Filippidis, Lazaros ORCID: 0000-0002-1852-0042, Xie, Hui ORCID: 0000-0003-1019-2168, Galea, Edwin R. ORCID: 0000-0002-0001-6665 and Lawrence, Peter J. ORCID: 0000-0002-0269-0231 (2021) Exploring the potential effectiveness of dynamic and static emergency exit signage in complex spaces through simulation. Fire Safety Journal, 125:103404. ISSN 0379-7112 (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2021.103404)

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Abstract

Emergency exit signs used in buildings aid occupant wayfinding during an emergency. However, research suggests that conventional signs lack the ability to attract people's attention in an emergency. This can result in the underuse of emergency exits and the overuse of main entrances with potentially fatal consequences. The effectiveness of signage depends on their ability to draw occupants' attention. A novel dynamic signage design, Active Dynamic Signage System (ADSS), was proposed to address this issue through incorporating flashing green LEDs into the arrow of conventional exit signs. Its effectiveness was tested in a series of experiments achieving a detection rate of up to 77% as opposed to 38% for conventional exit signs. In this paper, the signage model within the buildingEXODUS software was adapted to represent the ADSS and a series of simulations were run to investigate the potential effectiveness of the ADSS compared to conventional signs. The scenarios examined involved a supermarket geometry, 900 agents and three levels of signage configuration. The modelling results suggest that the ADSS can reduce total egress times for this structure by 18%, congestion by 36%, travel distances by 12%, resulting in a more efficient evacuation compared with that produced by conventional signage.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	emergency exit signage; evacuation; simulation; dynamic signage
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences (CMS) Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2023 01:38
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/35904

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