Health & Safety at Events: Where to Start
Organising an event is an exciting endeavour, but ensuring the health and safety of all attendees, staff, and participants is paramount. Whether you're planning an event in an established venue or a large-scale festival, prioritising safety is not just a legal requirement. It is the foundation for a successful event and you have a duty of care to all involved. Here's some pointers on where to start when considering health and safety at your event.
1. Understand the Legal Requirements
Before diving into the details, familiarise yourself with the legal obligations related to event safety in your region, what key stakeholders require from you along with local authorities. These elements vary depending on location, type of event, and the expected number of attendees as well as the type of venue or setting you are looking to host your event in.
2. Define who has responsibility for the Health & Safety of your event
Rolls & responsibilities are key when planning an event, not only from a safety perspective but the overall event planning process. From a Safety perspective, yes a risk assessment is needed however there is so much more than this to consider. What happened on previous events, what lessons were learnt and what has been put in place to improve things? What data can you use from past events that will aid the planning of your next event? What are the hazards that could arise, what is the profile of those in attendance at the event? How are you managing capacities and ticket numbers?
The list goes on but as that list gets bigger and bigger, it’s actually positive as you can start to see what control measures you may need to put into place to reduce those risks. This could involve tweaking the layout of your event or improving lighting for example. It is also important to understand that you cannot eliminate all risks, there is a term in safety called ‘so far as reasonably practicable’. This means balancing a risk against the time and investment needed to control it. The only way to fully eliminate risk, is to not let the event happen!
3. Plan for Emergencies
Emergencies can happen and being prepared is key to minimising their impact. Develop an emergency plan that covers areas such as emergency exits and evacuation procedures ensuring a training programme for staff sits alongside this. First Aid provisions with suppliers who are CQC registered, Communication Systems such as radios, event systems such as HALO for example and Crisis Management Plans are all things to be considered.
Ensure you have a crisis management plan that covers all eventualities, and has a sequence of information; an Introduction and objectives, risk assessment and identification, crisis response team and roles, crisis scenarios and contingency plans, emergency communication / media relations, training and drills, monitoring / evaluation and business continuity.
4. Engage and Train Your Team
Your event staff and volunteers are critical to maintaining health and safety. Ensure they are well informed and trained to handle their responsibilities and validate their understanding, this latter part is key! Training needs to include all safety & security procedures, first aid, emergency response and specific risks related to the event.
Conduct pre-event briefings to inform all team members of the event’s safety plan, their roles, and the location of key facilities like first aid stations and emergency exits. Assign team members to monitor key areas of the event for any safety concerns but also to support the teams on the ground. When people are operational, this is when pressure points come into play as their focus shifts to do the job at hand. Having a dedicated health and safety officer can be beneficial.
5. Engage with Stakeholders
Your event’s success depends on collaboration with various stakeholders, including the venue, suppliers, and local authorities. Here’s how to engage effectively:
Ensure all suppliers comply with health and safety standards, from food vendors to stage builders and everyone else in between! Engage with local authorities, including the police, fire service, and ambulance service to ensure they are aware of your event as they can provide support if needed, during the planning process as well as the live event, depending on its profile. Ensure to run a multi-agency training session on a regular basis prior to your event if you require a number of the emergency services to be present.
6. Communicate with Attendees
Clear communication with attendees can prevent many safety issues and it doesn’t need to wait until they get onto site. Ensure that all necessary information is easily accessible before and during the event through pre-event communication, signage and announcements for example
7. Evaluate and Improve
Gather feedback from staff, attendees, and stakeholders to identify areas for improvement. Conduct a post-event debrief and update your safety plan based on what you’ve learned. Continuous improvement is key to ensuring future events are even safer. By taking the time to plan meticulously, train your team, and communicate effectively, you can create a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone involved. A successful event is one where everyone goes home safe and sound.
https://www.protectuk.police.uk/news-views/keeping-everyone-safe-events
https://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety/
