Emergency Missions Research Articles

Boost-Phase Trajectory Planning with the Nonregular Reachable Area Constraints

During emergency return or mission change, the boost-glide vehicle needs to meet the nonregular reachable area constraints (NRACs). Therefore, this paper introduced NRACs into boost-phase trajectory planning to extend the maneuvering range and enhance the mission adaptability of boost-glide vehicle. Firstly, the library of the reachable area boundaries was constructed with the fast computation method under the deviations of boost terminal states, and the polynomials were used to fit the boundary parameters. Secondly, the nonlinear mapping relationship between the reachable area boundary parameters and the deviations of boost terminal states was obtained by the deep neural networks (DNNs). Then, the new boundary parameters were obtained by the constraint transformation rules under NRACs and the separation window constraints and transformed into the constraints of the boost-phase terminal states by DNNs. Finally, the hp-adaptive pseudospectral method (hpPM) was adopted to complete the trajectory planning considering the path and terminal constraints. The simulation results showed that the proposed trajectory planning method considering NRACs had high trajectory planning accuracy and good deviation adaptability and exhibited excellent performance in the adjustment of reachable area. This study provides theoretical support for integrate mission decisions and trajectory planning of boost-glide vehicles.

In-situ γ-ray analysis of ground surface radioactivity using portable HPGe γ spectrometer.

As essential high-end equipment for nuclear emergency monitoring, the portable HPGe γ spectrometer currently lacks supporting in-situ measurement methods, limiting its role and value in emergency missions. For this practical problem, this paper studies the measurement of ground surface radioactivity by portable HPGe γ spectrometer in nuclear emergency monitoring in view of the particularity of nuclear emergency source items. Firstly, the detection efficiency of point sources at different horizontal distances when the spectrometer is installed at the height of 1 m from the center of the detector to the ground is calculated. Secondly, the concept of effective contribution distance is defined and analyzed. Thirdly, the point source detection efficiency is obtained using the numerical integration method of calculation. Integrate to calculate the detection efficiency of the surface source, and then calculate the radioactive surface activity of the surface. Finally, the effectiveness of the method is verified through experiments.

Mission Chain Driven Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Swarms Cooperation for the Search and Rescue of Outdoor Injured Human Targets

A novel cooperative strategy for distributed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms with different functions, namely the mission chain-driven unmanned aerial vehicle swarms cooperation method, is proposed to allow the fast search and timely rescue of injured human targets in a wide-area outdoor environment. First, a UAV-camera unit is exploited to detect the suspected human target combined with improved deep learning technology. Then, the target location information is transferred to a self-organizing network. Then, the special bio-radar-UAV unit was released to recheck the survivals through a respiratory characteristic detection algorithm. Finally, driven by the location and vital sign status of the injured, a nearby emergency-UAV unit will perform corresponding medical emergency missions, such as dropping emergency supplies. Experimental results show that this strategy can identify the human targets autonomously from the outdoor environment effectively, and the target detection, target sensing, and medical emergency mission chain is completed successfully relying on the cooperative working mode, which is meaningful for the future search-rescue mission of outdoor injured human targets.

Assessment of Ambulance Response Time: A Study of Tabriz Emergency Medical Center, Tabriz City, Iran

Background: The emergency medical services system has a vital role in the timely treatment of victims and the reduction of injury and mortality rates. Ambulance response time is an essential variable in evaluating the quality of its services. The aim of this study was to determine the ambulance response time and to compare it according to background variables. Materials & Methods: This descriptive study was conducted on ambulance emergency missions in Tabriz Emergency Medical Center. The data file related to the eligible missions in the server of the center was read and listened and ambulance response time and background variables were extracted and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The average ambulance response time was 11.58 (5.69) minutes and was long. The results showed there is a statistically significant relationship between ambulance response time and ambulance technical readiness, traffic conditions, accident time, and the educational level of ambulance personnel. Conclusion: Compared to the standard value, the average ambulance response time in Tabriz Emergency Medical Center was longer. By recognizing the effective variables and taking the required actions, one can improve the ambulance response time and facilitate the medical services providing process in emergency conditions.

