Al Ula 911 control center for maintain the safety of citizens and visitors at large events

Al Ula is a city in the northwest of Saudi Arabia belonging to the Ula Governorate, one of the seven Governorates of the Medina Region, which has an area of 29,261 km2. Historically located on the incense route, Al Ula was the capital of the ancient Lihyanites (Dedanites) from whose short distance is Hegra AlUla, an ancient walled city full of adobe and stone houses, the first place named UNESCO World Heritage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

For all of these, the tourism and cultural development project has been created in which the Royal Commission of Al Ula has set the objective of attract more than 2 million visitors to the area by 2035, creating 38,000 jobs. This development has caused a great need for new infrastructures, among which safety is overriding.

Great challenges: a great project

In order to maintain the security in the area, a 911 operations center has been created where all critical and emergency situations are managed, with a total of 5 control rooms which house a total of 123 workstations of different types, from emergency services dispatchers to CCTV control operators.

The project was very demanding, since several visits to the area were necessary in which exhaustive workshops were carried out where a 100% customized solution was designed working together with the end customer. Although the biggest challenge was meeting very restrictive deadlines, maintaining the quality and flexibility of pre-sale service from GESAB.

A 100% personalized solution adapted to interpersonal distance

Based on the conclusions reached in the aforementioned workshops, there was a preliminary design work in which GESAB opted for the aesthetically customized Advantis Evolution control console adapted to the technical and development needs of the work. This model has been conceived to lead the change in technological environments with high added value thanks to its unlimited capacity for configurations and 24/7 ergonomics.

The client also requested the inclusion of acoustic barriers between operators to improve their ergonomic situation, an issue that has been appreciated in these times of pandemic by offering a physical barrier between very wide work-spaces that promote and facilitate separation between people directly. Ergonomic chairs were also supplied 24/7 complementing the position of each operator.

A large videowall on the front wall visible from all angles of the room was provided by Martin Professional Middle East , with 1.5 pixel pitch direct LED technology.

GESAB also collaborated with its design experience and recommendations when creating layouts and distributions within the rooms to make them more comfortable and improve their usability.

Exceptional results in the emergency management center of the future

Since the entire process of setting up the center was completed, the results have been exceptional. The client has managed several mass events in the area through themonitoring center , in addition to a considerable amount of casuistry with very positive results.

Also the operators of the center have contributed very good opinions about the infrastructure that has been provided to them to carry out their work.

In this way, GESAB has participated in the start-up of an emergency management center that in a few years will be one of the most important in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.