Completed joint projects: 

ALARM: Adaptive solution platform for active technical support when saving human lives

Funding codes 13N10106 to 13N10112

This project looked at ways of improving resource deployment in the event of a major incident, particularly in the initial phases. It set out to develop an adaptive IT system for supporting command centres, including RFID patient tagging and telemedical care to minimise fatalities. The scenario used was an explosion on a train at Berlin’s Ostbahnhof station. The focus was on care for the injured, use of existing and new communication systems plus mobile devices and information provision to persons in the affected area via mobile phone.

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BaSiGo: Safety and Security Modules for Large Public Events

Funding codes 13N12043 to 13N12052

Large-scale events, such as city festivals or football matches, are enjoying increasing popularity. At the same time, the public are becoming ever more aware of the issue of safety and security at such events. The aim of this project was to devise a tool to support event organisers and authorities in the preparation, planning and staging of large events. A major part of the team’s innovative solutions comprises simulation of the incoming and outgoing traffic plus individual pedestrian movements in the immediate area of the event.

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e-Triage: Electronic registration of disaster victims

Funding codes 13N10539 to 13N10542

This project was devoted to the development of an electronic system for registering injured persons in both major disasters and minor emergencies. The aim was to provide a communication and database system for everyone involved in the extraction/rescue, removal and placement of victims in hospitals and accommodation. The system was designed to enable these processes to be coordinated quickly, reliably and efficiently. It automatically produces documentation with which operations can be analysed at a later stage.

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EVA: Risks associated with major public events – Planning, assessment, EVAcuation and rescue concepts

Funding codes 13N10299 to 13N10305 and 13N10323

The interdisciplinary team on this project set out to develop strategies for planning, assessing, evacuating and rescuing people at large events (e.g. football matches and the arrival of fans at stations) and to validate those strategies using simulation. The project used fire brigade accounts of past experiences and additional documentation (videos and photographs) regarding people’s behaviour so that the simulation models could be adapted to real-life behaviour. This input then fed into the development of technical and organisational measures. This enabled IT performance in crises to be improved, the human factor to be integrated into the modelling process and risk analysis for decision-makers to be simplified.

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EvaSim: Combined traffic and hydraulics simulation for controlling traffic in evacuation measures

Funding codes 13N10594 to 13N10596

The objective of the project was to combine simulation of flood (wave) propagation with simulation and optimisation of traffic flows. The simulation was based on various hydraulic stress scenarios, such as design flood levels being reached, dykes breaking or dams (partially) failing. All of these scenarios occurred during the disastrous flooding of the Elbe, Oder and Danube rivers. The method is set to be made available for use in the development of evacuation plans for floods or dam/dyke breaks at other locations.

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GenoPlan: Generic emergency plan and adaptive process model to protect local government in the event of a pandemic

Funding codes 13N10439 to 13N10444

The objective behind the project was to design an emergency plan, based on the example scenario of Dortmund City Council being faced with an influenza pandemic. When a pandemic occurs, it is important to ensure that local government can continue to function. The team therefore set out to develop an electronic communication and management system with which to support the decision-making process. Its components are a “generic emergency plan” (GEP), an “adaptive process model” (APM) and a science-based and event-oriented system (SES). They were developed using Dortmund City Council as an example and assessed to determine whether they offered a practicable solution.

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Hermes: Study for an evacuation assistant for use in emergencies during large-scale public events

Funding codes 13N9952 to 13N9960

Rising visitor numbers and the growing complexity of modern buildings present a major challenge for planners, operators and emergency services. Multifunctional arenas, large stations and airports are just a few examples. This project aimed to develop an evacuation assistant to provide decision-makers (operators, fire brigades or police, for instance) with the specific information they need to get a better idea of the risk and thus to optimise the way in which they deploy emergency service and security personnel. The evacuation assistant can also be used for intelligent control of dynamic escape route guidance systems.

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LAGE: Integration of existing information systems for joint crisis management

Funding codes 13N10585 to 13N10589

The overarching goal of this project was to bring about a collective understanding of the events, structures and processes in operations by means of report data mediation. To this end, an information pool and integrated processes were used, taking into account all connected systems, to generate an overall situation report to facilitate a networked operation command structure. The scenario was an accident/attack at a city-centre major event (World Cup or Love Parade, for example) with huge numbers of injured persons and particularly included Dortmund Central Station. The aim was to draw up a comprehensive strategy to ensure organisational, semantic and technical interoperability between the emergency services.

