About Our Experts
David Robertson BSc, CEng, MIET - Managing Director
David Robertson has spent his professional life improving entertainment and transport systems through technology. He worked as an Executive Director for a FTSE 100 Consultancy business for nearly 20 years and is now the Managing Director of Crowd Dynamics.
A member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology and a Chartered Engineer, he has managed teams supporting the introduction of new technology for the Home Office as part of their ongoing investment in intelligence led policing, and he was a key member of the client side team that introduced the London Congestion Charging project. His role at Crowd Dynamics is to support the companies mission of making a real difference to the safety and efficiency of crowd movement. Crowd Dynamics is unique in the way it combines knowledge of human behaviour with safe movement of people.
David believes that the addition of a transport division to Crowd Dynamics stable of skills, combined with the mathematics and modelling tools that the business has been developing over the last 20 years, has made it much more than a company that understands crowds. “Whether it’s the urban regeneration of a big city like Newcastle or the movement of people to and from a stadium, the company can now deal with the big picture. Traffic planners might look at where bus only routes should take people into busy shopping area, while health and safety officials might concentrate on the welfare of pedestrians but we consider how all these factors impact on each other; overlaying pedestrians onto traffic and public transport with modelling tools which we have specifically developed to do this. These tools are now powerful enough to analyse major crowd movements of any kind.”
David’s vision is to have Crowd Dynamics consultants improving safety and efficiency at every major event on the globe. “We are currently working on perhaps the biggest area of crowd movement of them all; the Holy Mosque at Mecca. Crowd Dynamics is all about moving people, whether it’s a highly dense city centre or green field site.
Chris Oakley BSc, C Eng, MICE, MIHT
Chris Oakley leads the companies Transport Planning & Strategy business having been a transport planner for over thirty years. He is one of the most creative transport professionals and brings to Crowd Dynamics the breadth of skill necessary to support urban design and regeneration projects.
Chris and his team have worked on high profile transport projects worldwide, as well as preparing strategies for major developments, towns and cities in the UK. He has recently been leading ground breaking Urban Transport projects in the cities of Newcastle and Hereford. Together they design complex urban spaces which tackle and solve some of the major and universal problems involved in city centre planning for the future.
Liaising closely with designers and architects, he considers the overall picture of transport in a city; pioneering new ideas for street designs, and urban space; considering and optimising the experience of the pedestrian. The correct approach and analysis can bring together multi-agency project teams and add significantly to desirability and asset value.
Chris’s interest in transport and travel extends to him getting on his bike and exploring his environment at first hand. Amongst his cycling achievements is the completion of Britain’s classic C2C route.
Paul Townsend BSc (Hons), MIET, AMIMA - Consultant
Crowd Dynamics Consultant Paul Townsend joined the company in 2006. With responsibility for project management, research and software development, he is especially interested in crowd movements, normal and emergency behaviours, and the interaction between pedestrians and traffic. He says his background in mathematics and transportation consultancy help him more fully understand the core parts of the science as well as how individual situations can be modelled, and how problems can be spotted and dealt with.
He is pleased to be in a senior position where he is able to share his skills to help benefit projects and be at the front edge of development in the field. He is delighted to play a major role in a company where the consultants and project teams apply maths to real situations and real lives. “It’s fascinating to explore how theoretical techniques and knowledge can directly affect so many aspects of crowds and how this can be transformed into solutions for clients.”
In his free time Paul, can be found leading the A team of his local snooker club. “Snooker is quite like the consultancy work, it’s a technical game that requires understanding and a practical application of technique”
Paul Draper BSc (Hons), MBA, CEng, MIET, FRSA - Technical Product Manager
Paul has key skills in .NET and C# programming, database programming, software architecture and project/financial management. He has vast experience in interpreting technical requirements and bringing successful problem solving tools and products to the market. Paul is passionate and committed to developing and managing Crowd Dynamic's technical product portfolio.