Jet-HR2: A Flying Bipedal Robot Based on Thrust Vector Control

Achieving short-distance flight helps improve the efficiency of humanoid robots moving in complex environments (e.g., crossing large obstacles or reaching high places) for rapid emergency missions. This study proposes a design of a flying humanoid robot named Jet-HR2. The robot has 10 joints driven by brushless motors and harmonic drives for locomotion. To overcome the challenge of the stable-attitude takeoff in small thrust-to-weight conditions, the robot was designed based on the concept of thrust vectoring. The propulsion system consists of four ducted fans, that is, two fixed on the waist of the robot and the other two mounted on the feet, for thrust vector control. The thrust vector is controlled by adjusting the attitude of the foot during the flight. A simplified model and control strategies are proposed to solve the problem of attitude instability caused by mass errors and joint position errors during takeoff. The experimental results show that the robot's spin and dive behaviors during takeoff were effectively suppressed by controlling the thrust vector of the ducted fan on the foot. The robot successfully achieved takeoff at a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.17 (17 kg / 20 kg) and maintained a stable attitude, reaching a takeoff height of over 1000 mm.

An improved method for satellite emergency mission scheduling scheme group decision-making incorporating PSO and MULTIMOORA

Satellite emergency mission scheduling scheme group decision making (SEMSSGDM) is a key part of satellite mission scheduling research. An appropriate evaluation model can provide a dependable and sustainable improvement and guide the functioning of emergency mission scheduling. Consequently, this research is devoted to proposing a novel decision-making method that employs a novel consensus model with hesitant fuzzy 2-tuple linguistic sets (HF2TLSs) to eliminate disagreements among satellite dispatchers and reach consensus in scheme decision-making. Within the novel method, it proposes a distance measurement function based on Hausdorff distance with HF2TLS to gauge the fit and similarity across satellite dispatchers. Additionally, a consensus reaching process (CRP) is designed to adjust the judgement of satellite dispatchers taking into account the trust degree to improve consensus. Within the selection process, a combination of the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and the MULTIplicative MOORA (MULTIMOORA) method is applied, where PSO is performed to improve the accuracy of information aggregation, and the MULTIMOORA method is used to develop the robustness of the selection results. Lastly, an applicative example validates the effectiveness of the method based on a mission scheduling intelligent decision simulation system.

Experience of the Polish Medical Air Rescue Service During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Measures Taken to Protect Patients, Medical Staff, and Air Crew from SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

BackgroundThe emergence of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and the sudden inflow of patients with severe COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) symptoms increased demand for hospital and pre-hospital care, the latter being provided by emergency medical teams. The Polish Medical Air Rescue Services include the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and the airplane-based Emergency Medical Service (EMS). This study aimed to present the experience of the Polish Medical Air Rescue Service during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to protect patients, medical staff, and air crew from SARS-CoV-2 infection.Material/MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of missions completed by the Polish Medical Air Rescue crews with respect to confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases. We analyzed data from the medical records of the Polish Medical Air Rescue Service, which included flights to accidents and emergencies, and air patient transport missions, where medical assistance was provided to patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first year of the pandemic in Poland.ResultsAmong the COVID-19 patients, the most common comorbidity was acute respiratory failure (41.58%). Emergency missions more often concerned older patients with sudden cardiac arrest, dyspnea, upper respiratory tract infection, stroke, and acute coronary syndromes.ConclusionsDuring the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, the Polish Medical Air Rescue Service implemented procedures to protect patients, medical staff, and air crew from SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study highlights the importance of using single-patient isolation units for patient transport between hospitals and for emergency hospital admissions when the SARS-CoV-2 status of the patients were unknown.

Insights on Remote Pilot Competences and Training Needs of Civil Drone Pilots

Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) operations in civil aviation are not only increasing in number but also in their scope of application, ranging from emergency missions for public authorities to commercial uses such as agricultural spraying. After years of varying levels of in-house training, the continuous growth of RPA operations indicates that qualification and training concepts for civil remote pilots are required. In this novel study undertaken as part of an interdisciplinary research project on civil RPA operations of the German Aerospace Center, remote pilot competences (RPCs) and training needs of professional, civil multicopter pilots in Germany were evaluated. Thirty-eight RPCs covering knowledge, flight skills, cognitive abilities, interpersonal skills, and personality aspects were assessed in an online questionnaire for professional multicopter pilots (N = 88). Based on participants’ ratings regarding the criticality, difficulty, and frequency of the application of these competences, the RPCs were subsequently classified in terms of their relevance for different stages of training, specifically whether they should be integrated into initial training or additionally be included in recurrent refresher training. For initial training, the majority of key RPCs were found to be related to cognitive abilities and theory knowledge. In contrast, flight skills, personality aspects, and interpersonal skills were considered to be relevant for recurrent training. This study contributes empirical data to previous RPC training recommendations and also promotes the concept of customized recurrent training to ensure safe and effective flight performance.

