Category Archives: Uncategorized

Q2M2 participated in the latest World Conference on Drowning Prevention, organized and financed by the International Life Saving Federation (ILSF).

Project: Putting a Monetary Value on the Benefits of Surf Lifeguarding in North Zealand, Denmark. Q2M2 designed the analysis including data collection to ensure optimal representativity and validity of the analysis, conducted the analysis and prepared the report and presentation while it was presented as an oral platform presentation at the conference by John Mogensen (head of the North Zealand Surf Lifeguarding Organization, DNL). The presentation can be downloaded here:

•     Cost-Benefit Analysis of Lifeguard Service in Denmark (pdf)

Project: Development and teaching in the module “Evidence-based decision support based on the statistical value chain”. The Emergency and Risk Management program wants to apply a more quantitative approach to risk management and Q2M2 therefore developed the subject “Evidence-based decision support based on the Statistical Value Chain“. In the module, emphasis is placed on key concepts such as: representativeness, uncertainty, Key Performance Indicator, baseline, forecasting, Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and the relationship between being an analyst and a decision maker.

Project: Improving the average rescue time of a Nordic Lifeguard Organisation by 30%. The North Zealand Surf Lifeguard Organisation (DNK) is the oldest lifeguard organisation in Denmark, and operates 25 lifeguard stations along the coastline in North Zealand. The most important Key Performance Indicator for DNK is rescue time, as it is known that swimmers can drown in less than 40 seconds when they get into trouble in the water. DNK asked for Q2M2’s expertise in data collection, data analysis, and cost-efficient optimization. Q2M2 developed a performance optimization program for DNK that included full data collection and analysis with concrete optimizations for rescue time. From 2015 to 2017, the average rescue time for DNK was reduced by 30% due to these performance optimizations – without any increase in budget.

In surf lifeguard service there is a fairly clear correlation between quality delivered, resources available for the organisation, and the way those resources are used. Q2M2 helps us to measure our quality level, which gives highly valuable insight when we develop our organization and also highly valuable information when we communicate with our different stakeholders, such as lifeguards, lifeguard managers, tourist organizations, and politicians who are funding our organization.

John Mogensen, Head of the North Zealand Surf Lifeguard Organization.

Project: Employee Satisfaction Survey. The DNK management team wanted to conduct an Employee Satisfaction Survey to better understand what the lifeguards valued most (and least) from a range of different priorities such as the lifeguard station, rescue equipment, and social activities. Q2M2 developed a questionnaire, evaluated the responses from lifeguards, and produced a report with the results and concrete recommendations for future actions.

Project: Survival skills in water. DNK’s primary aim is to reduce the number of drowning incidents. In general, people drown because they lack the swimming skills to overcome the specific critical situation they encounter. Many drown close to shore or in a marina where help and safety is not far. If these drowning victims had been trained with minimum survival skills in the water, they might have survived. Today, such minimum skills are associated with the ability to swim 200 meters. However, for many the fitness path to achieving 200 meters takes considerable time and resources, and so those without such resources might not even attempt to learn to swim. DNK has formulated a new, more attainable standard for “survival skills in water”. Children are taught these minimum survival skills in ten half-hour sessions over a week-long course, and are tested six months later to identify whether they retain the skills developed by DNK. Q2M2 assists DNK with design of the test protocol, analyzing the data from the test and presenting formal conclusions in presentations and reports.

Project: Reducing congestion on the Danish road network without compromising road safety based on applied optimisation. The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) is the largest member organisation in Denmark, serving more than 10,000 member companies. DI works to provide the best conditions for Danish businesses in order to improve opportunities for growth and overall competitiveness. A significant part of DI’s mission is to work on behalf of its members to improve logistics and optimise transportation opportunities on the Danish road network to combat national operating losses on the order of several billion USD due to congestion. Q2M2 helped DI to construct a project description that aims to significantly reduce these losses without compromising road safety.

