CONTROL

ROOM DESIGN
1

SECURING RESOURCES

SETTING UP A 2
£

Building a business case CONTROL ROOM Gaining support

3
Operational requirement
7 Control room
Equipment functions
4

Working 6
Resource 5
environment mapping

MAINTAINING & ADAPTING

CCTV system Control room 9

Shiſt Room
maintenance review Workload patterns
10
conditions
11

12

OPERATIONS MANAGING WORKLOAD

14 13

Prioritising security MULTIPLE FORCES Monitoring CCTV

CRISIS 17

MANAGEMENT

16 18 19
Resource Define overlapping
15 Teamwork Dedicated space Communication Training
mapping responsibilities

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of National Infrastructure
 CONTROL ROOM DESIGN
AND OPERATIONS

1 SECURING RESOURCES 11 ROOM CONDITIONS

A set of operational requirements should form the basis of a The ambient conditions in the control room will affect
business case to secure the funds necessary for a security how comfortable the space is for staff and therefore
system and security team that is fit for purpose. Planning and influence productivity.
justifying the resources required is likely to be important in
12 MANAGING WORKLOAD
gaining board-level support.
Overwork and underwork should be avoided to preserve staff
2 SETTING UP A CONTROL ROOM / CCTV SYSTEM motivation and productivity. Keeping workload at moderate
Important considerations include operational requirements, levels will help to reduce the likelihood of staff becoming
equipment internal and external to the SOC, staffing and stressed, bored or making mistakes.
workload, as well as the working environment provided by the
13 MONITORING CCTV
control room.
How CCTV feeds will be monitored should be considered
3 OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT when setting up a system or when reviewing it.
Crucial for the design (and redesign) of security systems and Considerations include: frequency of monitoring, how long
control rooms, operational requirements should be developed staff should monitor for, rotation of tasks, etc.
with the input of all key stakeholders. Developing a thorough,
14 MULTIPLE FORCES
bespoke OR should be a priority if you do not have one already.
Many sites have periods where several security teams may
4 CONTROL ROOM FUNCTIONS share responsibility at certain times. It is important to have
The control room’s main function should be security. clear guidance on areas of responsibility, communications
Non-security responsibilities should be discouraged. channels and escalation procedures to avoid conflicts.

5 RESOURCE MAPPING 15 RESOURCE MAPPING

Plan how security resources will work together during Having a clear map of how the various teams overlap and
business as usual and crisis conditions. work with each other is vital for the successful running of
a multi-team operation.
6 WORKING ENVIRONMENT
The control room environment should allow staff to remain 16 TEAMWORK
focussed and comfortable during their working day. Access to the A team can only work effectively if roles are well defined
room should be monitored and limited to authorized staff only. and all team members have a clear understanding of
their responsibilities, in both business as usual and
7 EQUIPMENT
crisis conditions.
Technology should be used to support staff in their work, and
the requirements regularly reviewed. 17 CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Control room setup should allow serious incidents and crisis
8 MAINTAINING & ADAPTING
situations to be handled without compromising the ability to
Security requirements are likely to change over time, and it is
deliver normal security functions. Dedicating a room for the
important to assess the changing needs on a regular basis to
purposes of crisis management is a good place to start.
ensure that the solutions in place are still fit for purpose.
18 COMMUNICATION
9 WORKLOAD
Communication is key when handling a crisis situation.
Workload refers to the total amount of work that a staff
Staff should be aware of the correct channels to use
member has to do. It is important to consider not only the
and paths for escalation.
amount of work, but how challenging individual staff members
will find it, considering their skills and abilities. 19 TRAINING
Security staff should receive regular training to ensure they
10 SHIFT PATTERNS
have the up-to-date knowledge and skills necessary to do
Shiſt work can have a detrimental effect on wellbeing and
their jobs.
performance. This can be limited by designing shiſt patterns to
work with people’s natural rhythms and allowing flexibility Contact your CPNI Adviser or CTSA for further information
where possible.