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PRI-KATS: Priority setting for rescue measures

Funding code 13N9755

The research project focused on two main areas. In terms of government and organisation, it analysed the cooperation between and coordination and control of the various authorities and organisations at the national, federal state and local level in the event of major incidents involving more than one federal state. This research pinpointed weaknesses, revealed and took on board the experiences, standpoints and priorities of the various stakeholders and developed options for solutions. In terms of legal issues, the project’s work was aimed at reviewing the different legal standards and any potential conflicts with principles and provisions of constitutional law and procedures. In particular, this part of the project asked which procedures and standards should serve as the basis for setting and implementing priorities with regard to rescue measures to be taken.

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REPKA: Regional evacuation – planning, control and adaptation

Funding codes 13N9961 to13N9964

One of the main rescue measures taken in an attack, threat of an attack, major accident or natural disaster is evacuation of the buildings, areas and regions affected. The primary objective is to evacuate people as quickly and as reliably as possible, i.e. to remove them from danger and get them to safety. This research project concentrated on regional evacuation in a scenario in which a large group of people had left a building and had to be moved to safety. The project included virtual evacuation exercises in the form of simulation games. In the project’s solution, people are located using existing (private) wireless networks (including secured ones). Their devices can be used as individual guidance systems to help them escape.

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SECURITY2People: Secure IT-Based Disaster Management System to Protect and Rescue People

Funding codes 13N10543 to 13N10548

The aim of this research was to create the foundations of an integrated IT-based crisis management system for protecting and rescuing people in the event of a natural disaster, technical accident or terrorist attack. The system facilitates seamless, comprehensive information provision and decision support for crisis managers both at the operational/tactical and the strategic level. It was also designed to be able to take into account missing or uncertain knowledge and to be applicable to a wide variety of disasters and crises as well as being used in emergency planning and crisis management training/drills. This approach makes it possible to achieve maximum cost efficiency and user acceptance.

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SiKomm: Emergency Communication for Security: Preventive, proactive and reactive strategies for  communications support in security and rescue operations

Funding code 13N9878

The team on this project cooperated with selected joint projects conducting research in the “Protection and rescue of people” part of the programme to examine security-relevant communication processes used in a range of scenarios. To do so, the team analysed the generally applicable communicative and media strategies and organisational forms of crisis, incident and disaster communication. They compared degrees of impact (e.g. on the populace, businesses, etc.), requirements (particularly those to be met by crisis managers, emergency service and aid workers and technical communication systems), communication needs (of the populace and the stakeholders at all levels of crisis management) and communication obligations (to protect the population and for the emergency service personnel to protect themselves).

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SOGRO: Immediate rescue in a large-scale accident with mass casualties

Funding codes 13N10162 to 13N10167

This project aimed to find new approaches to improving emergency medical care for accident victims, collaboration between different emergency services and reconnaissance and situation assessment in major accidents, using Frankfurt Airport as its example. The team sought to examine new technology and, in particular, to integrate it with existing techniques to create a new form of procedure for emergency service personnel. The focus was on RFID tagging of injured persons for triage purposes and integration of this triage solution into the rescue process. Drones are to be used for reconnaissance.

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SpeedUp: Investigation of mobile and self-organising communication and data platforms and of strategies for organisation and action in complex, large-scale situations

Funding codes 13N10174 to 13N10180

Unforeseeable incidents resulting in a risk for everyone involved are a frequent occurrence in various, normally harmless areas of our everyday lives and in high-risk situations (e.g. in civil engineering and tunnel management, in other words in underground infrastructure). In such situations, the priority for the emergency services is to ensure everyone involved in the incident is rescued and receives medical treatment quickly. Agreements between the various parties are then crucial. The goal of this project was therefore to examine situation-specific strategies for organisation and action and to establish a mobile, self-organising technical support system for emergency service personnel in large-scale situations. The team sought to devise suitable and accepted models for interaction and communication.

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SPIDER: Security Systems for Public Institutions in Disastrous Emergency Scenarios

Funding codes 13N10230 to 13N10240

The objective of this project was to create an intelligent, comprehensive communication and information system for emergency service personnel. The team looked at emergency process management (taking into account building intelligence and facility management), an intelligent escape route system and simulation of visitor flows. The scenario used was a bomb explosion during a trade fair (at Kölnmesse, Cologne’s trade fair centre). The idea was to use the number of mobile telephones in a given sector to determine the number of people present. Another aim was to use mobile phones to make emergency announcements.

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VoTeKK: Preparation for terrorist attacks, crises and disasters

Funding codes 13N10469 to 13N10473

The goal of this project was to prepare the German healthcare system for disasters, crises and terrorist attacks. The intention was to perform continuous quality management on existing solutions and identify weak points. The project also sought to set up a disaster medicine online academy and other e-learning platforms.

More information  (only available in German)