Successfully Planning Your Event

It is recognised that public events enhance community life, however there is a potential risk to the safety of those providing, attending and in the vicinity if the event is not properly managed. As the organiser you must therefore ensure, as far as practicable, the safety of all those involved or affected by your event.

At an early stage the following must be decided:

• What is the event
• Who will be responsible for the event
• When the event will be held
• Where will the event be held
• How you will ensure the event is safe

Responsibilities

The Organiser
As an organiser of an event, you will be legally considered an employer if you are instructing people whether they are paid or not, this will therefore include volunteers. For the purposes of this document, the term 'Staff' will be used to describe all above.

Under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 you will therefore have a general duty of care to provide a safe place of work for yourself, those working for/with you and any other person who might be affected by your activities i.e. contractors, visitors and members of the public attending the event.

If you are in any doubt as to your legal responsibilities, potential liabilities or your capabilities in planning and running the event then you should seek your own legal advice and/or employ the services of a professional event organiser.

The Event Manager
It is important to appoint one person to be in overall charge of the event. This may be you depending on the complexity of the event. This person will be your Event Manager and will oversee the coordination, organisation and staging of the event as a whole. They will be responsible for coordinating any decisions that may be necessary to ensure safety.


The Competent Person
Every organiser must appoint a competent person to assist them with health and safety responsibilities. This appointment does not absolve organisers from their statutory responsibility to ensure the event is safe. There is a specific section on appointing a competent person later on in this guide.

Important Documentation

There are 3 essential documents that are fundamental to organising and managing a safe event.

Safety Policy

This is a document which the organiser produces and sets out how he is intending to manage the event safely. You must have a Safety Policy where there are 5 or more employees. It must be written and available to all staff.

There are 3 parts to a safety policy:
1. Policy Statement
This outlines the general approach to Health and Safety to ensure a safe event and must be signed and dated by the organiser.
2. Organisation
This describes the roles and responsibilities of the people organising and working at the event with respect to health and safety.
3. Arrangements
This section contains the details of how the event will take place safely. Phase 1 of this guide outlines the type of matters that you should include in the Arrangements part of your policy and is essentially made up of your Event Management Plan. There are however other sections which must be included. 

Risk Assessment

As the organiser, you must carry out a risk assessment. This involves identifying the hazards that may occur during all Phases of the event and then implementing controls to reduce the risk of those hazards occurring. If you have 5 or more staff a formal record must be kept of the risk assessments.

Where the event consists of more than one attraction a written risk assessment may be required for each activity.

Contractors involved in the event should also carry out their own risk assessments and develop safe working practices. You should obtain copies of these and ensure they are able to work safely at your even.

There is a specific section which deals with Risk Assessment further on in the Guide

Event Management Plan

This is the document that will bring all of your plans together. It will be your reference for how you will manage the event and should be used by everyone involved in the organisation of the event. It can also demonstrate the preparedness of your event to deal with matters of safety.

Event Management Plan

It is good practice to write an Event Management Plan. This will set out how the event will be run and who will be responsible for each aspect of the event.

What should be included in the Event Management Plan?
General Arrangements
• Description of the event.
• The contact details of everyone involved with the Event.
• Responsibilities of the organiser and staff/volunteers/contractors
• Site layout
Safety Plan
• Health and Safety Policy,
• Health and Safety arrangements
• Risk assessments
• Safe working methods
• Fire Safety Arrangements
Security Plan
• Stewarding , Site security &  Crowd management
Communication Plan
Incident Plan
• Major Incident Plan
• Emergency evacuation
• Incident / Accident management
• First Aid
Traffic Management Plan
• Pedestrian Movements
• Vehicle Movements
• Emergency Vehicles
• Parking
• Communications
• Public Transport
Contractor Management Plan
Public Health Plan
• Food Safety Plan
• Toilets and sanitary facilities
Nuisance Management Plan
• Noise and antisocial behaviour
• Litter

For furhter information on Public Event Safety please contact us or Download The Hampshire Guide, 'Successfully Planning your Event' or go to HSE web site for furhter information.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/index.htm

http://books.hse.gov.uk/hse/public/saleproduct.jsf?catalogueCode=9780717624539

http://www.hse.gov.uk/news/royal-wedding/