GREECE: The Main Operations Centre (MOC) also known as the ‘headquarters’ of the Olympic Games began its operations yesterday. The aim is to prepare for the Olympic Games to be held next year at Nea Ionia in Athens.
An official release informs that this is the central and most decisive venue for the entire event as it constitutes the seat of the Games management, the executive team which has assumed the responsibility and the ‘high command’ of the Olympic Games.
This Centre is directly linked by video, audio and computer to all the sports venues where the events are scheduled to take place. At the Centre, the executive team including general managers responsible for the operational sectors involved in the organisation of the Games will be informed about crucial matters that appear in any venue or particular venue sector. The centre also controls each system and all activity; coordinates and directs, in each case, those responsible for the venues; and resolves issues requiring resolution at a higher level than the venue.
Referring to the creation of the MOC Athens 2004 COO Marton Simitsek underlined that "We aimed for and operated, the Main Operations Centre a year in advance, as opposed to previous events. Our aim is to test all systems and personnel under real Games conditions. We intend and are committed to organise perfect Games. The MOC is the ‘heart and mind’ of the Games. We ought to establish and secure their proper operation, to have completed the necessary check-up. And we are already doing that."
The Main Operations Centre will be operational on a daily basis throughout this month so that the management of the Athens Organising Committee for the Olympic Games will acquire the necessary experience of the Olympic structure for issue resolution, and test all of the equipment under real conditions.
At the MOC an array of computers, six giant plasma screens, seven standard television screens, communication by Tetra, and so on, ensure constant contact with the venues of the Sport Events in real time, thus eliminating the time between information, decision and command, while also reducing the possibilities of error.
For the support of the Main Operations Centre, ATHENS 2004, in cooperation with all official Sponsors of high-tech systems (Schlumberger, Swatch, Xerox, Kodak, Panasonic) has planned and created the Technology Operations Centre (TOC), which will enable a two-way communication with all competition and non-competition venues on a 24-hour basis.
With an autonomous network of 212 computers, 60 telephone lines, 40 work stations, and a full, autonomous and uninterrupted power supply, the TOC secures continuous two-way communication with the systems and management of each venue. It is through the TOC that all operating systems, including the incident reporting system on the basis of which the MOC is updated, are constantly monitored and adjusted.