Centre for the Protection

of National Infrastructure
 STAFFING

STAFFING

Contractors
1
Staffing level
2
HIRING Division of work
3

CCTV OPS
4
Competencies

RETENTION

5 6 7
Management Motivation Role expectations
IMPROVING 8

PERFORMANCE

9 10 11
Security culture Room conditions CCTV monitoring Appraisals

12

TRAINING THREATS

13
Terrorism 14 Other threats
HOSTILE RECONNAISSANCE

Raising 16 Recognising
awareness JUSTIFYING CCTV hostile 15
reconnaissance

Security 17
Purposes 18
Code of 19
Legislation
culture of CCTV conduct

Centre for the Protection

of National Infrastructure
 STAFFING AND TRAINING

1 CONTRACTORS 10 ROOM CONDITIONS

Deciding whether to hire contracted or site-employed staff is a The ambient conditions in the control room will affect how
key decision when setting up a control room. An employed comfortable the space is for staff and therefore influence productivity.
guard force may be more expensive, but may have higher
vetting levels and better understanding of site context. 11 CCTV MONITORING
Presentation and procedures for monitoring should be developed
2 STAFFING LEVEL with the security requirement in mind. Considerations include the
The number of CCTV operators required to staff a control room frequency with which a feed should be monitored, and the length
will depend on the activities they are expected to carry out, of time an operator should spend monitoring CCTV.
including non-core security duties - and the technology available
12 THREATS
to support them.
Threats can come from a number of sources. Some sites will be
3 DIVISION OF WORK targets in themselves, while others may be at risk if neighbouring
Consider how the security duties are divided into roles. You can sites are targets.
make the work more interesting and have a better-informed, 13 OTHER THREATS
more motivated workforce through careful design of jobs. Other threats include protestors, extremists and criminals.
Establishing the nature of the threat is essential if it is to be dealt
4 COMPETENCIES
with effectively.
A competency specifies the behaviours that staff must
demonstrate in order to perform a task to an expected standard. 14 HOSTILE RECONNAISSANCE
These are helpful in pinpointing the attributes that will be sought Hostile reconnaissance is the process by which hostiles gather
when hiring new staff (and aid performance appraisals of information when planning an attack on a facility or organisation.
current staff). Identifying and interrupting hostile reconnaissance is key in
deterring hostiles and disrupting planned attacks.
5 MANAGEMENT
15 RECOGNISING HOSTILE RECONNAISSANCE
The way in which staff are managed is important for their
The context of a facility will affect how easy it is to detect hostile
motivation, work performance and the overall effectiveness
reconnaissance, eg if a site includes a visitor attraction,
of the control room.
photography will be commonplace. All staff should be aware of
6 MOTIVATION the possibility of hostile reconnaissance.
Keeping staff motivated and happy is crucial to ensuring good 16 JUSTIFYING CCTV
performance and retaining staff. Motivation can be affected by
It may be necessary to change negative attitudes about
many factors, including workload, working conditions and
the need for CCTV and security in general.
management approach.
17 SECURITY CULTURE
7 ROLE EXPECTATIONS See number 9.
Job roles need to be clearly defined, enabling staff to understand
18 PURPOSES OF CCTV
where their responsibilities start and end. Mixed roles
It may be necessary to reassure other employees that CCTV is not
(e.g. security guard and CCTV operator) can be more interesting
there to monitor their activity. In this situation, it can be helpful to
for staff, although can also detrimentally impact coverage.
explain why CCTV is required, and share examples of what can be
8 IMPROVING PERFORMANCE captured from any locations of concern.
The performance of a control room depends on the performance of 19 CODE OF CONDUCT
all staff as individuals and as a team. External factors such as the Developing and sharing a clear code of conduct for CCTV usage,
security culture of the organisation can also play a part. review and storage helps security staff understand their
responsibilities whilst also reassuring other employees.
9 SECURITY CULTURE
Security culture is the overall attitude towards and value placed on Contact your CPNI Adviser or CTSA for further information
security across an organisation. A poor security culture can cause
problems for control room performance, if other employees do
not observe good security practice.

Centre for the Protection

of National Infrastructure