Whether you work in the area of events management as your professional career, or else you have another professional, or indeed personal, reason for holding a temporary, pop-up event, there is a plethora of considerations and responsibilities you need to be aware of.
One such consideration is that of health and safety, both for you and your team, as well as the attendees, so with this in mind, continue reading to learn everything you need to know surrounding health and safety for temporary events.
Choose a Suitable Venue
First off, you must conduct a full assessment of your prospective venue, to ensure that it can meet each one of the legal and indeed moral, health and safety guidelines.
You must consider the capacity of the venue, both in terms of the maximum number of people allowed and the recommended number, the accessibility of the venue and how simple it would be to install ramps for prams and wheelchairs and if there are any other existing hazards onsite that could pose an issue later in the planning process.
In addition, you should also conduct research into both the availability and the suitability of the facilities and the frequency of various public transport links.
Always Carry Out an In-Depth Risk Assessments
One of the principal reasons why, when you and your friends or family members attend a gig, concert or festival, you generally feel as if the staff and supervisors have everything under control and you can relax and enjoy the evening without worry, is that several thorough risk assessments have been carried out prior to your arrival.
In general, the following topics form the basis of any health and safety risk assessment:
- Risk of overcrowding and crushing
- Equipment trip hazards
- Carrying and lifting hazards for crew
- First aid hazards
- Environmental factors and weather analysis
- Fire hazards
Use a Reputable Contractor
It is highly likely that, during the organization of your event, you will be communicating with local contractors and builders to plan, design and construct temporary staging or other structures, either inside, outside or even both.
When it comes to health and safety, it is absolutely crucial that you work with an established company who are highly experienced in installing temporary flooring at events, to ensure the safety of everyone and to keep the risk of legal issues directed at you and your company to an absolute minimum.
Develop Emergency Procedures
Hopefully, you are already fully aware of the importance of having detailed and simple emergency procedures in place, the details of which should be communicated to every single member of your team, the backstage and construction crew and of course, your invited guests.
Emergency procedures are not only exceedingly important, but also a legal requirement across the country and it is absolutely imperative that you spend time and concentration on developing the tailormade instructions, in the event of an emergency, for your temporary event.
You should include, at the very minimum, emergency services liaison plans, public information protocol, crowd management, raising the alarm procedure and traffic management, both at the beginning and the end of the event.
