The Cross-border safety, accident prevention and management (CB-Safe) is international Finnish-Russian project that aims to promote border safety by enhancing the safety knowledge of individuals crossing the border and improving the performance and cooperation in rescue operations on both Finnish and Russian sides. The long-term aim of the CB-Safe project is the creation of a continuous development process in the cross-border safety culture. (LAB 2021.)
The main focus areas of the project are the five Finnish-Russian border crossing points in South-East Finland – Russia. Namely on the Finnish side these are Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Vainikkala, Imatra and Saimaa Canal. Together these border points cover three main cross-border transportation methods: road, rail and water. (Jauhiainen 2020.)
Project activities
The project activities can be divided into three main parts:
The main focus of the first part is a feasibility study of safety information tools and services (Jauhiainen 2020). In this part different safety information surveys are conducted and safety information services are created and distributed among cross-border passengers.
Second part focuses on developing and testing virtual training environments for risk prevention and management (Jauhiainen 2020). The environment in this case is a Virtual Reality simulation where specialists from different rescue departments can train together and practice the process of rescue operations. The simulation is being developed by LAB University of Applied Sciences. The main training area of the simulation is Saimaa Canal and its surroundings.
Finally, the third part aims to improve cooperation between officials, benchmark in other areas of the Finnish-Russian border and share the results through partner networks and various communication channels (Jauhiainen 2020).
Project partners
LAB University of Applied Sciences (LAB) is the lead partner of the CB-Safe project, responsible for achieving its core goals and managing project communication. LAB directly participates in each stage of the project and fulfils the crucial role in development of the virtual training platform.
The other partners are the South-Karelia and Kymenlaakso Rescue Departments (SKRD and KYRD) on the Finnish side and the Saint-Petersburg University of State Fire Service of Emercom of Russia (IGPS) on the Russian side.
SKRD and KYRD work in close cooperation with each other and provide their expertise and knowledge of accident prevention, preparedness and rescue services as rescue authorities (Jauhiainen 2020). They directly participate in virtual simulation development by sharing their competence and practical experience with LAB developers.
IGPS is one of the oldest educational establishments in Russia in the field of prevention and elimination of disasters (IGPS 2021). They are actively involved in cross-border cooperation with Finnish side and are accountable for conducting data-collection and designing safety information services for cross-border passengers (Jauhiainen 2020).
Author
Jevgeni Anttonen works as a LAB Digital Team staff member at LAB University of Applied Sciences. Participates in the CB-Safe project.
References
IGPS. 2021. Saint-Petersburg University of State Fire Service of Emercom of Russia. [Cited 9 September 2021]. Available at: https://en.igps.ru/
Jauhiainen T. 2020. CB-Safe Presentation 18.12.2020 for LAB Project Staff. [Cited 9 September 2021].
LAB. 2021. Cross-border safety, accident prevention and management. [Cited 9 September 2021]. Available at: https://lab.fi/en/project/cross-border-safety-accident-prevention-and-management
Links
Link 1. CB-Safe. 2021. Cross-border safety, accident prevention and management. [Cited 9 September 2021]. Available at: https://cb-safe.info/
