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I've been in the Ops Room of a UK warship (Type 45 air defence destroyer) during training. Lots (~20?) of people looking at screens, each with a different syst

I've been in the Ops Room of a UK warship (Type 45 air defence destroyer) during training. Lots (~20?) of people looking at screens, each with a different system. Plus team leaders, coordinators and senior decision makers. On the bridge more people driving and fighting the ship, and checking local seaspace for intrusuion. In the damage control centre, more guys. Propulsion? More crew. On a complex system with multiple sensors and effectors you need a lot of people.

grkvlt 9y ago
And with critical systems where the downside of any mistake is high cost, in life or money, it helps reduce risk if people only watch a small number of data points, which they can concentrate on fully. So, similar to your navy example, I have heard of early warning radar operators being asssigned to only 10 degrees of horizon on their screen, so you now need 18 people to cover east to west fully, but each person is completely focussed on their little task.