Crowd Management: 2 The need of a systematic approach
If you look at the “classic” definition of crowd management as “the systematic planning and monitoring of an orderly movement and accumulation of people” (Fruin, 1993) there are two starting points: people and a systematic planning approach.
The so-called DIM-ICE Meta Matrix (Source: Prof. Dr. G. Keith Still) offers a simple planning approach based on the fact that the relevant factors influencing the visitor must be considered for each phase of an event. This is necessary because visitors have different requirements for the space available to them or the information provided during the various phases of the event. Information that is required during the journey to the event is different from that which the visitor needs when he leaves the event again, areas that are available for admission must be dimensioned differently from the areas in front of the stage, etc.
Those are the three key factors that influence visitors and form the basis for planning:
- Design (space planning, infrastructures, sight lines …)
- Information (acoustic, visual)
- Management (staff deployment, organisational concepts …)
These factors must be taken into account for the different phases of an event, i.e.
- the arrival / admission phase (ingress),
- the attendance phase (circulation) and
- the exit / departure phase (egress)
In practical use, there are some additions to the Matrix being made, which is E = expectations in regard to the key factors and the whole “Customer’s journey” with T= Travel to and from the venue.
But regardless of DIM or DIME, ICE or TICE(T) – a structured approach is one of the most important tools in regard to the many aspects which have to be taken into account for a serious crowd management plan
The matrix can be used for planning, but also for checking existing measures. It helps to structure the often complex information, for example in the context of a security concept, and can thus help to identify weak points or even missing information.
All factors are systematically related to each other and can easily be checked for completeness.
normal | Journey to the event | Ingress | Circulation | Egress | Departure |
| Design | |||||
| Information | |||||
| Management | |||||
| Expectations |
| accident | Journey to the event | Ingress | Circulation | Egress | Departure |
| Design | |||||
| Information | |||||
| Management | |||||
| Expectations |
The Matrix with added factors & phases. Source: IBIT GmbH
Phases of events
All three influencing factors described in the DIM-ICE matrix must be taken into account in all phases of the event – both in a normal situation and in an emergency situation.
Ingress: Arrival and admission phase
The arrival and admission phase is characterised by questions regarding the access routes to the event site, the layout of the parking areas or public transport hubs, the space required by the waiting crowd, the capacity of the entrances (or the admission gates, if available), the necessary information for those waiting and arriving and the organisation of the queues.
Circulation: Attendance phase
The circulation phase is determined by the movements of visitors on the event site. People move around for many reasons, e.g. to get the best view, to be close to the desired attraction or to find friends and much more. To do this, they need information about locations, processes, programmes or prices. The movements must be guided, either by the site design itself (routing), by active guidance measures or, for example, targeted control of the stage programme (staggered start, etc.).
Egress: Leaving the site
Special measures must be taken, particularly for the exit phase of events that end at a fixed time or that have a programme climax after which a large number of people leave the area (e.g. after a fireworks display), in order to direct the movements of the audience. Measures for exiting an event area in normal situations are rarely described – although difficult or even critical situations can arise here in particular: all visitors who have entered the event area over a longer period of time now want to leave this area in the shortest possible time, i.e. the egresses often have to cope with a large number of people in a short space of time.
In addition, visitors are often tired, exhausted and / or drunk during this phase, the surroundings appear different due to changes in visibility and the need for information and guidance is therefore significantly higher than at the beginning of an event.
______________________________________________________
Read all articles from this series on event safety:
Safety Planning for Events: An Introduction
The Risk Management Circle in the Context of Events: 1 Introduction
The Risk Management Circle in the Context of Events: 2 Risk Identification
The Risk Management Circle in the Context of Events: 3 Risk Assessment
The Risk Management Circle in the Context of Events: 4 Risk Response
The Risk Management Circle in the Context of Events: 5 Risk Monitoring and Review
The Risk Management Circle in the Context of Events: 6 Risk Mitigation
Crowd management: 1 An Introduction
Crowd Management: 2 The need of a systematic approach
Crowd Management: 3 The people
Crowd Management: 4 Safety by Design
Crowd Management: 5 The Ingress and Egress Areas
Emergency planning: Introduction
Emergency Management: 1 Emergency Plans
Emergency Management: 2 Scenarios
Emergency Management: 3 Learning from Disasters
