Hazard site inspection 2019

For many, the campus is a place where they spend a lot of time, a place where students, employees and visitors should feel safe and comfortable. But the campus is also a large area with very different areas. Sometimes even a faulty lamp can contribute to a path being perceived as dangerous or unsafe. Every two years, the Central Equal Opportunities Officer calls on members of TU Dortmund University to report such "danger spots" to her. At the beginning of the year, a campus tour took place together with employees from the Department of Construction and Facility Management and the Department of Occupational Safety, Environmental Protection and Health Protection to inspect and evaluate the reported areas and discuss solutions.

Many improvements have been implemented

In 2003, the Equal Opportunities Officer, with the help of TU Dortmund University members, began to identify places on campus that were perceived as dangerous. Many of the reports received since then have been about areas that were potentially dangerous due to tripping hazards, defective stairs or a confusing traffic situation. However, there were also reports of remote and lonely places where there was a lack of lighting or bushes were too high, causing a subjective feeling of unease and insecurity. Existing but defective lights contributed to these feelings.
"A lot has changed since the first hazard inspection," says Martina Stackelbeck, Central Equal Opportunities Officer. Some of the main points reported in previous years no longer appear today. One example of this is the large parking lot at Emil-Figge-Straße 50, where the lighting has been significantly improved. But there are also new hazard reports. For example, a lack of accessibility and safety for cyclists are now coming into focus. Cyclists are calling for a bicycle-friendly campus and safe cycle paths to the campus, while pedestrians want more consideration. In order to ensure that everyone on campus can use the paths safely, mutual consideration is very important, especially at narrow points.

Some dangers cannot be eliminated

During the two-hour inspection, all minor and major hazards were inspected and assessed. Some defects, such as defective lamps, can be rectified at short notice; they can be reported to the control center around the clock by calling -3333. The situation is different, for example, with the path under the H-Bahn between the North and South Campus. There have been complaints about the lack of lighting here. "This path is not actually an official path, but a maintenance path, and is therefore not illuminated," explains Thomas Quill, Head of the Department of Construction and Facility Management.

If TU Dortmund University students and staff want to walk from campus to campus in bad weather or in the dark, they are advised to take the connection via Baroper Straße and Marie-Curie-Allee.
Some of the currently reported problem areas could not be confirmed during this year's inspection. "As important as we take the subjective feeling of safety of every single person on campus: We have to consider other aspects such as costs, environmental protection and the safety of everyone," says Claudia Hannapel, Head of the Occupational, Environmental and Health Protection Department. "Lighting that is too bright, for example, can dazzle some people with a visual impairment and thus impair accessibility," adds Peter-Paul Kilian.
17 of the 39 danger spots currently reported - more than a third - are not within TU Dortmund University's area of responsibility, such as the cycle paths over the Schnettkerbrücke bridge or the Regenbogenbrücke bridge to the campus. The Department of Construction and Facility Management is addressing these issues in discussions with the responsible parties, such as the City of Dortmund. "We also take these danger spots very seriously and will discuss possible solutions with those responsible," explains Thomas Quill.

Since 2003, the Central Equal Opportunities Officer has been calling on people to report inadequately lit, poorly visible and dangerous places on campus. The minutes of the 2019 inspection and other reports on the hazardous location inspections carried out can be found under Safety on campus.