One of our clients dvb - Friedrich Baer was assigned to develop a comprehensive safety concept for one of the biggest folk festivals.
accu:rate was able to support dvb in analyzing the dimensions and positions of the emergency routes and escape ways.
The purpose of the project was, to test if the size of the designated safety areas of the largest beer tent was adequately calculated.
The simulation was carried out with the maximum number of visitors, namely 6,300 people. The data of the CAD plans as well as the escape ways and emergency routes were imported into our software to generate the venues's geometry. Based on the geometry the simulation was conducted.
"Pedestrian flow simulation has the great advantage that the dynamic of an evacuation can be captured and illustrated and hot spots become evident. It is particularly helpful when pointing out these dynamics to the event's organizer."
Friedrich Baer, owner of dvb - Dienstleistungen für Versammlungsstättenbetreiber
Does the evacuation concept work?
The results demonstrate that the safety areas are big enough for the maximum number of visitors, but the bulk of visitors strive in direction of one exit.
The operator placed another emergency exit sign at a strategic place. In consequence of this adjustment, the visitors used both emergency exit to the same degree.
The passage width between the adjacent tent and the supply container equates the requirements of the VStättVO. However, the simulation has identified congestion in this area. Because of this result the passage will be broadened from now on.
Friedrich Baer, the owner of dvb - Dienstleistungen für Versammlungsstättenbetreiber:
"accu:rate was assigned by dvb to simulate the evacuation of a large beer tent (ca. 6500 seats) across the collecting areas and public traffic areas to validate the manual calculations.
Pedestrian flow simulation has the great advantage that the dynamic of an evacuation can be captured and illustrated and hot spots become evident. It is particularly helpful when pointing out these dynamics to the event's organizer.
Furthermore it can be checked, if the assumption of the VStättVO (1,20 m / 200 people) applies in every case or if adjustments like broader exits are needed because of the constructional conditions.
Before and during the project, accu:rate requested a multitude of the parameters. That shows that their employees are highly concentrated on the topic and it helps not to overlook important constraints."
Image source: "München, Löwenbräu-Festhalle, Oktoberfest 2012" by Bayreuth2009. Licence: CC BY 3.0