Safety has to be a priority at your event
Safety first continued…
ASSESSMENT OF RISK
One key mechanism is understanding the assessment of risk associated with your event. By determining the overall risk and those that need to be targeted, you are able to put in control measures to ensure safe practises.
A perfect example is weather. You cannot stop doing outdoor events because of lightning or heavy winds, but what you can do is plan your events correctly and have measures in place to counteract or minimise the risk from inclement weather. Have systems in place to avoid a disaster.
Targeted risk assessments are vital to drilling down into each risky activity or action you may be producing, and allow you to continue with what you are trying to achieve. By having rational thoughts and motivations in place allows you to put together spectacular and impressive events that you are still in control of. This is responsible event management.
Another key mechanism is contractor management. You are responsible for those that work on your sites and produce elements for your events. It is therefore imperative that you have an oversight process in place, protecting yourself from the work being carried out. Have a good compliance system in place to ensure your contractors are compliant on all aspects of health and safety. Audit their paperwork and their systems, monitor the work they do on site, and correct or remedy any bad habits. The more you educate and empower others, the more responsible every person becomes in the event chain.
MORE ENGAGEMENT
Our industry needs more engagement; we need to be bringing things out into the open. We need to continually talk to those on councils and in the police service on what we do for a living. We need to get our friends that are accountable for safety in the public services to embrace the passion of our events industry, because then they can appreciate what we are trying to achieve, assist us in making our ideas a reality and working with us to implement rational and thought-through plans to minimise risks.
Safety can never be understated; neither can it dominate the agenda. It is just vitally important that you understand your liabilities and that you have plans in place to protect them. The unforeseen is sometimes going to happen; your planning will determine how effectively you deal with it.
