If you work in an office or at a desk, you might sometimes find it difficult to keep everything organised – laying out your books, computers etc. in a comfortable and efficient arrangement.  It’s the same in large complex systems, such as the control room for the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

For the layout of a room, desk or interface to be optimised, it is essential to understand the task sequences and goals of the users.  CCD Design and Ergonomics was asked to provide an understanding of the complex processes and operations in controlling the LHC, and translate these into a design specification for the layout of the control room.

Interviews fed into the development of user personas and helped the ergonomists to understand the anthropometric and postural characteristics of operators. They also used task analysis and link and layout analysis to investigate how responsibilities and communications were distributed in the control room.

These ergonomic insights contributed to the layout of individual workstations as well as the wider environmental design and architecture of the control room.

The final control room design enables better communication, collaboration and individual comfort for the operators, as well as enhancing safety and efficiency in operating the LHC.

Designer:  CCD Design and Ergonomics

Ergonomists: CCD Design and Ergonomics

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