UNIVERSITY OF MAKATI

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

Digitalization of the University of Makati Evacuation Plan:

A Proposal Evacuation Wayfinding System

A Thesis Proposal

Presented to the Faculty of the

College of Computing and Information Sciences

University of Makati

City of Makati

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

Major in Social Computing

By

ENOJA, RANGER C.

BLEZA, FRANCISCO MIGUEL A.

CURAMENG, SHEERYMAE P.

ESCARLAN, ALDRIAN B.

April 2023
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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem,

significance of the study, scope and limitations, and operational definition of

terms.

Background of the Study

The Philippines is susceptible to natural disasters due to its location along

both the typhoon belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire. According to the World Risk

Report 2018, the Philippines ranked third worldwide in terms of disaster risk with

a 25.14% index value. Over 60% of the country's land area is exposed to multiple

hazards, with 74% of the population susceptible to their impact. In the last 50

years, hydro-meteorological events such as typhoons and floods accounted for

more than 80% of the natural disasters (UNDRR, 2019). With the increasing

frequency and severity of natural disasters, the importance of effective evacuation

planning has never been more critical. 

Given the Philippines’ risk disaster profile, the government enacted the

Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, also known as

Republic Act (RA) 10121 wherein it addresses the Philippines’ susceptibility to

natural disasters through introducing a proactive Disaster Risk Reduction and

Management (DRRM) approach, which aims to systematically utilize

administrative directives, organizations, and operational skills to implement

strategies, policies, and improved coping capacities to mitigate the adverse

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

impacts of hazards and reduce the possibility of disasters. The Disaster Risk

Reduction and Management Act of 2010 is a crucial step towards achieving an

enhanced response program for disaster risk reduction.

Wayfinding tools are important parts of the emergency evacuation

identification system, which can improve evacuees’ understanding of the

evacuation process, and guide people to evacuate quickly (Wang et al., 2022). On

the other hand, Evacuation wayfinding system is the process of directing evacuees

out of hazardous areas with the aid of real-time routing algorithms or using pre-

deployed static plans that are based on prediction and analysis from evacuee

behavior models (Bi & Gelenbe, 2019) 

In a case study conducted in Surigao, Philippines in Earthquake

Evacuation Choice and Management, the researchers considered three output

variables: evacuation choice, evacuation duration, and travel mode choice. The

study revealed that residents were more inclined to evacuate their homes when an

earthquake warning was issued and relocate to either a public shelter or an open

space. Furthermore, respondents were more likely to evacuate their homes if they

experienced moderate to severe/complete damage or if there was a disruption in

electricity and water supply. Walking to evacuation centers was the preferred

mode of transportation, as most residents initially moved to the nearest open

space immediately after the earthquake and stayed for less than 6 hours (Calumba

et al. 2022)
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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

In other cases, evacuation is unnecessary because people are in structures

that provide adequate protection. In such cases, shelter in-place will provide

adequate protection. Finally, evacuation is inadvisable when the reduction in risk

for residents on the periphery of the threat area might not be worth the expense

and disruption involved. These evacuation expenses include lost income and

temporary living expenses, as well as travel costs (Wu et al. 2012).  

Digitalization has emerged as a powerful tool in disaster management.

Advances in technology have made it possible to create digital evacuation plans

that can be easily accessed and updated in real-time. (Vilar et al., 2018), collected

studies suggest that smart active systems can be more effective than traditional

ones to direct people to safe places into complex buildings. Additionally, these

systems can inform occupants about new routes and avoid blocked paths, thereby

improving the efficiency of emergency wayfinding. Further, they can provide

personalized information based on users' specific needs.

By strengthening the country's implementation of actions and measures for

direction and mitigation in catastrophes and as a compliance to RA 10121, the

University of Makati— a local university in Makati, Philippines posted its paper-

based evacuation plan that can be located inside its premises. However, the

researchers hypothesize that a traditional paper-based plan may impose issues in

accessibility, reliability and interactivity. A traditional paper-based plan may not

be easily accessible to everyone, especially if it is stored in a single location.

Additionally, it can be difficult to update, requiring new copies to be printed and

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

distributed each time a change is made as well as it does not offer the same level

of interactivity as digitalized plans, which may make it harder for people to

understand and follow the procedure in instances of emergencies. In an article of

Smart Systems in Emergency Wayfinding (Vilar et al., 2018) stated that some

studies have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of emergency exit

signs, and the results indicate that static signs tend to have low compliance rates,

especially when the physical environment presents ambiguous route options. 

The University of Makati needs an efficient evacuation plan in place to

ensure the safety of its students, faculty, and staff in case of emergencies.  To a

certain extent, the researchers propose the digitalization of the evacuation plan

along with the development of an Evacuation Wayfinding System.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

Statement of the Problem

The main objective is to develop a digitalization of the University of

Makati Evacuation Plan: Evacuation Wayfinding System as a tool/ an application

to direct evacuees out of the hazardous areas in a timely and safe manner with the

assistance of computer aided systems.

