Computer-Based Simulations Address High School Safety and Security Needs Nationwide
Thu, 05/08/2014 - 10:31am | By: Alison Crumpton
INCONTROL Simulation Solutions and The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4) at The University of Southern Mississippi are proud to announce the first high school deployment of SportEvac™ at Menomonee Falls High School in Menomonee Falls, Wis.
SportEvac™ is a simulated training, operation and planning software that allows sporting event organizers to develop and enhance effective emergency management capabilities. SportEvac™ creates realistic, site specific 3-D simulations of sporting venues that allows for a wide range safety and security assessments. Data from simulations assist in the effective utilization of resources and the development of emergency plans and procedures.
“In recent years, many sports venues and event organizations have increased and enhanced their security preparedness and emergency plans” said INCONTROL's Vice President – North America, Azizur Rahman. “However, difficulty remains in preparing and training for the wide variety of emergencies that cannot be rehearsed in real life.”
Athletic Director of Menomonee Falls High School, Ryan Anderson, and his team were seeking to create plans to quickly and safely remove people from potential harm at sporting events, as well as a way to evaluate their processes and outcomes. After extensive research they decided on SportEvac™.
“The software is giving me a deeper understanding through 3-D visualization and analysis of the cause and effects for worker placement, number of workers, and public announcement protocols,” said Anderson. “Eventually we are looking at a model for the entire school for fire drills and other types of evacuations, and we think it is essential to have everyone on the same page—the high school, the middle school and elementary schools. It is a powerful program moving forward.”
INCONTROL Simulation Solutions is working closely with NCS4, who will be providing risk management workshops for Interscholastic athletics and after school activities nationwide. “The addition of SportEvac™ offers high schools a unique tool for mitigating risk through the capabilities of looking at the ‘what –if' scenarios with their planning, training and exercises," said NCS4 Director Lou Marciani.
SportEvac™ scales nicely to address not only the high school athletic venues and afterschool activities, but also can address day-to-day training, operation and planning decisions for an entire school district. “This ensures overall safety of our most important and venerable asset — our next generation,” said Rahman.
SportEvac™ is now available to high schools across the nation. For more information about SportEvac™, visit http://www.sportevac.com.
About The National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security
Established in 2006, The National Center for Spectator Sports and Security specifically focuses on research, education, and outreach in sport event security, providing an interdisciplinary academic environment to further increase sport security awareness, improve sport security policies and procedures and enhance emergency responses through evacuation, recovery operations and crowd management training. For more information, visit the NCS4 conference website at https://www.ncs4.com/conference/.