Are you panning for an event? Whether it is a huge festival with thousands in attendance or a small local fair, it is vital to put safety as your top priority. Here we take a look at some of the things that you can do to ensure better public safety at your next event.
Is the venue suitable?
The first thing to establish is whether your venue is suitable for the event that you are looking to put on. Many events start with a venue in mind – but things change as the process of bringing the event together advances. This means that when you have some of the details formalised it is time to think about whether the venue is suitable for what you are looking to put on.
There are a number of factors that need to be considered. How many attendees are you expecting at your event? And how many could you reasonably expect? Overcrowding can present a major problem if your venue isn’t the right size for what you were looking for. This can also affect issues such as access and the facilities you have in place.
Carry out a risk assessment
Once you have confirmed the suitability for the venue, the next step in the process is to carry out a thorough risk assessment of the hazards and potential problems that could occur during your event. It is vital to make a list of all of the issues, including who would be put at risk, and the options that you have to mitigate the problem.
For example, will you event be making use of electrical equipment – and if so, is there a chance that this equipment could get wet? Also, consider whether you will need to be special preparations in place for children or those with disabilities.
It is vital to create an emergency plan that can be distributed to all staff and people who need it so that it is understood what needs to happen in the event of anything taking place.
Inform authorities about your plans
It is also important to inform the authorities about your event and provide them with any details that could be useful if they need to respond to any emergency issues. The police, fire and rescue, ambulance and emergency planning services should be informed of your plans, along with any risk assessments as required.
Crowd management
You must make sure that the people at your event are safe at all times. One of the most important tools are your disposal here is crowd management – ensuring that enough space is provided for people to move around safely and crushes are avoided.
There are many provide measures you can put in place such as using dividing barriers to break up the crowd. You also need to ensure that adequate measures are in place should you need to quickly evacuate the event and get attendees to a place of safety.
Protecting pedestrians from vehicles
Another issue that many events do not putting enough thought and planning into is how vehicles will be moving around the site of the event. Vehicles are required at almost any event for everything from moving equipment to transporting people around – however, it is essential to ensure that vehicles are pedestrians are kept separate where possible to minimise the risk of a collision.
Specialist public safety contractors Maltaward recommend:
“In order to ensure public safety and effective crowd and traffic management at temporary events, concrete barriers are essential. This is by far the most effective, safety-conscious option as the barriers can clearly define routes for pedestrians and those for vehicles at event sites.”
Planning for fire safety
When you were carrying out your risk assessment one of the key issues that you should have taken into account was fire safety. Of course, fires are rare, but in any kind of event environment they are a real risk and they can cause an unbelievable amount of destruction and damage, so they must be taken seriously.
Depending on the size and scale of your event it may be the case that you need to have a specific Fire Risk Assessment carried out to ascertain the risks and dangers.