Simulation study

Gain insights through simulation analysis

Event Safety Institute and its sister organisation CrowdProfessionals are regularly involved in making capacity, escape route and gate flow analyses. Such analyses are increasingly extended with a simulation study. These studies are performed with specific software. We map bottlenecks, (limits to) capacities, flow, evacuation time and public densities in sub-areas.

The moment that a multitude of walking flows arise and it becomes mathematically difficult to oversee the whole, a simulation study becomes interesting. By means of a simulation study, the effects that different processes have on each other can be made clear and a (more) accurate estimate can be made about how these processes will proceed.  In addition, the simulation study gives insight into how efficiently or delaying these processes work. Think of visitor registration through pillars, check-ins on airports, checks and visitations at entrances, the capacity of turnstiles, etc.

Advantages of a simulation study

A simulation study produces a better insight and overview of the entire process. This reveals any bottlenecks and, where necessary (and of course where possible), an adjustment can be made to the layout of a location. In addition, it is possible to adjust variables to see what effects this has on the outcome of the study. Think about:

• Walking speeds that change through the audience profile;
• Adjust routing for (a part of) the visitors;
• Processing times that increase or decrease due to the number of actions during an access control;
• The location of movable objects (e.g. stalls, benches, etc.).

This makes it possible to gain insight into how the various crowd flows are conducted, how they are led to emergency exits and whether the flow capacity of emergency exits, entrances and corridors are sufficient. In this way, the arithmetic analysis is tested in a scenario. Once a simulation model is built, it is relatively easy to introduce and analyse another scenario later on.  A scenario of a fire on the first floor can have a different outcome than an explosion at the entrance of the building and a scenario during the inflow phase of the event can have a different outcome than a scenario during the circulation or outflow phase. But the event taking place in a building that is usually used for other purposes can also be analysed in advance in this way.

Curious to see if a simulation study can also be of added value for your location? We would be happy to discuss the possibilities with you.