Inquiry in control rooms - an analysis through the lenses of space, time and practices

In recent risk studies, some researchers have raised concerns regarding the focus on extraordinary events-sometimes called " extreme paradigm " (Gaillard, 2007). Simultaneously, we are witnessing a growing interest in the more " ordinary " situations that must be handled on a daily basis in order to avoid crises (Roux-Dufort 2007, Van Laere 2013). In an interdisciplinary perspective of sociology and geography, we have analysed five different control rooms (traffic safety, air traffic control, humanitarian coordination, weather forecasting and electrical supply). This transversal perspective has helped us consider control rooms as specific spatio-temporal devices, where ordinary practices aim as much at crisis avoidance as at crisis management. We conclude that it is important to broaden the analytical perspective of control rooms; to no longer regard them as the source of action but rather as one aspect of larger socio-technical monitoring devices.