Services Provided: Design of a Simulation Lab for Performing Operations

project date:	November 2008
client:	Naugatuck Valley Community College, CT
e&a project manager:	Will Craig, CTS-D, CDT

NVCC tasked Elert & Associates with designing a simulation lab with four beds wired for high-fidelity simulation and a control room with two operator positions (and infrastructure for adding two additional operator stations).

Scenarios at any bed can be controlled from either operator position, and multi-bed simulations can be easily recorded. The locations and placement of cameras and microphone systems in the simulation lab are easily reconfigured via an overhead grid that conceals the cabling and provides support for the recording devices.

Three large classrooms can watch simulations in real-time or view recordings via dual-screen projection . Demonstrations from two of the three classrooms can be viewed in any of the other classrooms and recorded in the control room.

The project started with Elert & Associates facilitating a design charrette. The entire user group met for a full day to discuss curricular needs, space requirements, technology requirements, and how all three of these areas could converge into a single affordable solution.

Through this process, the previously identified/planned simulation lab space was rejected in favor of a newly identified alternative space that was discovered during the course of the charrette.

E&A's creative solutions included the following:

• Classroom Demonstrations: Remote-controlled, ceiling-mounted cameras in nursing classrooms to facilitate projection, distribution, and recording of demonstrations involving detailed procedures.

• Scalable Infrastructure: A virtually unlimited number of operator stations and simulation beds can be added as demand for the simulation lab increases, without needing to replace or upgrade the initial systems.

• Room with a View: Control room with large flat-panel monitor replacing one-way glass/mirror gives the operator a clear view of the simulation, allowing space to be utilized most efficiently and with maximum realism for simulation participants.

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