Driving the Conversation Forward on Event Safety

Festival and live event safety has, in the past, been perhaps been perceived as less professional than other industries such as manufacturing and construction. But event safety expert and We Are OPS , Rob Dudley, says this is no longer the case.

For a recent article published in Risk Assessment & Compliance Magazine, the OPS director shared his insight into the challenges of festival safety.

You can read the article below, or head to the RAC Magazine website to download your copy for free.

Background

‘Ten years ago, safety on festival sites wasn’t really a consideration,’

observes Rob, who has worked in the events management business

for two decades – most of which in health and safety.

‘Back in the early 2000s, people were building festivals without much

consideration for safety management at all. Climbing stages without

harnesses was not an uncommon sight. When the music stopped,

audience members were simply left to make their own way home.’

The Show Must Go On

From Eastern Electrics in Essex to RecFest in Nashville, in venues

ranging from civic squares and private estates to green fields and

London parks, Rob and his team consult, audit and manage safety on

sites for millions of people all over the world.

His career highlights include Global Gathering, the first large-scale

festival that he worked on in a safety capacity, and working in

Valencia’s famous science museum, installing a Star Trek exhibition

featuring life-size replicas.

He is responsible for licensing applications, safety documentation,

third-party health and safety auditing and acting as an on-site safety

officer.

Navigating the Unique Risks of Events

The temporary nature of festivals and events is what makes these

environments unique, he says – building the show up, operating

the live element of it, and then breaking it down again. For cost

purposes, this is done in the shortest practical time frame, and can

lead to challenges and presents potential risks: multiple contractors

working alongside each other at the same time doing different areas

of the build and engaged in complex structures.

‘The last day of the build can be quite intense as everyone is focused

on getting the site ready to open for the audience,’ adds Rob. ‘You

can’t postpone the opening of a live event!’

The build-up to the event will also see an increase in other personnel

on site: bar staff, brand ambassadors, gate staff; all of whom have

not been present for the full build. ‘They sometimes don’t appreciate

that they’re entering what’s still deemed to be a construction site,’

he says.

More traditional industries, such as construction, can benefit from

a longer time frame on-site, considerably larger budgets and more

semi-permanent infrastructure, making it easier to undertake

inductions, says Rob. ‘With festival sites, multiple contractors arrive

to do different jobs, at different times, on different days, in different

areas of the site. So, trying to impart the site rules to everybody is no

mean feat.’

Festival safety is certainly unique. It requires a lot of planning –

working with security and stewarding companies, medical providers,

traffic management to develop plans for crowd management, ingress

and egress, traffic and transport management, medical and welfare

planning.

Rob works extensively with local authorities, responsible authorities,

and Safety Advisory Groups (SAGs) to share plans and benefit from

their advice and guidance, which is incorporated into planning

for the events. ‘On site, this often translates into ‘mini SAGs’ and

event liaison team meetings, which bring together security, medical,

transport and other departments to update each other on what’s

happening across the wider event, and respond to any incidents or

trends that might be occurring or developing.’

A Powerful Platform for a Good Safety Culture

Years of conversation, legislation, increases in insurance claims from

event attendees all led organisers to recognise the value in due

diligence and undertake a thorough audit of all suppliers and

subcontractors, as well as their own practices.

‘Event safety was considered a begrudging necessity, or a nice

addition to have on site. Now, most event organisers accept the

benefits that a good safety culture can bring to their event, their

wider workforce, and their attendees,’ Rob notes.

Rob’s team are members of various associations and chair some

as well. ‘For us, it’s about advocacy,’ he says, ‘The team is regularly

asked to share insight on panels at events across the industry. We

work with these organisations to discuss and evolve all aspects of

events, health and safety being very much included, to drive the

conversation forward.’

Educating clients and organisations is also key, adds Rob: ‘Upskilling

empowers people to prioritise and embed health and safety planning

and practices. Welfare has become much more of a focus and is a

welcome progression for the industry. The recent extreme weather

that we’ve experienced in the last few summers has led to some

changes in shift patterns, with no work to take place during the

hottest hours of the day.’

‘Event health and safety had a bad reputation, but it’s getting better,’

he says. ‘We’re working towards, hopefully, improving safety culture

in festivals and events.’

To find out more about festival and event health and safety, get in touch with We Are OPS.