The safety lab provides visitors with the unique opportunity to tackle realistic risk situations and to observe organizational processes being initiated when a crisis occurs. Every lab area reflects the ideas, interests and needs of different public safety stakeholders. By demonstrating how various systems and technologies work together, the complexity of the topic collaborative safety can be visualized and made much more comprehensive. As a result of parallel and ongoing works conducted by the safety lab partners, scenarios presented in the lab can be continuously developed and changed.

Hazard Situation

Scenario: A hazard situation, for example extreme weather, causes serious cascading damage such as electricity blackouts and breakdowns in public transport and the mobile phone network. A large number of major incidents occur in a confusing situation.

safety lab: Documentary elements prove that it is possible for extreme weather to bring on such a hazard scenario. However, the disaster warning and communication processes initiated in response to that scenario are also applicable to other hazard situations.

Infrastructure Control Centers

Scenario: Lightning strikes the power supply system of an infrastructure facility, for example a subway power line, resulting in a fire with smoke development. The people on site are affected. Specialized company safety personnel initiate first aid and evacuation measures.

safety lab: On the basis of networked technologies, calls from emergency telephones are aggregated with imaging data and maps, for example for escape route signs on advertising displays or for material on the situation made available to first responders. Networking with civil protection systems permits data to be passed on automatically and simplifies contact establishment by the competent members of staff.

Emergency Control Centers (ECCS) and Resource Planning

Scenario: Emergency calls and damage reports are coming in at the control centers, for example the fire service. They are dealt with in the form of “if/when processes”, and emergency responders of the police and the fire service are deployed accordingly. Extensive spreading of the emergency and the associated rapid increase in emergency calls result in excessive demands being made on the control centers and the emer- gency responders.

safety lab: Integrated system solutions permit incoming messages to be consolidated and evaluated and instructions to be prepared. Existing image files and maps from the danger zones are included for further guidance – also from external systems such as the infrastructure control centers – and, in the event of a crisis, automatically transmitted to the systems of the tactical level.

Emergency Response Management Teams

Scenario: An overload has occurred at the level of the resource planning, and the management teams, for example the technical task force leaders, are summoned. They have to decide which measures are to be taken in view of the require- ments of the situation. This decision calls for an accurate portrayal of the situation to be provided.

safety lab: Data from various sources converge: Maps of the town and its infrastructure, data on any emergency calls received (time, place, content) and open data, for instance public information on weekly markets. A traffic light system (green, orange, red) visualizes the extent of the damage occasioned and the action required. In cases of power outage, the evaluation of social media (twitter) will permit conclusions to be drawn about the situation. Also, automatic evaluations will facilitate communication with the media and the general public.

Warnings to the Citizens

Scenario: The large-scale emergency causes the traditional instruments of emergency response to come up against their limitations. Therefore, to reach the so-called “last mile”, people have to be warned individually, supplied with timely information on the threat and enabled to act under their own steam (who needs to know what and when about the emergency to be able to act?).

safety lab: The focus is on the perspective of the people affected in everyday life situations at home or on the road: Accordingly, information will be provided on TV, on advertising displays or through smart phone apps, and innovative warning technologies such as (digital) sirens with voice output or automatic activation of building equipment and appliances will be used. Networked solutions will afford greater protection in this context than isolated technical solutions.