Industry, Human-Centered Control Rooms Why Humans Are Once Again at the Center of the Control Room

Dear readers,

This month’s focus for you in the

Knürr Newsletter – INSIGHTS: Industry, Human-Centered Control Rooms

In this issue, we explore why human-centered control rooms are becoming a key success factor in modern industrial facilities – and the role that intelligent infrastructure and ergonomic workplace solutions play in this development.

Despite the ongoing challenging economic situation in Germany’s industrial sector, a differentiated perspective is worthwhile:

Highly specialized and innovation-driven sectors – such as specialty chemicals and the process industry – demonstrate that Germany remains a location with strong potential.

With increasing digitalization and connectivity, the demands placed on industrial control rooms are also rising. Thousands of data points must be monitored, evaluated, and translated into decisions within fractions of a second.

One thing is becoming increasingly clear: the decisive factor in the control room remains the human.

Human-Centered Control Rooms – Why People Are Back at the Center

In modern industrial facilities, thousands of data points converge simultaneously: sensor values, production parameters, alarms, and analytics. For control room operators, this often results in an overwhelming flow of information.

While automation and digitalization continue to advance, one key insight stands out: the decisive factor in the control room is still the human.

This is why a new approach is gaining importance – human-centered control room design. Instead of designing control rooms primarily around technology, they are now designed around the capabilities, needs, and limitations of the people who operate them.

Why Human-Centered Design Matters in Control Rooms

In many traditional control rooms, interfaces are overloaded: numerous dashboards, flashing alarms, and complex charts compete for attention. In critical situations, this can lead to cognitive overload.

Human-centered design therefore aims to achieve several key goals:

• Reduction of information overload

• Improved situational awareness

• Faster decision-making

• Lower error rates in critical situations

A central element is the design of human-machine interfaces (HMI). Modern control rooms increasingly rely on clear information hierarchies, reduced color palettes, and intuitive visualizations. The goal is to ensure that operators can instantly identify what is truly relevant in the process.

Industry Example: Collaborative Control Rooms

A practical example of human-centered control rooms is collaborative control rooms, specifically developed for industrial and energy companies.

The concept is based on three key design principles:

• Ergonomic spatial design – Workstations, monitors, and video walls are arranged to provide optimal visibility of critical information

• Information hierarchy – Large displays show the overall system status, while detailed information is available at individual workstations

• Team-oriented work – The control room is designed as a collaborative space where multiple specialists can make decisions together

This design has been proven to improve situational awareness and reduce response times in the event of disruptions.

Current Research: Human-Centered Industry in the Age of Industry 5.0

Research also confirms this trend. A 2025 study published in the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology describes the transition from automation-driven Industry 4.0 to human-centered Industry 5.0.

While Industry 4.0 focused primarily on automation and efficiency, Industry 5.0 emphasizes technologies that actively enhance human capabilities. These include:

• AI-supported production dashboards

• Digital twins of facilities

• Immersive training platforms (AR/VR)

• Collaborative human-machine systems

In one analyzed smart factory, this combination of technology and human-centered design resulted in:

• 22% less downtime

• 14% improved production planning

• Significantly higher employee participation in improvement processes

These results clearly show that technological innovation is most effective when it is consistently aligned with the needs of people in the control room.

Human-Centered Control Rooms in Practice – Integrated Control Room Solutions by KNÜRR

For human-centered control room concepts to work in practice, infrastructure is required that integrates ergonomics, technology, and system integration.

With Ergocontrol OPX, Knürr offers a console platform specifically developed for control rooms, combining workstation, video wall, and KVM system into an integrated solution.

Key features include:

• Central login via keycard – secure and fast system access

• Individual ergonomic presets – workstations automatically adapt to each operator

• Flexible deployment – usable as a standalone workstation or in networked control rooms

• Modular scalability – the system grows with the control room’s requirements

Knürr’s approach goes beyond individual products. The solutions combine:

• the OPX console platform as the central operating interface,

• an integrated KVM architecture for controlling all visualizations,

• watchdog monitoring for power supply supervision,

• and CEC infrastructure concepts for alerting and additional custom routines

into a robust and scalable overall solution for industrial control rooms.

This creates a control room environment that is both technologically powerful and ergonomically optimized – a key building block for modern human-centered control rooms.

The Future of Control Rooms

With increasing digitalization, new opportunities for human-centered control rooms are emerging. AI-supported analytics, adaptive user interfaces, and digital twins could further enhance control room operations in the future.

However, despite all technological progress, one key insight remains:

A successful control room is not just a matter of technology – it is, above all, a matter of designing for people.

Companies that consistently implement human-centered design can not only improve safety but also significantly enhance efficiency, decision quality, and employee satisfaction.

Thank you for your interest in Knürr INSIGHTS.

This newsletter was created in collaboration with Hendrik Thiem (Industry Vertical Specialist) and Marie-Theres Danner, with the aim of providing practical insights and in-depth expertise on modern control room solutions.

In the next issue, we will focus on rail traffic and explore the specific requirements for availability, ergonomics, and system integration in this sector.

See you in the next issue!

Your feedback matters to us!

If you have suggestions, questions, or topic requests, we look forward to hearing from you.

info@knuerr.com

Responsible for content: Hendrik Thiem
Knürr GmbH, Mariakirchener Straße 38, 94424 Arnstorf
Website: www.knuerr.com
Managing Director: Dirk Schulze
Commercial Register: Landshut HRB 14011
VAT ID: DE 363797731
Phone: +49 (0) 87 23 / 28 – 0
Email: info@knuerr.com
Responsible pursuant to § 10 para. 3 MDStV: Dirk Schulze