Analysis and Improvement of an Industrial Company’s Evacuation Process Using Simulation

Fire safety in industrial environments is essential to ensure quick and safe evacuations. This study used computer simulation with Pathfinder software to improve the evacuation of buildings in an industrial company. A total of 10 strategies were analysed. The results showed that the simulation is effective for dynamic what-if studies, with the best scenario showing an evacuation time of 132.3 seconds and the worst scenario, 558.0 seconds. The average distances covered varied from 31.5 meters in the best scenario to 134.6 meters in the worst scenario. It was concluded that multiple exits and additional doors are vital. It is recommended to strategically place the doors, carry out evacuation drills and develop an automated door release system to increase safety. In this study, people movement velocity was defined by a normal distribution, presenting an average velocity of 1.4 m/s and a standard deviation of 0.2m/s.