As control rooms go, I think the ATLAS control room has style. The visitors like it because there are lots of flat screens. The physicists like it because there are lots of flat screens.
The control room is set-up so that each sub-detector or sub-group has a desk. There are 15 stations. When the beam is running, there will be at least one person for each sub-detector on shift. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That will be the situation when we get into the swing of data taking. Right now, when we try to take cosmic data with multiple sub-detectors, there are usually 20 people at each station.
This picture was not taken on a day where we are trying to run a combined cosmic run. During those days, this room is packed. Standing room only, with people sitting on the floors, typing frantically on laptops. Mobs of people at each station. People yelling over the background noise in every language imaginable. The roaring cheers and clapping when everything is working. The massive sighs and moaning when everything isn’t working. If there is a heart to any experiment, it is the control room.
There is, however, one very strange aspect about the ATLAS control room that I have never really become comfortable with. It is way too clean. Where is the clutter? Where are all the random papers thrown on the desks? Where are remnants from last night’s 2am coffee run? A little dust even? The place is spotless. Always. It is not like it is usually a mess and then gets cleaned up for press tours. It is always clean. Not that I am complaining. I am all for less entropy in the workplace. But it is disconcerting all the same.
But as control rooms go, the LHC control room…. Now that’s style. Still too clean though.
Wow, that really is clean, cleaner than the old PS control room used to be, but maybe the 70s-style wood veneer gave the older control rooms more of a ‘homey’ feel. I work in these control rooms all the time, and I’m all for a clean-desk philosophy. Clean desks can be a by-product of having proper electronic logs and manuals, so you don’t need paper things lying around, so they’re often an indicator that things are well organised. All the badly-organised ones I’ve been in have random paper notes everywhere…. and there’s nothing more annoying than having to push 3 manuals and a load of used mugs out of the way to get to the keyboard you want to type at.
I have no doubt that the blue veneer of these control room desks will acquire that retro look in no time.
Your description is very humorous. Any one who has worked in an experimental control room can relate to a keyboard hidden amongst manuals and mugs! I second the on-line manual approach as well.
They look like well organized consoles, and definitely a nice and tidy control room. Some control rooms are often used as a “show off” piece for an organization. Is that why it’s so clean? Maybe they cleaned it up for the picture? (Just kidding)
The flat screens may be great, but I don’t see any super large displays. If you’re interested in seeing a large collection of control rooms, check out the industry page on Christie to see their video wall installations
There are some great consoles there, too, but it’s the massive screens that I like. Great for communication and collaboration.