With the 5th November just around the corner, most of us begin to think about blazing bonfires and breathtaking fireworks displays. Anyone in a health & safety role knows to focus on health & safety, especially after recent reminders of the 4 November 2015 incident. Recently a charity has been fined for when a member of the public was struck by a lorry during the setup for the Bonfire Night 2015 Event on Midsummer Common.
If events feature in your marketing plan – any event – not just Bonfire Night, make sure you comply with the law and manage your events safety. It’s important to know your duties as an events organizer.
As you update your events schedule, remember to include a plan for managing health and safety risks. The HSE reminds us that an event organiser has a duty to plan, manage and monitor their events to make sure that workers and the visiting public are not exposed to health and safety risks.
For many events, all that’s required is a basic series of tasks. The HSE web pages will take you through the steps.
Step 1: Getting started with Planning
The first step stressed by the HSE, is all about planning and paperwork – and appointing someone competent to ensure you meet your health and safety duties. Competence requires skills, knowledge, and experience to manage health and safety. Depending on the complexity of your events, you may manage this in-house. If you are not confident of your ability to manage all health and safety in-house, or if you are a higher-risk business, talk to us. We can help carry out a risk assessment and devise a safety plan.
Step 2: Managing your event
Next, HSE stresses the importance of effective management and monitoring of site operations. You must know your duties as the event organiser, from event set up to event takedown. Monitoring events throughout is a key aspect. Your risk assessment needs to specify the frequency of checks, who is responsible for them, and the methods they use.
Step 3: Planning for incidents & emergencies
The HSE reinforces the need to have plans in place to respond effectively to health and safety incidents and other emergencies that might occur at an event. Know the key risks, develop a plan and ensure you communicate the plan. Have clear roles & responsibilities, evacuation routes, signage, first aid and support for vulnerable people. Don’t forget to consider when you need to stop the event, and how you will communicate during an incident or emergency. Make sure to test both your plans and your communications technology.
As an event organiser, you have a duty of care – to both your attendees and your staff. The larger your event, the more critical health and safety becomes, but even for small events it should still be a consideration. Always have a checklist!
Whether you’re starting planning for your events, or already know you need a risk assessment we can guide you through it all. Let Park City support you, giving you peace of mind and ensuring compliance.
