Safety regions face an increasingly complex task. Urbanisation, climate change, the energy transition and societal vulnerabilities lead to new risks and demand faster, better-substantiated decision-making. At the same time, the information needed is scattered across numerous systems, maps and separate data sources. Digitwin (Integrated Safety Information System) breaks through that fragmentation: all environmental data, object information, real-time feeds and analyses in one integrated and visually powerful information view.
What is Digitwin for safety regions?
Digitwin is an online 3D information platform that serves as a shared situational picture for the safety region. In a user-friendly web application, diverse datasets are accessed and analysed integrally: buildings and functions, vulnerability and self-reliance, infrastructure, demographics and real-time information.
With just a few clicks, you gain insight into the physical environment, vulnerable objects and persons with limited self-reliance, risks and impact zones, current conditions (weather, traffic, crowding, utility disruptions) and incident or crisis scenarios.
Digitwin is not a static system. It is a dynamic working environment in which safety regions develop, share and reuse information products. Functionalities built for one region can also be used by other regions.
More than a GIS viewer
Digitwin is often compared to a GIS system, but it goes significantly beyond a traditional map viewer. Where GIS is primarily aimed at displaying map layers, Digitwin focuses on supporting decision-making:
- Automatically combines data into meaningful information (e.g. vulnerable objects within an impact zone)
- Offers directly applicable analyses and scenarios rather than separate map layers
- Adds real-time information to static data
- Makes complex spatial information understandable for specialists and non-specialists alike
- Supports collaboration between disciplines and departments
The strength lies in coherence: users do not work with separate maps or files, but with an integrated view in which context, impact and consequences are immediately visible.
What do safety regions use Digitwin for?
Risk management and external safety
What happens when a chemical installation malfunctions? How many people are within the impact zone? Which schools and care facilities are in the danger area? Digitwin links risk contours (BRZO/REV/BEVI) to population data, building registrations, vulnerability analyses and real-time information. Within seconds, you have a complete picture that would otherwise take days of study.
With the calamity analysis function, you can visualise various large-scale scenarios: from explosions and nuclear events to smoke or toxic clouds. The platform instantly calculates which objects and persons are within the impact zone.
Our approach to risk management with digital twins is now widely deployed across the southern safety regions. Read more about safe regions.
Crisis management and operational decision-making
Digitwin supports both the cold phase (preparation, planning, policy) and the warm phase (operational and crisis). The platform scales accordingly: the same environment, data and working methods are used for daily analyses and for deployment during large-scale incidents.
During a crisis, the platform provides real-time overview: current weather and forecasts, traffic flows and accessibility bottlenecks, crowd measurements, power and utility disruptions, and incident monitoring. Combined with pre-defined scenarios and impact analyses, this supports the on-scene command, the regional operational team and the policy team in their decision-making.
The platform is also connected to systems such as GMS (incident reports), RAM and LCMS for information management during crises.
Evacuation planning
Evacuation is one of the most complex operations for a safety region. How many people need to leave? Which routes are available? Where are shelter locations and how much capacity is there? Which vulnerable groups (care facilities, schools) are in the area?
Our evacuation tool calculates this based on current population data, the road network, self-reliance information and available shelter capacity. The difference from traditional evacuation plans: you calculate with reality, not with assumptions from years ago. The tool is used for both preparation and exercises.
Event safety and crowd management
Large-scale events require close collaboration between municipalities, police and safety regions. Digitwin brings together all relevant information: visitor flows, traffic closures, emergency routes, emergency service positions, parking data and weather information. Permit officers assess upfront whether an event can take place safely, and during the event the platform provides real-time monitoring.
From the KNVB Cup Final to King’s Day: we monitor dozens of large-scale events annually. Digital crowd management is a core component of our platform. Read more about safe events.
GHOR and medical advisory
For GHOR advisors and medical advisors, Digitwin provides immediate insight into vulnerable objects and persons with limited self-reliance in an affected area. During an incident, you can immediately see which care facilities, nursing homes and schools are within the impact zone, how many persons are present and what their self-reliance profile is. This accelerates the assessment of medical impact and supports advisory to the policy team.
Information-driven safety in practice demonstrates how this works for fire services and crisis teams.
More than 200 datasets, connected in real time
Digitwin contains a managed and continuously updated connection to more than 200 datasets from various sources, maintained by Argaleo:
- Base registrations: BAG, BGT, BRK for building, terrain and cadastral information
- Atlas Leefomgeving: heat stress, air quality, noise, green space
- SPOTinfo: safety domain-specific data and analyses
- Data4OOV: operational data for public order and safety
- CBS and demographics: population density, age distribution, vulnerability per area
- Risk contours: BRZO/REV/BEVI, flood risks, Natura 2000, environmental zones
On top of that, real-time connections run with current weather and radar, traffic and public transport information, parking data, crowd measurements, power and utility disruptions, and incident reports. This ensures the information view is always up to date.
Safety regions working with Digitwin
All six southern safety regions work with our platform:
Multiple safety regions in the south of the Netherlands work daily with Digitwin for risk analysis, crisis management and operational decision-making. Veiligheidsregio Zeeland was one of the first to make the transition to information-driven working with a digital twin and is now one of the most experienced users of the platform.
In addition, we support municipalities, Rijkswaterstaat and provinces with safety analyses. The user community collaborates on innovation and further development: new functionalities developed in one region are made available to all users.
Why safety regions choose Digitwin
More than map layers
Combines data with computational models. You don't just see how things are, you calculate how they will be.
Real-time and up-to-date
Directly connected to data sources. No exports, no outdated spreadsheets.
Entire organisation
For policymakers, executives, area managers and communications staff. Not just for specialists.
Digitally sovereign
Dutch team, proprietary software, data on Dutch servers. No foreign dependencies.
Proven at scale
No pilot or proof of concept. Used daily by dozens of organisations across the Netherlands.
Explore our solutions
Digitwin offers specific solutions for challenges across the safety chain.
Want to know what Digitwin can do for your safety region?