Exploring the System Dynamics of COVID-19 and Reconfiguration of Emergency Medical Services

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are essential to the medical healthcare landscape. EMS play a crucial role in maximizing the overall expected survival probability of patients with various health emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, peoples’ lifestyle changed and their decisions to seek medical assistance were mixed with fear. This affected the type and number of missions that EMS responded to worldwide. Furthermore, COVID-19 affected EMS systems in terms of response protocols and personal protective equipment levels. These changes influenced the EMS’ provision of these essential services – fluctuations in demand impacted capacity decisions, the need for PPE altered response times, and lockdowns influenced roadway dynamics. This research focuses on describing and analyzing the performance of a major EMS provider in Lebanon in terms of response time to emergency missions during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to previous years and to the context of EMS in other countries. Results show that the number of calls and number of missions dropped yet, the emergency response time was found to be higher than previous years. The change in response time is most strongly tied to capacity allocation and PPE protocols. This study is an initial step toward exploring EMS system dynamics, with the goal of effectively allocating resources for improved EMS service during periods of heightened uncertainty and variability.

Optimal reconfiguration of constellation using adaptive innovation driven multiobjective evolutionary algorithm

Constellation reconfiguration is a critical issue to recover from the satellite failure, maintain the regular operation, and enhance the overall performance. The constellation reconfiguration problem faces the difficulties of high dimensionality of design variables and extremely large decision space due to the great and continuously growing constellation size. To solve such real-world problems that can be hardly solved by traditional algorithms, the evolutionary operators should be promoted with available domain knowledge to guide the algorithm to explore the promising regions of the trade space. An adaptive innovationdriven multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA-AI) employing automated innovation (AI) and adaptive operator selection (AOS) is proposed to extract and apply domain knowledge. The available knowledge is extracted from the final or intermediate solution sets and integrated into an operator by the automated innovation mechanism. To prevent the overuse of knowledge-dependent operators, AOS provides top-level management between the knowledge-dependent operators and conventional evolutionary operators. It evaluates and selects operators according to their actual performance, which helps to identify useful operators from the candidate set. The efficacy of the MOEA-AI framework is demonstrated by the simulation of emergency missions. It was verified that the proposed algorithm can discover a non-dominant solution set with better quality, more homogeneous distribution, and better adaptation to practical situations.

Response Time and Causes of Delay in Prehospital Emergency Missions in Mashhad, 2015.

Background: The response time is considered as one of the most important criteria for the quality of given care to the injured. This research aimed to investigate the frequency and causes of prehospital emergency delays in the 115 emergency center, in city of Mashhad, in 2015. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 21,142 missions performed in 2015 were investigated, from among which 640 missions with delays in systematic sampling were recognized. For data analysis purposes, descriptive statistics (frequency, mean and SD) in Excel 2013 software was implemented. Results: Nearly 60% of the injured were men, 23% women, and the gender of 17% was not recorded in their profiles. The mean age of the injured was 29.8+15.9 years and 30% of the injured were in the age group of 16 to 25. The mean response time was 9:01+2:46. The most prevalent causes related to missions out of the operational zone (29.3%) and the second cause has been related to traffic groups (24.2%). Conclusion: Establishing new bases and completing the number of ambulances and human recourses, intervention in traffic causing factors, and training the public about emergency cases can be effective in reducing the number of missions and the pace and quality of services provided to the injured.

Emergency Treatment of Anaphylactic Reactions in Air Rescue Missions: An Eight-Year Analysis of a German Rescue Helicopter Base.

