Overview
ISO 11064-3:1999 - "Ergonomic design of control centres - Part 3: Control room layout" provides ergonomic principles, requirements and recommendations for the layout of control rooms. The standard guides the ergonomic design process from functional analysis to validated room layouts, covering architectural recommendations, workstation arrangements, off‑workstation and shared visual displays, personnel circulation and maintenance access. Annexes include illustrative layout examples and global anthropometric data.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Layout process and documentation
- Use of a flowcharted design process that begins with an Operational or Functional Specification and iterates through functional layouts to final room layouts.
- Emphasis on task analysis and user (operator) involvement during design and validation.
- Workstation and control console definitions
- Clear terms (control workstation, control console, control panel, primary/secondary workstation) to support consistent planning and procurement.
- Workstation arrangements
- Grouping by functional links (face-to-face communication, sightlines, equipment sharing).
- Provision for primary and secondary workstations and shared visual display devices.
- Off-workstation and shared visual displays
- Guidance on placement and use of wall-mounted or remote overview displays to support team situational awareness.
- Architectural/building considerations
- Entrances/exits positioning, circulation routes, personnel safety (handrails, guard-rails), and allowance for future expansion (document notes an approximate 25% allowance for additional positions/equipment as a planning example).
- Access and maintenance
- Requirements for maintenance access and unobstructed personnel circulation.
- Validation and performance
- Layouts should be tested by operators against documented performance criteria and any compromises recorded.
- Normative references
- Anthropometry
- Annex B provides anthropometric data to inform workstation and spatial dimensions.
Applications and users
- Relevant across industries with control centres: process plants, transport and dispatch centres, emergency services and many non‑mobile command centres. Principles are also applicable to mobile control centres (ships, aircraft) where appropriate.
- Primary users:
- Ergonomists / Human factors specialists
- Control room designers and architects
- Systems engineers and project managers
- Operations managers and control room supervisors
- Safety and maintenance planners
- Practical uses include design briefs, spatial programming, layout validation, procurement requirements for consoles/displays, and retrofit/reconfiguration of existing control suites.
Related standards
- ISO 11064 series: Part 1 (principles), Part 2 (control suite arrangement), Part 4 (workstation layout and dimensions), Part 5 (displays and controls), Part 6 (environmental requirements), Part 7 (evaluation), Part 8 (sector‑specific requirements). These should be consulted together for comprehensive ergonomic design.