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions:

1. How to implement the routing protocol-based algorithm and cellular

automata driven algorithm to proposed application.

2. What are the algorithms and data needed to be implemented to further

improve the proposed application?

3. What is the performance of the proposed digitalization of the University of

Makati Evacuation Plan: An Evacuation Wayfinding System based on the

perceptions of the selected target respondents of the developed

application?

4. What are the possible limitations of the proposed system?

5. What are the recommendations of the researcher to further improve the

proposed application?
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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

Significance of the study

The result of the study may have a great benefit for the following:

Students. Students are one of the primary beneficiaries of a digitalized evacuation

plan. In the event of an emergency situation, such as a fire or natural disaster,

students are often the most vulnerable and in need of clear and concise evacuation

instructions. With a digitalized evacuation plan, students will have easy access to

the information they need to evacuate safely and efficiently. This will help to

ensure that students are not left behind or placed in harm's way due to confusion

or lack of information.

Admins. With a digitalized evacuation plan, administrators will have access to a

centralized platform for creating, storing, and updating evacuation plans. This will

help to ensure that all relevant parties have access to the most up-to-date

information, and will facilitate better communication and coordination among

stakeholders. Additionally, a digitalized evacuation plan will help administrators

to meet regulatory requirements and ensure compliance with safety standards.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

Employees. Employees are another important beneficiary of digitalized

evacuation plans. With a digitalized evacuation plan, employees can access the

information they need on their mobile devices or computers, which can help them

navigate the evacuation process more efficiently. This can also help to reduce

panic and confusion, which can be a common occurrence during emergency

situations. Additionally, having a digitalized evacuation plan in place can help to

increase employee morale and job satisfaction, as it demonstrates that the

employer takes their safety and well-being seriously.

Scope and Limitation of the study

As the study aims to develop an application of the Digitalization of the

University of Makati Evacuation Plan: Evacuation Wayfinding System, the

proposal application will be only applicable in premises of University of Makati

as a selected locale of the researchers thus specifically selecting all evacuation

routes from HPSB Building, Admin Building, Academic Building 1, Academic

Building 2 and Academic Building 3 in accordance to the paper-based University

of Makati Evacuation Plan. This study will be conducted for the academic year

2022-2023. 
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Operational definition of terms

Digitalization adaptation of a system, process, etc. to be operated with the

use of computers and the internet.

Evacuation is the response for when a fire, flood, or another type of

disaster is about to occur, and it is safe to move people to a safer place

outside of or away from the facility.

Evacuation Plan lays out how to exit a building safely during an

emergency.

The Evacuation Wayfinding System is the process of directing evacuees

out of hazardous areas with the aid of real-time routing algorithms or

using pre-deployed static plans.

University of Makati is the prime population in this study.

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COLLEGE OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

References

Bi, Huibo & Gelenbe, Erol. (2019). A Survey of Algorithms and Systems for

Evacuating People in Confined Spaces. Electronics. 8. 711.

10.3390/electronics8060711. Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333972373_A_Survey_of_Algor

ithms_and_Systems_for_Evacuating_People_in_Confined_Spaces dated 

April 23, 2023

Calumba, S.R.; Rith, M.; Fillone, (2022) A.M. Earthquake Evacuation Choice and

Management in a Developing Archipelagic Country—A Case Study of

Surigao City, Philippines. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5783.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su13115783. Retrieved from

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/11/5783 dated April 23, 2023

NDRR. National Disaster Response Plan. Available online:

https://www.preventionweb.net/files/62898_nationaldisasterresponseplanf

oreart.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2023)

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UNDRR. Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines. 2019. Available online:

https://www.unisdr.org/files/68265_682308

philippinesdrmstatusreport.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2023)

Vilar, E., Rebelo, F., Noriega, P. (2018). Smart Systems in Emergency

Wayfinding: A Literature Review. In: Marcus, A., Wang, W. (eds) Design,

User Experience, and Usability: Designing Interactions. DUXU 2018.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10919. Springer, Cham.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91803-7_28 Retrieved from 

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-91803-7_28 dated 

April 23, 2023

Wang, Dachuan & Liang, Shuang & Chen, Binbin & Wu, Cailing. (2021).

Investigation on the impacts of natural lighting on occupants' wayfinding

behavior during emergency evacuation in underground space. Energy and

Buildings. 255. 111613. 10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111613.  Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/355678115_Investigation_on_th

e_impacts_of_natural_lighting_on_occupants

%27_wayfinding_behavior_during_emergency_evacuation_in_undergrou

nd_space dated  April 23, 2023