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The Effectiveness of Evacuation Alarms in Multi-Hazard Environments

Magnusson, Robin LU and Pagnon Eriksson, Claude LU (2019) In LUTVDG/TVBB VBRM10 20191
Division of Fire Safety Engineering
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effectiveness of using specific alarms for each hazard versus the effectiveness of using a single alarm for all hazards in multi-hazard facilities. The research was conducted by disseminating online questionnaires containing audio files of different alarms to occupants of multi-hazards facilities and conducting interviews with safety experts working at multi-hazard facilities. Responses show variability concerning the perceived urgency of an alarm and what respondents associate with that alarm. Each of the alarms were perceived as both ‘not urgent’ and ‘very urgent’ at least once by different respondents, however a trend was observed, suggesting that there might be other factors affecting the... (More)
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effectiveness of using specific alarms for each hazard versus the effectiveness of using a single alarm for all hazards in multi-hazard facilities. The research was conducted by disseminating online questionnaires containing audio files of different alarms to occupants of multi-hazards facilities and conducting interviews with safety experts working at multi-hazard facilities. Responses show variability concerning the perceived urgency of an alarm and what respondents associate with that alarm. Each of the alarms were perceived as both ‘not urgent’ and ‘very urgent’ at least once by different respondents, however a trend was observed, suggesting that there might be other factors affecting the perceived urgency than those identified in the literature, for example the pulse pattern. As for the meaning, it could range from a hazard (such as radiation) to a computer error or a reversing truck for the same alarm. The results also indicated that alarms that were perceived as more urgent were also more often associated to a hazard as opposed to alarms that were perceived as less urgent that were more often considered as less hazardous. Responses indicated that people having experienced a real emergency situation preferred the use of multiple alarms more than the people with no experience. Based on the responses, it is recommended that the number of alarms used at a multi-hazard facility should depend on the number of evacuation responses rather than on the number of hazards. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Magnusson, Robin LU and Pagnon Eriksson, Claude LU
supervisor
organization
course
VBRM10 20191
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Evacuation, evacuation alarms, auditory alarms, alarm perception, perceived urgency, multi-hazard.
publication/series
LUTVDG/TVBB
report number
5588
other publication id
LUTVDG/TVBB--5588--SE
language
English
id
8982126
date added to LUP
2019-06-19 09:06:58
date last changed
2019-06-19 09:06:58
@misc{8982126,
  abstract     = {{The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effectiveness of using specific alarms for each hazard versus the effectiveness of using a single alarm for all hazards in multi-hazard facilities. The research was conducted by disseminating online questionnaires containing audio files of different alarms to occupants of multi-hazards facilities and conducting interviews with safety experts working at multi-hazard facilities. Responses show variability concerning the perceived urgency of an alarm and what respondents associate with that alarm. Each of the alarms were perceived as both ‘not urgent’ and ‘very urgent’ at least once by different respondents, however a trend was observed, suggesting that there might be other factors affecting the perceived urgency than those identified in the literature, for example the pulse pattern. As for the meaning, it could range from a hazard (such as radiation) to a computer error or a reversing truck for the same alarm. The results also indicated that alarms that were perceived as more urgent were also more often associated to a hazard as opposed to alarms that were perceived as less urgent that were more often considered as less hazardous. Responses indicated that people having experienced a real emergency situation preferred the use of multiple alarms more than the people with no experience. Based on the responses, it is recommended that the number of alarms used at a multi-hazard facility should depend on the number of evacuation responses rather than on the number of hazards.}},
  author       = {{Magnusson, Robin and Pagnon Eriksson, Claude}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{LUTVDG/TVBB}},
  title        = {{The Effectiveness of Evacuation Alarms in Multi-Hazard Environments}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}