Event Security: Health and Safety Issues

As an Event Organiser you will be responsible for the security at the event together with the health and safety issues. Below we offer some health and safety aspects which you might like to consider within your planning and organisation of the event.

Health and Safety is a very important part of an Event Organiser's job. By careful planning and management it is possible to change a potentially hazardous venue into a safe place to be. It is for this reason that the emphasis should be on conducting a thorough risk assessment of the event. Things for you to consider include:

Employee Safety - Stewards should not participate in the event and should wear distinctive clothing to mark them apart from the audience/participants. A professional Event Security company should be employed to ensure that adequate security provision is in place.

Structure Safety - The safety of temporary structures, event equipment, exhibits, etc is the responsibility of the event organiser and adequate cover must be provided. This includes trailing cables or any low level obstacle partly or wholly covering an access route. Ensure that all the leads are correctly taped down and that if any run across an access route they do not form any large lumps in the usual lay of the floor. Remember: you may be liable for any injuries which occur due to inadequate consideration to health and safety regulations.

Emergency Planning - A detailed plan of the venue indicating the location of fire exits, access points and amenities should be circulated to all staff attached to the event and also within the venue itself. A thorough emergency plan detailing evacuation procedures provides important information should any type of emergency break out, thus decreasing the amount of panic within the venue and ensuring that everybody is safely and efficiently evacuated.

Communications - It is important to ensure that all the different event staff, from event organisers to event security, fully communicate with one another. This will include the circulation of detailed floor plans of the venue together with a list of all exhibitors/delegates/performers their names and unit shell numbers.

Crowd Control - Event Organisers will need to work together with Event Security to decide what type of measures, such as barriers will need to be in place to ensure the crowd is correctly controlled.

First Aid - Every event will need adequate medical provision. Not only in terms of your emergency plan but also to take into account any attendees who fall ill and may be in need of immediate medical attention.