their center with the very best in the industry.

Read on to learn how Evans collaborated and worked with the Holbrook team to design, build and install this brand-new communications center. This case study includes testimonials from Deputy Director Lauren Mielke and Director Stephan.

Use these quick links as you read or share certain sections of this case study with your coworkers:

1. The Evans Process
2. Testimonial: Deputy Director Mielke
3. Designing HRECC
4. Quality Checks & Shipping
5. Installation
6. Testimonial: Director Hooke
7. Video Testimonial

Control Room Design From Consultation to Execution

Evans approaches each project from the ground up. Consultation discussions, the design process, production, transportation, execution, and finally installation. We even service and clean the consoles through our EvansCare offering. The design of each console is specific for each location and customer to ensure that every position works for both the operator and the center as a whole. This includes ergonomic function, sightlines, team collaborations, and much more. At Holbrook RECC, Evans took a holistic approach to figure out exactly what they needed and designed the space based on those needs.

The Evans process includes a few different steps and we handle everything from start to finish. These steps include the following:

• Consultation - Our expertise includes over 12,000 projects and 40 years of experience, we help you identify key objectives, issues, opportunities, and timelines.
• Design - Next, we start to design your optimal solutions for your facility and operations. Focusing on the needs of your people and their interaction with technology.
• Production - Our project management team is there with you every step of the way from project drawings to delivery and installation plans.
• Transportation - Evans global logistics is here to ship your consoles safely with load securement and delivery tracking.
• Installation - Convenient live-cutover installs to ensure your operations continue uninterrupted and we adhere to all safety standards.
• EvansCare - Even after installation we are here to keep your consoles aligned, replace parts, and clean everything from cables to equipment.

"We included Evans Consoles from the inception of the project. It was very important to us to make sure that these consoles made it into the architectural renderings as they were here from day one. They attended all the meetings that were important regarding the design and development of our facility so we recognized very early on that it was important to include them in this process from the beginning."

- Lauren Mielke (Deputy Director at Holbrook RECC)

Designing a New Regional Emergency Communications Center From the Ground Up

The Holbrook RECC needed to be large-scale to accommodate growth for the center. Deputy Director Lauren and Director Stephan noted that in their previous center, dispatchers were almost working on top of each other. Designing with growth and expansion in mind was key to creating the optimal space for dispatchers to work in comfortably.

Because the new building was being constructed specifically with this in mind, Evans was able to explore the clients' many design options for the space. After a few discussions, it was decided that the center will house 11 dispatch operator positions and one supervisor console in the back middle of the room. This layout still provided ample space for operators to prevent echoes of voices during calls. With each operator also facing the same direction, it allowed optimal sightlines for everyone to see critical information on video walls.

Evans also developed an electrical solution for the clients using our PowerLinc electrical system. With detailed drawings, we were able to design a PowerLinc solution that simplified the electrical wiring in the room. This solution allowed for easier access to wiring for our clients as well as other future 3rd parties who need direct access to the wiring system.

Quality Checks & Staging the Response NEXTGen Consoles Before Shipping to the RECC

Once the design and drawings were approved, Evans got straight to production. All consoles at Evans are made per project, so teams can focus on each client through the production process. All consoles are designed and made in-house as well!

Once production was complete, the consoles went into staging. At Evans, we stage every single project to ensure everything was built exactly as the client needed. For Holbrook, we staged each console one by one and checked for any deficiencies that may have occurred during production. This quality check is integral to the Evans process, as it brings all parties involved. Our Project Manager, Designers, and Production managers must all sign off approval during staging, otherwise, the console does not get shipped. This was crucial for Holbrook because of the scale of the project and how many positions there were.

Installation at the Holbrook Public Safety RECC

After staging was approved by all parties, we carefully packaged up the consoles and shipped them off to the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center! Once there, our crews worked diligently to get our consoles installed and ready for operation so that other stakeholders could install their equipment, such as computers and communication systems, into the consoles. Upon installation, our crews take a final walkthrough for any concerns the client may have. When the installation was completed, the center was ready for operation!

Watch the video of Director Stephan and Deputy Director Lauren talking more about Evans Consoles below:

Public Safety in Massachusetts will never be the same

Director Hooke and Deputy Director Mielke could not have been happier with their finished center! Partnering with Evans, their stakeholders, and other industry experts, the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communication Center would not have been possible. This state-of-the-art facility will lead the charge for centralized 911 centers in Massachusetts. At Evans, our goal is to see our clients have the outcome of their dreams, and to hear from the RECC team how happy and excited they were for the future is exactly the mission of Public Safety at Evans.

For another informative case study read more about the Design Process at Nicollet County,