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The demands of working in a control room
Working in a control room can at times be a highly complex and pressurised job. Employees who work in a control room need to have the right skill set and personal characteristics to thrive in this type of environment.
Helping you to recruit the best controllers
To help organisations recruit controllers who are better suited to the role, the OPC have designed the Control Room Test (CRT). This is a work-orientated, computer-based exercise where candidates adopt the role of a controller. The exercise lasts for 14 minutes and is designed to measure the eight key competencies identified as being vital for control room work. This includes an individual's ability to concentrate and remain vigilant for long periods of time, reason logically with new information, communicate effectively and concisely, and remain calm under pressure.
Fantastic client feedback
The test has become hugely popular and we have received some really positive feedback from our clients.
"The control room test has proved to be an integral part of the assessment process for one of our more specific operational supervisor roles. Without it we would have been unable to obtain evidence of some of the key operational skills and behaviours required in the role. The support received from the OPC team in implementing and administering the tool was first class throughout." Transport for London
Candidates adopt the role of controller
The test involves candidates playing the role of controller within a fictitious rail organisation where they are expected to 'manage' the control room. This requires candidates to respond appropriately to information, incidents and staff requests and making PA announcements which are recorded by the candidate on a voice recorder and completing a delay form or notice board sheet. Candidates are required to multi-task and communicate efficiently under increasing time pressure.
Minimal administration time
Candidates require no prior knowledge of computers in order to sit the test, and following some brief administration instructions, they can then be left to sit the test and follow the on-screen and audio instructions. This provides test administrators with more time to score other tests within the assessment process or attend to other candidates.
Candidates are immediately able to recognise the relevance of the test
The CRT is designed to simulate working on a control room and consequently demonstrates high face validity for candidates where they can appreciate the relevance of the test in relation to the job role. The test can also be used for development purposes to identify where current controllers' strengths and areas for development lie.
Easy to use marking sheet
When candidates have completed the test, the assessor follows an easy to use marking sheet. This involves listening to the candidate's tape recording of their PA announcements whilst following a rating guide and then scoring their record forms using a simple check list style scoring system. Assessors can then add up the candidate's total score and obtain an overall grade on the test using appropriate norms.
A new and improved Flash version of the test is now available that runs on any windows based PC. Practice materials are also now on sale to ensure that candidates are able to prepare for the exerise prior to the assessment day.