Anaphylactic reactions can lead to a life-threatening situation. In the event of anaphylaxis, rapid and targeted emergency treatment is indicated. The study sought to determine the emergency therapy administered for anaphylaxis in children and adults. Focus was placed on therapy with adrenaline. In addition, the study aimed to investigate demographic data, triggers, and hospitalization rates of the different severities of anaphylaxis. A retrospective analysis of anaphylactic reactions was conducted using data from prehospital emergency missions performed by the Air Rescue Dresden/Germany from 2008 through 2015 using the standardized application protocol EPRO-5.0 (MIND 3) anonymized. Data from 152 adults and 29 children were evaluated, focusing especially on the acute treatment as well as demographic information, triggers, and symptoms of anaphylactic reactions. In total, 152 adults (73 female, 79 male) from 18 to 87 years (mean 50.5 years) and 29 children (9 female, 20 male) from 1 to 16 years (mean 7.5 years) with anaphylactic reactions were analyzed. The most common trigger for severe anaphylactic reactions (Grade II-IV; classification modified according to Ring and Messmer) was food in children (33%) and insect venom in adults (59%). The data show that 19% of adults with Grade II-IV anaphylactic reactions (classification modified according to Ring and Messmer) received adrenaline. Regarding children, the appliance of adrenaline was only administered in seven percent of the cases of Grade II-IV anaphylactic reactions. Adults with Grade II or higher anaphylactic reactions were hospitalized in 92%. Three percent refused hospitalization and five percent were not transferred to hospital. One-hundred percent of the children with Grade II-IV anaphylaxis were hospitalized. Analysis of data from the Air Rescue Dresden/Germany shows that despite existing recommendations, only 19% of adults with severe anaphylaxis received adrenaline. Among children, only in seven percent was a treatment with adrenaline performed.On the other hand, all patients survived the acute emergency treatment without apparent adverse outcomes. Thus, further studies are needed to determine the proper use of adrenaline in anaphylactic reactions.

Tele-EMS physicians improve life-threatening conditions during prehospital emergency missions

Almost seven years ago, a telemedicine system was established as an additional component of the city of Aachen’s emergency medical service (EMS). It allows paramedics to engage in an immediate consultation with an EMS physician at any time. The system is not meant to replace the EMS physician on the scene during life-threatening emergencies. The aim of this study was to analyze teleconsultations during life-threatening missions and evaluate whether they improve patient care. Telemedical EMS (tele-EMS) physician consultations that occurred over the course of four years were evaluated. Missions were classified as involving potentially life-threatening conditions based on at least one of the following criteria: documented patient severity score, life-threatening vital signs, the judgement of the onsite EMS physician involved in the mission, or definite life-threatening diagnoses. The proportion of vital signs indicating that the patient was in a life-threatening condition was analyzed as the primary outcome at the start and end of the tele-EMS consultation. The secondary outcome parameters were the administered drug doses, tracer diagnoses made by the onsite EMS physicians during the missions, and quality of the documentation of the missions. From January 2015 to December 2018, a total of 10,362 tele-EMS consultations occurred; in 4,293 (41.4%) of the missions, the patient was initially in a potentially life-threatening condition. Out of those, a total of 3,441 (80.2%) missions were performed without an EMS physician at the scene. Records of 2,007 patients revealed 2,234 life-threatening vital signs of which 1,465 (65.6%) were remedied during the teleconsultation. Significant improvement was detected for oxygen saturation, hypotonia, tachy- and bradycardia, vigilance states, and hypoglycemia. Teleconsultation during missions involving patients with life-threatening conditions can significantly improve those patients' vital signs. Many potentially life-threatening cases could be handled by a tele-EMS physician as they did not require any invasive interventions that needed to be performed by an onsite EMS physician. Diagnoses of myocardial infarction, cardiac pulmonary edema, or malignant dysrhythmias necessitate the presence of onsite EMS physicians. Even during missions involving patients with life-threatening conditions, teleconsultation was feasible and often accessed by the paramedics.

Comparative Study of Road Traffic Accident Victims Transferred by Air and Ground Emergency to Shahid Beheshti Medical Center in Qom City, Iran, 2015-2018