Project: Developing a questionnaire to collect and analyse data on the experiences of users of the harbour. Copenhagen City & Port is one of Denmark’s largest port operators, and and is currently revising its strategy for Copenhagen Harbour. The harbour is visited by millions of national and international tourists every summer, and is also used by locals year-round for marine recreation such as swimming, sailing, canoeing, and a variety of events such as Red Bull Cliff Diving. Q2M2 and Copenhagen Risk & Safety Group are developing a questionnaire for Copenhagen City & Port to collect data on the experiences of users of the harbour, and will analyze the resulting data to produce a report with recommendations for further possible action.

Project: Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) of lifeguard operations for the three counties. The counties of Halsnæs, Gribskov, and og Helsingør in Denmark host a combined one million beach guests every summer. The three counties therefore operate 25 lifeguard stations along their coastline to safeguard beachgoers. However, there has been a need for budget reduction in the three counties, and Q2M2 was asked to conduct a CBA of the lifeguard operation service. The analysis showed that the benefits of lifeguard operations exceeded costs by a large margin. A report with detailed results was delivered to the three counties.

Project: Study trip to RNLI, the UK. These municipalities continuously seek new information about running and optimizing their lifeguard organisation. To this end, they organize study trips to other areas of Denmark and to other countries. Leveraging its wide international network – including a strong connection with the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in the UK – Q2M2 has now organized two study trips for politicians from the three municipalities, with a focus on benchmarking standards and performance.

Project: Optimising container-stripping time. Stabrand is a warehouse and container re-distribution company that processes more than 5000 containers every year. Stabrand has more than 80 years of experience, and is one of the oldest companies of its kind in the Copenhagen area. Stabrand has managed to stay in the business all these years only be cause of its ability to adapt and change in alignment with its surroundings. Q2M2 helps Stabrand with collecting valid statistical data on its operational performance. Due to Q2M2’s continuous improvements and benchmarking on Stabrand’s operational performance, it is expected that the company will increase its efficiency by at least 15 percent.

Q2M2 participated in the latest World Conference on Drowning Prevention, organized and financed by the International Life Saving Federation (ILSF) and co-financed by Fondation Princesse Charlène de Monac. This conference in Durban, South Africa included lifeguard organisations, public officials, and first-aid organisations from all over the world.

Project: Optimising the rescue time for lifeguard organisations in Spain and Denmark – a collaborative approach. Q2M2 presented the results and latest development from Q2M2’s performance optimization program target lifesaving organisations, details of which can be found here:

•     Optimising the rescue time for lifeguard organisations in Spain and Denmark (pdf)

Project: Measuring retention for Water Survival Skills. Q2M2 presented the results from a research program intended to develop a cost-efficient program on how to teach children – with limited resources – ongoing water survival skills, details of which can be found here:

•     Measuring retention for water survival skills (pdf)

Project: Measuring 1 year retention for first aiders’ first aid training. Q2M2 presented the results from a research program intended to develop a cost-efficient program on how to sustain
first aid capabilities over time, details of which can be found here:

•     Measuring 1 year retention for first aiders’ first aid training (pdf)

Project: Benefits of measuring organisational rescue time and sharing data globally. Q2M2 participated in the latest International Conference on Drowning Prevention (CIPREA), Málaga. This conference in Málaga, Spain included lifeguard organisations, public officials, and first-aid organisations from all over the world. Q2M2 presented the results from the performance optimization program developed for a Nordic lifeguard organisation including the potential benefits of sharing data globally among lifeguard organisations. You can find the full presentation here:

•     Benefits of measuring organisational rescue time and sharing data globally, CIPREA, Málaga (pdf)

Q2M2 participated in the 2017 World Conference on Drowning Prevention, organized and financed by the International Life Saving Federation (ILSF) and co-financed by Bloomberg Philanthropies. This conference in Vancouver, Canada included lifeguard organisations, public officials, and first-aid organisations from all over the world.

Project: Presenting a standard and results for measuring and optimising the average rescue time for a lifeguard organisation. Q2M2 presented the results from the performance optimization program developed for a Nordic lifeguard organisation and proposed a standard for how to measure the average rescue time for a lifeguard organisation, details of which can be found here:

•     Improving the average rescue time of a Nordic lifeguard organisation with 30% (pdf)
•     Proposing a standard for measuring the average rescue time for a surf lifeguard organisation (pdf)