For more than 100 years, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) has been preparing students for careers on land and sea. Their new Clean Harbors Emergency Operation Training Center (EOC) serves as an education center, a fully functional EOC and an event space to host events like Pan-Mass with more than 5,000 annual participants. MMA’s goal for the EOC was to create a multi-functional space capable of monitoring and managing any type of weather-related issue or natural disaster situation where multiple agencies are involved—a space that required the ability to share multiple sources of critical data to any display around the room, including a 2×4 video wall that sits front and center.
The project consists of four spaces: the EOC, a master control room, the JIC (Joint Information Center conference room) and the ICP (Incident Command Post). There are also six huddle-type tables around the room enabling different agencies to easily interact. Due to an air conditioning unit installed over the main rack and a drain system to divert any potential water leaking into the rack, Diversified ran most of the cabling under the raised floor. The control room’s touch panel access can be controlled by as few as one or two people. Critical information can be shared with the surrounding screens and the video wall for heightened awareness and enhanced incident management. For class use, this provides information for robust discussion, exercises and real-world events. There is a single 55” interactive display mounted on a mobile motorized cart that an instructor can teach and demonstrate from as well as a lectern. A single Shure MXA-910 ceiling mic array within the EOC captures the entire rooms’ audio for either distance learning or a conference call. A Crestron NVX system was installed for its ability to have technology added to it as needed.
With the ability to map nearly anything including hurricanes, evacuation times, traffic, drone footage, news releases and more, the EOC was designed to continually evolve with changing technology and is optimized for distance learning with the incorporation of cameras, microphones and video.
