PHOENIX DIDN`T FORGET ITS DISPATCHERS
BY FRANCIS X. HOLT
When I teach dispatchers how to deal with the stress of their jobs, I break down dispatch stressors into four categories: operational, lifestyle, attitudinal, and environmental. In examining the dispatcher`s working environment, I will often ask, “If you were building a new dispatch center, what kinds of things would you like to see incorporated into that center to make your working life easier?” The question I have now is: “How did the Phoenix Fire Department manage to get a spy into every one of my dispatcher stress classes, all over the United States and Canada?” Because the department has answered those dispatchers` questions and met their needs.
I made the case for dispatcher workplace improvements as president of the union representing City of New York (NY) Fire Department dispatchers, having worked in some trying conditions myself. I have seen the less-than-optimal working conditions in hundreds of dispatch centers throughout North America and have (as a psychiatric nurse) a professional understanding of the consequences of work environment stress. So I know a little about dispatcher stress. The prospect of Phoenix`s state-of-the-art emergency dispatch center fascinated me, and I wondered if, while outfitting the place with all the latest technological innovations,
the designers kept the occupants in mind. So I went to Phoenix and toured the new facility, and I can tell you they certainly did! Every work environment stressor we address in dispatcher stress classes has been addressed here.
Uniform lighting levels reduce eyestrain. There is no “task lighting” here, and you don`t get the feeling (common to a lot of newer communication centers) that you are working in a submarine.
Ambient noise levels are low, not just regarding those planes in and out of nearby Sky Harbor Airport but also because it appears that nobody subscribed to the theory that dispatchers will work faster if their equipment is louder.
There are windows, also dispelling the submarine atmosphere but, more importantly, keeping dispatchers in touch with the time of day.
The chairs are sturdy and comfortable and interact ergonomically with the workstations, decreasing the likelihood of repetitive stress injuries.
Quiet or stimulating places are nearby on the same floor to take a break from the action, and an exercise room is in the same building.
There is plenty of parking (lack of parking plagues a surprising number of dispatcher centers).
Security is high-level (inadequate security plagues almost all dispatch centers, even after we have experienced terrorist attacks). I am told that, when putting together the nuts and bolts of the design of this new center, dispatchers were consulted! Obviously, the Phoenix Regional Dispatch Center is being added to my dispatcher stress curriculum, under the heading “Doing It the Right Way.” n
n FRANCIS X. HOLT is the author of Emergency Communications Management (Fire Engineering Books, 1991) and more than three dozen articles on public safety issues, a registered nurse, and an expert witness in dispatcher liability cases. He has trained dispatchers from and consulted to hundreds of fire, EMS, and police departments throughout the United States and Canada. He is the president of FXH Consulting of Wolfeboro Falls, New Hampshire.