Background: Prehospital emergency department provides land, air, boat, and rail ambulance care. This study aimed to compare the situation of air and ground emergency casualties in road traffic accidents transferred to Shahid Beheshti Medical Center in Qom City, Iran, 2015-2018. Materials and Methods: The present study is a retrospective descriptive-analytical study. All road traffic accident victims transferred to Shahid Beheshti Medical Center in Qom by prehospital emergency land or air staff from 2015 to 2018 at 6 to 20 o’clock were included in this study (census method). The exclusion criteria included burns, death, transmission during cardiopulmonary resuscitation or by urban ambulances, and information deficiencies. We used a researcher-made checklist to examine victims’ age, sex, type of transmission, type of accident, type of trauma, distance, initial vital signs, time intervals, and day of the accident. SPSS software version 16 was used to analyze the data. Data were compared in two groups with the t test and the Chi-square test. Results: A total of 2057 casualties were included in the study: 566 casualties were transferred by air emergency and 1491 by ground emergency. The mean age of air emergency casualties was significantly lower than the ground emergency (P=0.008). Trauma to the neck, chest, abdomen and lower back was significantly higher in air emergency casualties, but hand and foot trauma were more common in ground emergency casualties. Most air missions took place on holidays or weekends, while most ground missions were done during weekdays (P<0.001). The mean distance of the air emergency missions was more than Beheshti Medical Center (P<0.001). Compared with ground emergency casualties, air emergency casualties had average systolic blood pressure, lower level of consciousness, and higher heart rate and respiration (P<0.001). The mean duration of transfer from the accident scene to the medical center in the air emergency was significantly shorter (P<0.001). Conclusion: Air emergency casualties were usually accompanied by more critical vital signs and severe injuries to the neck, chest, abdomen, and back. This study can provide clinical triage criteria that focus on key environmental factors and reduced transport time. Further studies are needed to investigate the consequences of traffic accident casualties at the medical center to determine which subgroups will benefit most from using air emergency.

Analyzing the Position of Safety Culture Education in 2019-2020 Elementary School Textbooks in Iran's Education System

INTRODUCTION: The natural hazard reduction curriculum is incredibly critical in facilitating and improving students' safety culture. Thus, we must attend to the content of textbooks to further comprehend the significance of safety issues regarding the process of student safety. The next step is developing a training program that meets all the fundamental needs of safety education. Hence, this research study strives to evaluate the position of safety culture education in elementary school textbooks. METHODS: This research is a quantitative content analysis borrowing a qualitative approach. The statistical population comprised all books on Persian language and literature, experimental sciences, and social studies in all the six primary levels. Counting was the sampling method in the present study. Experts in curriculum planning and health education confirmed the validity of this research. Moreover, the Scott test obtained a reliability of 0.72. FINDINGS: The findings of content analysis in assessing elementary school textbooks based on the Shannon Entropy method indicated that the following indices have the highest frequency and significance: Risk and disaster awareness in 150 samples (Wj = 0.273(, Communication skills, awareness of the environment, and human-environmental interactions with 46 samples (Wj = 0.0666(, On the contrary, the index of child rights aspects with zero cases (Wj = 0) was the least significant among the indices and components.Findings from the frequency of components revealed that safety culture components were not normally distributed. CONCLUSION: According to the research findings, we found out that the components in the fields of skill and attitude have received little to no attention. However, nurturing and promoting the capabilities and skills of children in the field of safety are some of the most vital indices of child safety. Contemplating these aspects will assist in properly performing relief, emergency, and law enforcement missions by preventing disasters

Emergency Medical Service Providers' Perception of Health-Threatening Stressors in Emergency Missions: A qualitative Study.

Unknown and unpredictable situations cause emergency medical service (EMS) providers to experience various stressful factors. These factors are affected by sociocultural conditions and expectations of the casualty and affect EMS providers' performance and health at the incident scene. The present study was conducted to explore EMS providers' perception of stressful and health-threatening factors in emergency missions. This qualitative conventional content analysis was conducted in 2020. The participants included 16 EMS providers working at the Emergency Medical Services Department in Hamadan Province, Iran. The participants were selected using purposive sampling and underwent semi-structured interviews until data saturation. Data were analyzed using the Graneheim and Lundman method. Analysis of the interview data yielded six subcategories (i.e., incident scene hazards, violence-related injuries, physical injuries caused by patient care/handling, ambulance crash-related injuries, emotional impact of patients' suffering and ailments, and highly stressful missions), two main categories (i.e., physical injuries and psychological tensions), and a theme of occupational injuries. According to the results, in addition to having concerns about caring for patients and saving the injured, EMS providers also worry about potential threats to their own health. The present study identified and described some major stressors in emergency missions. Thus, for a better and more effective efficiency, the present study results can be used to reduce or modify stressors in EMS providers.

