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City of Garland, Texas Chooses ExhibitOne for Emergency Operations Center
 
Audio visual solution installed during Hurricane Katrina

When the city of Garland, TX requested bids for establishing an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), ExhibitOne came through with the right audio-visual solution at the right price. The
Phoenix-based company again rose to the occasion when Hurricane Katrina hit in the midst of installing the system.

ExhibitOne designed an integrated audio-visual system for the EOC and was three-days into the installation of the system when the devastating hurricane hit. “We had to go live quicker than we thought,” says James Harrison, who headed ExhibitOne’s three-person integration team. “I asked the city what its most important need was, and we addressed that first.”

Specifically, ExhibitOne changed its regular integration tactics in order to promptly establish access to cable television, something city and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials needed to keep updated on the news, such as by watching Fox News or CNN. With constant information available, officials could respond to the crisis in real time. Serving as a central communication and command center, the EOC helped facilitate efforts and collaboration among members of police and fire departments, city agencies, FEMA and others during the emergency.

“It was a challenge because we had to work around city and other personnel, and they had to work around us. But we were able to do that. We knew we needed to get the job done and we did,” says Harrison.
Another challenge of the project was meeting the city’s budget constraints without sacrificing technical needs. ExhibitOne met this challenge thanks to “value engineering,” according to Design Engineer Ryan Teal. This means ExhibitOne sharpened its pencil, rather than creating a bid based on previous systems or repeated use of certain equipment.

“We really researched. Every step of the way, we dug down deep and focused on finding the equipment that would fit the city’s needs at the best price. We weren’t brand or product specific,” Teal explains.
 
Integrating technologies
The EOC solution from ExhibitOne included numerous technologies, ranging from 27-inch mounted and 20-inch flat-panel televisions to electronic white boards, which are similar to dry erase boards but can be plugged into a computer so notes can be saved and printed. The white boards played a key role in tracking and categorizing the continuously-changing information vital to helping evacuees.

Additionally, high-tech projectors and screens that enable information to be displayed from a computer were integrated in the EOC. As part of this, a customized multimedia lectern — incorporating PC and video inputs, microphone, locking storage for PC and laptop, folding task shelf, lockable document camera drawer, retractable power cord and more — was designed so that a person in charge could use a document camera or plug in their laptop to quickly and effectively show a group of people the same information simultaneously.

The City of Garland’s EOC has 30 work stations, according to Teal. Each is reserved for a specific official and has an individual microphone and speaker that were tied into the central audio-visual system. “The person at a work station can tune into audio in the room, whether on television, or one of four different things being projected, such as a DVD, VCR, cable station or other station,” says Teal. He explains that the two Sanyo projectors use devices called quad-view units to allow viewing of multiple images on each screen.

Importantly, ExhibitOne created a user-friendly centralized control system that tied all of the technological equipment together. “We have products from numerous manufacturers but we programmed it all into a
one-touch panel so they all could talk to each other and work together,” says Teal. The control panel, which operates everything from projectors and televisions to DVDs in an equipment rack, is located at the lectern but can be accessed via the LAN from each work station.

An expert foundation
In creating the EOC for the City of Garland, ExhibitOne drew from its extensive expertise in equipping courtrooms as well as medical, university, city, state and federal facilities. For instance, the company’s experience in providing audio and video systems with multiple microphones and speakers without disruptive feedback made it a natural for the EOC project.

“It wasn’t hard to apply our experience. We’re very comfortable with audio, video and control systems,” says Harrison.