Best brands for monitor arms solutions in control room setups

How to choose the right brand for your control room setup? 

A console supports the weight of the monitors but having them just resting on the surface itself is a bad idea since they take up valuable space, and they are not anchored securely, which means they can be toppled by accident.

Monitor arms keep monitors in place and facilitate cable management thanks to routing channels, they are also easy to anchor to the worksurface of a dispatcher console and make repositioning (and maintenance of) monitors easy.

Which monitor arms do we recommend?

Here are our recommendations for better and safer monitor arm solutions. In our experience these brands below meet the extremely demanding requirements for mission-critical environments like 9-1-1 dispatch centers, transportation hubs, utilities and processes control rooms and many other industries where multiple monitors setups are the norm.

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Humanscale:

Why we like these monitor arms: 

• These monitor arms are very high quality since they are made of metal and aluminum.

• Most monitor arms are made of 2 branches so you can extend the monitor arm to your preferred depth.

• The head can swivel and rotate, giving users the capacity to adjust their monitor in every direction (Ideal for creating an immersive workspace).

• The arm has a plastic overmold to grab cables and route them along the structure for a clean look, essentially hiding the cables within its branches.

• They feature clamp and grommet mounts, so they can fit into most control room setups, and they can even be mounted on slat wall structures to create a clutter-free space.

• Their tension adjustment mechanisms allow you to set your preferred height with extreme precision.

• Cool thing about these is that you can store the tools needed like Allen keys at the base of the monitor arm.

• They feature a smart stop that prevents the system from over-rotating and hitting a wall in the back or (worse) a glass panel.

How Humanscale monitor arms benefit mission critical environments:

Using multiple monitors: While a monitor can be placed on a worksurface using a single monitor arm that lets you adjust it to your preference, it can also be placed on a monitor pole with a bracket that holds 2 screens at the same time, which in turn can be combined to place 4 monitors in a single pole. Leaving you with 4 monitors mounted on the same footprint as a single monitor.

This multiple monitor installation is ideal to shift the monitors from left to right and push them back to the exact depth required for the workstation. We recommend using this setup in linear control consoles to maximize the available space on the worksurface, so that monitors are not competing for the same space as the user’s peripherals and other tools.

Installing bigger monitor sizes: Following the changes in monitor sizes and users gravitating to larger monitor sizes, Humanscale offers heavy duty monitor arms for single and dual setups (which can be combined for bigger workloads) that can handle the usual monitor sizes from 24 inches all the way to 48 inches. They are compatible with VESA mounts so they fit a wide variety of monitors and use cases.

Millimetric adjustments for maximum comfort: Thanks to its high-quality bearings built into the monitor arm’s structure, these monitor setups can be easily adjusted to follow recommended ergonomic guidelines (consult The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for more information). For example, if a new user sits down, they can push the screens upwards so that the upper edge of the monitors is slightly above eye level. Otherwise, if the person uses bifocal glasses and needs to look downwards, the monitors can be pushed downwards.

All these adjustments and possibilities are the benefits of implementing dedicated monitor arms in your control room setup. Especially, when you are considering integrating height adjustable worksurfaces into your new mission critical environment.

NOVUS:

What we like about these monitor arms:

• Novus builds heavy duty, modular components for custom builds and monitor setups.

• These monitor arms are built with a durable aluminum construction featuring flexible viewing angles.

• The folding arms are adjustable and enable users to select their preferred depth.

• These monitor arms can be mounted to the worksurface by installing them on their heavy duty TSS columns which feature drill screws for grommet holes and clamps for an easy install on any worksurface.

• These arms can route cables along their structure and down the mounts to keep them secure using the included clips or if you prefer, Velcro straps or tie wraps.

• The modular nature of the NOVUS system also allows users to attach other accessories like adjustable task lights and status lights (used in emergency communications centers), but also telephone supports or laptop shelves.

• Two columns can be connected by integrated a toolbar that adds a slat wall structure between both columns and expands the possibilities of monitor layouts.

How NOVUS monitor arms improve mission critical environments:

The columns used by NOVUS (TSS columns) feature a 4-Channel design for extensive customization, which allows users to mount more than 1 row of monitors in a single column, or adjust the height of the monitors by sliding the monitor arms up and down. They hold multiple arms and mounts, allowing you to add as many screens as needed.

Monitor arms by NOVUS come in many sizes and configurations. There are simple support carriages in case you only want to mount the monitor on the monitor pole and then there are other options which offer different lengths and more precise adjustments, both in depth and angles. Their modularity and their heavy-duty build make it easy to reposition all monitors for maintenance and user comfort.

For height adjustable worksurfaces NOVUS monitor arms are an excellent choice thanks to their rigidity and modular nature. For example, we have implemented them in our control room projects to create an immersive space in Cockpit shaped consoles, usually creating setups with multiple rows of monitors.

Wondering which option is best for you?

No matter which type of control room you are building, it is possible to select the monitor arms solution that meets your needs and requirements. But the only person who can know what those are is you. Contact us and we can help you answer those questions and build a control room.