General practitioners not available – out-of-hospital emergency patients handled by anaesthesiologist in a large Norwegian municipality

Background Until autumn 2018 the GPs in Bergen Municipality did not attend emergency patients outside the emergency primary care centre. The ambulance staff handled emergencies on their own or were assisted by an anaesthesiologist from the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS). The aim of this study was to investigate procedures performed by the HEMS anaesthesiologist and to assess the level of skills needed to perform these procedures. Methods This study was a retrospective assessment of data from the period 2011 to 2013 on all emergency missions in which patients were dealt with by HEMS, using a rapid-response car in Bergen Municipality. All emergency missions were sorted into three categories: No intervention, Basic or Advanced intervention. This list was made by a research group with anaesthesiologists working for Bergen HEMS and GPs with OOH experience. The list is based on curriculum found in acute medicine courses. Results HEMS responded to 716 (2.3%) out of a total of 31,696 emergencies in Bergen Municipality during the three years. In more than two-thirds (71%) of these missions, no intervention or only a basic intervention was performed. Most advanced procedures were performed in patients with cardiac arrest. Conclusion By retrospective evaluation of HEMS missions by car in Bergen municipality, we found that nearly one-third of the patients received advanced procedures. Cardiac arrest was the medical condition in which the most advanced procedures were performed. More research is needed to evaluate procedures and the importance of clinical evaluation and physicians’ experience in treating these patient groups. KEY POINTS Both HEMS and on-call GPs are needed in emergency care, and more knowledge will be useful to highlight the level of practical skills needed in these missions. There is a need for better prioritization of when to use HEMS resources and when to use on-call GPs in emergency missions. More than two-thirds of the patients involved in emergency missions received no intervention or just a basic intervention when dealt with by HEMS. This raises the issue of whether an on-call GP could have adequately treated many of the patients in this study in terms of practical skills.

A Novel Lightweight Authentication Protocol for Emergency Vehicle Avoidance in VANETs

The delay of vehicle emergency has led to many serious consequences. A series of studies has been carried out in the field of information security in vehicular <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">ad hoc</i> networks (VANETs). However, open issues such as the authentication of emergency vehicle (EV) avoidance are remaining unsolved. In this article, we propose a novel lightweight authentication protocol to avoid EVs in VANETs. In our protocol, after completing the first mutual authentication with the nearest roadside unit (RSU), EV can complete the mutual identity authentication with the subsequent RSUs without repeating cumbersome calculations. Additionally, EV is required to verify the legitimacy of the driver’s identity when starting to avoid some illegal driving behavior. The RSUs will broadcast avoidance information to ordinary vehicles in their jurisdiction to remind them to clear a temporary emergency lane for EVs in advance. With temporary emergency lanes, emergent mission delays due to traffic congestion could be reduced. The security analysis and efficient analysis prove that our protocol is practical and efficient against attacks, such as impersonation attacks, device theft attacks, reputation attacks, etc.

Implementation of a full-scale prehospital telemedicine system: evaluation of the process and systemic effects in a pre–post intervention study

ObjectivesTo review the implementation strategy from a research project towards routine care of a comprehensive mobile physician-staffed prehospital telemedicine system. The objective is to evaluate the implementation process and systemic...

Cross-Organization Emergency Response Process Mining: An Approach Based on Petri Nets

To support effective emergency disposal, organizations need to collaborate with each other to complete the emergency mission that cannot be handled by a single organization. In general, emergency disposal that involves multiple organizations is typically organized as a group of interactive processes, known as cross-organization emergency response processes (CERPs). The construction of CERPs is a time-consuming and error-prone task that requires practitioners to have extensive experience and business background. Process mining aims to construct process models by analyzing event logs. However, existing process mining techniques cannot be applied directly to discover CERPs since we have to consider the complexity of various collaborations among different organizations, e.g., message exchange and resource sharing patterns. To tackle this challenge, a CERP model mining method is proposed in this paper. More specifically, we first extend classical Petri nets with resource and message attributes, known as resource and message aware Petri nets (RMPNs). Then, intra-organization emergency response process (IERP) models that are represented as RMPNs are discovered from emergency drilling event logs. Next, collaboration patterns among emergency organizations are formally defined and discovered. Finally, CERP models are obtained by merging IERP models and collaboration patterns. Through comparative experimental evaluation using the fire emergency drilling event log, we illustrate that the proposed approach facilitates the discovery of high-quality CERP models than existing state-of-the-art approaches.