At Chemelot – Europe’s second largest chemical industrial complex – more than 8,000 people are employed every day. At Chemelot – Europe’s second largest chemical industrial complex – more than 5,000 people are employed every day. With some 150 institutions and (chemical) companies, Chemelot’s ambition is to become the safest, most competitive and sustainable chemical site in Europe. To ensure safety on and around this industrial site, Sitech provides integrated services and works closely with Chemelot’s residents.
Young market leader in the chemical process industry
Although Sitech currently holds a leading position as an integrated, long-standing service provider in the chemical process industry, the company itself is still fairly young. In 2008 Sitech emerged from various divisions of multinational DSM to play a key role at the Chemelot industrial park in Geleen. Besides maintenance, engineering and projects, Sitech also provides high-quality fire and security care 24/7. They manage incidents and minimise the consequences for local residents and the surrounding area. The continuity of business processes is guaranteed when Sitech provides rapid assistance if people, installations or processes are in danger.
More than an average control room
Since 2018, Sitech’s control room has been named “Operational Center Chemelot. The dispatch room is the center where all information comes in.
“The control room keeps Chemelot running. A driver who’s lost his way or a call to request an on-call service; every phone call comes in to the dispatch room,” says Sander Rutten, manager Security of Sitech’s Fire Brigade & Security. As soon as an incident occurs, the incident room transforms into a coordination center in which the units of the fire department, the site’s own ambulance service and security are directed. In larger incidents, communication with government emergency services is coordinated from here.
“It is the role of the dispatch room to quickly understand the situation, make the right decisions and alert units in the first seconds and minutes of an incident,” adds Peter Bloemers, Manager Fire Brigade & Security at Sitech. “One of the main tasks of the dispatchers is camera security. They observe with the mobile surveyors and monitor all manned entrances. The periphery of the total Chemelot site is monitored in the Operational Center,” adds Sander Rutten. From the dispatch room, first-line fencing is monitored day and night.
Advanced dispatch room for rapid response
“Sitech delivers on preparedness. This means having people available for when things go wrong. We need a cdispatch room in which we can function optimally under different working conditions. It is important that the layout of the dispatch room is right for the purpose you have. For example, we need to be able to scale up quickly when an incident occurs,” Bloemers explains.
CREON was approached as the workstations in Sitech’s Operational Centre were in need of replacement. The redesign of the space needed to take into account a clear and logical layout for the dispatchers. CREON’s three SPLIT workstations have a good view of the video wall, which displays relevant content for site security and incidents. The workstations are equipped with multiple screens that display information to help the dispatcher handle incidents.
“In the past, the dispatcher still had a red telephone, a telephone folder with a certain amount of telephone numbers and a walkie-talkie. Nowadays, the dispatcher gets data fed to him all day long. The role of the dispatcher is changing more and more to that of data analyst,” Bloemers said. “We are constantly looking at the amount of data the dispatcher can process and how we can present it clearly in the dispatch room. It has to remain clear, both in day-to-day and scaled-up situations. The layout of a dispatch room plays an important role in this; it must be comfortable and functional, and in this it is always a search for the right balance.”