What the Bristol Operations Centre is, what services is provides, who it collaborates with.
What the Bristol Operations Centre is
The Bristol Operations Centre is a multi-purpose centre that opened in October 2017. It operates operates around the clock, every day of the year. It has incorporated four control rooms:
- the council's Emergency Control Centre
- the Traffic Management Control Centre
- Community Safety (CCTV)
- the First West of England Bus Control Room, which co-ordinates bus services across the region
What services the Bristol Operations Centre provides
A large part of the facility's role is managing the city's traffic network and monitoring the traffic flow around Bristol. Local bus operator First West of England works alongside the council's traffic management team to provide greater reliability in public transport services.
The teams utilise CCTV cameras around the city and provide an emergency response service through alarm, security and lone worker monitoring.
Telecare monitoring is also delivered by the Operations Centre through Bristol Careline and enables people to remain independent in their own homes by providing person-centred technologies.
In order to manage the range of services provided, the centre has been built around an advanced communication platform that links into the city's high speed fibre network. This will allow the centre to explore communications developments that could one day enhance our services.
The Operations Centre can also act as a tactical and strategic group venue in the event of a major emergency. It has already proven invaluable in managing emergency incidents, event response and co-ordination. This involves multi-agency working which is greatly strengthened by the capabilities of the integrated space as well as the smart city technologies used to run it.
Excelling at emergency planning
According to Andrew Everitt, Head of Exercising at the Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College:
“The new operations centre in Bristol is world class and provides an enviable facility for diverse responder organisations to work together in managing all types of incidents and events, from response through to recovery.
Its multi-functional nature will also ensure that responder organisations have enhanced capabilities at their finger- tips.
Interoperability sits at the core of good emergency management and this new facility has been designed with this in mind.”
Who the Bristol Operations Centre collaborates with
The team at Bristol Operations Centre regularly works with a range of external agencies. It delivers services directly on behalf of:
- Bristol City Council
- our neighbouring authorities
- clients nationwide
Our relationship with emergency services is integral to our operational practices. It ensures that we can keep communities safe, happy and moving.
We have an active working partnership with WECA (the West of England Combined Authority) and are experimenting in future technologies such as 5G connectivity.
Bristol: a Smart City leader
The award-winning Bristol Operations Centre is part of Bristol's strong Smart City focus. It's a state of the art, multi-purpose space that aims to improve city living through the use of innovative technology.
The Operations Centre will provide a platform of enhanced connectivity to ensure our services are truly meeting the needs of Bristol's citizens.
Bristol is Open (BiO)
Bristol is Open (BiO) is helping to realise our Smart City ambition. Bristol is Open is an experimental Research and Development broadband, wireless and high performance computing infrastructure that takes the lab to the streets.
BiO facilitates innovative ways to address urban challenges such as mobility, energy efficiency and the ageing population.