Basics of Crowd Safety

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Self-paced and online

The Basics of Crowd Safety course covers the fundamentals of crowd science and risk analysis tools with their application for planning and managing places of public assembly. ​

Learning Certifications

  • UK Level 3 qualification (IIRSM and Highfield)
  • NCS4 Endorsed

​Aims and objectives

Basics of Crowd Safety will provide insights into the causes (and prevention) of crowd related disasters. This course provides relevant tools and methods to assess crowd safety and crowd risk analysis in places of public assembly.

Requirements for Completion

  • Access is granted for 60 Days from enrollment.
  • Complete the final assessment quiz with a score of more than 80%.

Course modules

1. Moodle for the first time user

Get to know the course navigation system and system menus.

2. Introduction and overview

Introduction to the principles of risk analysis related to crowded spaces. Covering the causes of accidents and incidents and outline the DIM-ICE model for understanding the dynamics of crowds risks.

Lesson Topics

  1. Introduction
  2. Understanding the underlying causality of crowd accidents and incidents
  3. History of accidents and incidents
  4. Understanding your perceptions/perspective
  5. Media reporting and risks
  6. Understanding crowd dynamics
  7. The DIM-ICE risk analysis model and its application

3. Crowd dynamics

Learn the principles of crowd dynamics with a focus on risks associated with packing density (static crowds) and moving space requirements (dynamic crowds) for crowd safety. Understand the formation of “shock waves” in the crowd and how they develop and, review the basics types of queueing systems design.

Lesson Topics

  1. Static crowd density
  2. Moving crowd density
  3. Crowd shockwaves
  4. Crowd collapse
  5. The dynamics of crowd collapse
  6. Queuing systems
  7. Flowing systems

4. Crowd modelling

Illustrating the issues of transport hubs and their proximity to an event site. One of the issues for transport at major events is how they influence crowd behavior. We highlight this problem with a worked example.

Lesson Topics

  1. Understand how to represent crowd flow on a site model
  2. Understand the risks associated with a high density crowded space
  3. Understand how to influence egress behavior

5. RAMP analysis

Learn our technique called "RAMP Analysis" that defines the Crowd dynamics for places of public assembly. RAMP analysis defines the Routes, the Areas, the Movement (over time) and the crowd Profile (People) in and around the event. We teach the principles and applications of RAMP analysis using a case study from a real-time crowd counting example.

Lesson Topics

  1. Understanding the process of approximations
  2. Defining complex spaces using approximations
  3. Routes, Areas, Movement and Profile/People definitions
  4. Establishing the arrival profile
  5. Establishing crowd profiles
  6. Using RAMP analysis for planning and managing crowds
  7. How this was used to evaluate mass gatherings (case study)

6. Crowd counting

Learn the methods of evaluating the number of people at events. Crowd counting is an essential element of planning and managing crowds in places of public assembly and major events.

Lesson Topics

  1. Measuring the masses
  2. Using density as a crowd count
  3. Using the flow rate as a crowd count
  4. The issues relating to overestimating crowd size

7. Control room information

Learn how models can be integrated into the control room monitoring systems. Understand the principles of attention, and why it is essential to learn the way our minds focus on information.

Lesson Topics

  1. Attention and awareness (TED Talk)
  2. Keeping information in the right place
  3. Control room reference graphics

8. Queueing systems

Queueing is an important element of every event. Explore how queues form and how crowds react in queueing systems. Learn the balance between safety (screening/searching) and security coupled with the crowd risks when queueing regimes are changed. Understand the principles of queueing behavior, psychology, and dynamics. Review the general queueing model formula for determining queue build up over time.

Lesson Topics

  1. Queueing systems and queue behavior
  2. Balancing safety and security for events/venues/sites
  3. Ingress (arrival rates)
  4. Egress queuing systems
  5. Site design for queueing systems
  6. Using the queueing models

9. Crowd risk analysis

Learn the difference between public and professional perceptions of risk and understand the concepts of risk and congestion mapping for places of public assembly.

Lesson Topics

  1. How the public perceives risks
  2. How a professional perceives risk
  3. Key elements in risk awareness
  4. Key elements of incident investigation
  5. Using the risk mapping for event planning/management

10. Event egress analysis

Understand how to analyze an event egress problem to introduce the principles of modelling site dimensions, and as a guided application of risk management.

Lesson Topics

  1. How to read maps/plans and apply data to a case study
  2. How to model a site
  3. How to communicate the risks
  4. How to address key safety issues on a case study

11. Strategic and tactical analysis

Strategic and tactical analysis for major events is a planning exercise. Learn this versatile method for assessing and analyzing decisions that may impact crowd safety. We demonstrate the use of matrix analysis for crowd communication, professional communication, risk analysis related to time and location and how to build a crowd decision support analysis system.

Lesson Topics

  1. Examples of various decision support analysis techniques
  2. Crowd communication
  3. Risk v location v time
  4. Time v density v flow v risk

12. Emergency situations

Understand the issues of emergencies in places of public assembly. We explore how large crowds react to emergency situations with two case examples. The principles of planning a large area evacuation are outlined along with strategic options and an example of human behavior during emergency situations.

Lesson Topics

  1. Anticipate/Prevent, Detect, Respond and Recover
  2. The recovery cycle
  3. Communication with the Crowd
  4. Modelling major site evacuation plans
  5. Modelling evacuation
  6. Understanding human behaviour in an emergency
  7. Egress strategies and decision support analysis

13. Course summary

Final summary of the course content to review lessons before the final test.

Lesson Topics

  1. The DIM-ICE risk model
  2. Crowd dynamics and crowd risks (Static, Dynamic and Contingency)
  3. Crowd Modelling
  4. RAMP Analysis
  5. Crowd Counting
  6. Control Room Information
  7. Queueing systems
  8. Crowd Risk Analysis
  9. Event egress analysis
  10. Strategic and Tactical Analysis
  11. Emergency Situations

14. Assessments and certificates

To pass this course you must complete the online multiple-choice quiz. You have 1 hour to complete 15 multiple choice questions and score above 80% to pass. You have three attempts to pass the course.