The Co-construction of Crises and Communication Technology in Emergency Dispatch Rooms in the Netherlands (1986–2006)

Emergency dispatch rooms are designed to respond as smoothly and swiftly as possible to crises and critical events, such as fires, accidents, terrorist attacks or medical emergencies. In the 1980s and 1990s, emergency dispatch rooms in the Netherlands underwent profound changes in their design, work practices and technological equipment. Telecommunication networks became digitised, working procedures were harmonised, and data and information were made exchangeable between the different emergency services. All these efforts had to make responses to crises more effective. The perpetual expectation and anticipation of crises in our society are the raison d’être of emergency rooms, and as such, their very existence and operation can be considered as deeply linked to the notion of tele-crisis. This article seeks to find out how ideas about crises were reflected in the sociotechnical design of emergency dispatch rooms. Which norms and values became embedded in these ‘crisis technologies’? Which ideas about crises played a role in the vehement debates around the sociotechnical reorganisation of these nerve centres of emergency communication? And to what extent were these new developments in crisis technology intended to make crisis response more effective, indeed considered as a contribution to a better emergency response?