ENG - Learning Unit 9 - AR by AKETH

EVENT PLANNING AND DESIGN CONTENTS ANALYSIS

EVENT SAFETY AND EMERGENCY – LEARNING UNIT 9

Learning Contents SUBUNIT 1: Events require Safety and Security Plans SUBUNIT 2: Health and Safety SUBUNIT 3: Crowd Management SUBUNIT 4: Risk Management

Learning hours:

Workload:

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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Unit Objectives Actions / Achievements Design a specific event safety and emergency plan Knowledge

Skills

Competencies

Act independently in planning event safety and emergency based on law, good practices Select the safety resources for and bad planning experiences a specific event Comprehensive of the main Conduct risk auditing for all Classify different types of types of emergency/risks types of events emergency naming their main associated with a type of event characteristics and with spectators Plan needed actions to any particular emergency scenario Develop detailed Spectator Fundamental to event Safety Checklist for the team management plans Instruct the event team to raise involved in crowd control or the alarm and liaise with managing an event Comprehensive on legislation emergency services regarding intervention in Design Emergency procedures emergency Provide instructions to team according to the law and members practice Fundamental to principles of Crowd Management Use and analyse feedback as an Discuss solutions for instrument for quality control preventing or resolving of the Event Safety and different type of emergencies Emergency

SUMMARY The learning unit provides types of emergency and risks associated with the specific events. It explores event management plans and legislation regarding the intervention in emergency. The unit evaluates the safety resources for events. It classifies different types of emergency according to their characteristics. It develops special checklist for whom involved in management of an event. The learning unit further designs emergency procedures considering the law and the practice. It discusses various solutions for different type of emergency situations. The unit conducts risk auditing for different type of events. It provides instructions to the event members in case of alarm with emergency services. It analyses a specific feedback as a kind of quality control for the event safety and emergency. KEYWORDS Safety, Emergency, Health, Crowd Management, Risk Management, Emergency Planning

SUBUNIT 1: EVENTS REQUIRE SAFETY AND SECURITY PLANS It would be meaningful to give the below definitions first. EVENT: Any sporting, entertainment, recreational, religious, cultural, exhibition, organizational or similar activities hosted at a stadium, venue or along a route or within their respective precincts. (Kouga, 2017) STADIUM: An enclosed or semi‐enclosed structure which consists of seating for spectators and a field of play or a permanent or temporary podium or another area within the structure reserved for the purposes of hosting events, which have a safe seated or standing spectator capacity of at least 2,000 people. (BCLR, 2017) VENUE: Any area or place, other than a stadium, that has a seating or standing capacity of at least 2 000 persons, within which other structures may be erected and which may be demarcated by an enclosed or semi‐enclosed permanent or temporary structure. (Acts, 2017) ROUTE: The way of course is taken in getting from a starting point to a destination during an event that takes the form of a race or procession. (Guide, 2017) EVENT ORGANISER: Any person who plans, is in charge of, manages, supervises or holds an event or sponsorship rights to an event or in any manner controls or has a material interest in the hosting of an event. (Guide, 2017) EMERGENCY SERVICES: All public and private sector medical services, including emergency medical and health services, the fire department, the disaster management department and local authority traffic or by‐law enforcement department. (Guide, 2017) ESSENTIAL SERVICES: A department of state or another administrative unit, such as a disaster management centre and those departments responsible for electrical, water, sewerage and waste removal utilities in the administration of a local authority. (ACTS, 2017)

SAFETY OFFICER: A person appointed by the organiser to assist with the planning and oversight of safety and security measures at an event. (ACTS, 2017) VOC: Venue operations centre where the entire safety and security operation in respect of an event at a stadium, venue or along a route is coordinated. To specify if an event requires safety and security plans, one should answer the questions below. •Is the event out of the ordinary or nonroutine? •Does the event place a strain on community resources? •Does the event attract a large number of people? •Does the event require special permitting or additional planning, preparation, and mitigation efforts by local agencies? (Somerset, 2017) Special events can be categorized under the below headings. •Traditional Events: •Carnivals

•Concerts •Sporting Events •Air Events •Conventions •Political Rallies •Spontaneous Events: •Unplanned; often celebratory or in response to the unpopular action. •Frequently become out of control quickly Each type of event one should take into considerations the following factors: ‐The scope of the event. ‐Risks to spectators and participants. ‐Impact on the community. ‐Required emergency support. The key operational considerations for safety and security plans are: •Health and Safety

•Crowd Management •Alcohol Sales and Consumption •Traffic Management •Gangs and Criminal Threats •Security

SUBUNIT 2: HEALTH AND SAFETY Health and safety are, should be and will be a critical and important element in everything you do. Health and safety is something which you should be supporting and promoting throughout the investigations, planning, and management of your event. Your objective must be compliance with the law and the need to protect staff, visitors, suppliers, everyone in fact, from coming to any harm. (Bay, 2017) When you plan an event, you must check to see what new legislation has been introduced. The event organiser, whether an individual, collective or local authority, has prime responsibility for protecting the health, safety, and welfare of everyone. That is everyone working at the event, attending or passing by, in fact, anyone potentially affected by the event. You must remember that your responsibility for the safety of members of the public even extends to burglars and vandals! If a criminal break‐in and enters your site at night and is electrocuted by a partly completed circuit, it is your fault. If he falls down an unguarded hole and breaks his leg, or is injured when an insecure tent pole falls on him – you are responsible. Everything must be safe for anyone at any time. (Somerset, 2017) Anyone proposing to hold events, especially sporting events, at an existing ground or arena must seek further advice from the stadium/venue owners and management, local authority and health and safety executive. All venues should have processes and procedures in place to monitor crowd levels, crowd status and to institute best practices for health and safety in crowd management. Managing large numbers of people requires good teamwork, good communications and close coordination between management, staff and potentially the emergency services. The event manager must make sure that staff at all levels are aware of the importance of crowd and individual safety. (Conway, 2014) To ensure that the visitors and site are managed effectively and safely as event manager, you need to know that: ‐there is a clear definition of roles and responsibilities, ‐there has been (and will be before the next event – or following any incident) a review of the planning and operation of crowd/visitor safety, ‐appropriate staff are properly trained, identifiable and properly supervised, ‐by research and planning, the event organisers are aware of the size and type of crowd they will attract and so will be able to anticipate crowd behaviour,

‐risk assessments are undertaken to allow you to arrange appropriate controls and management, ‐they have visited and reviewed the event site and venue as part of the planning process, and revisited shortly before the event to ensure that circumstances have not changed, ‐you have set understandable limits that can trigger remedial or emergency action among stewards and management (for example, the risk assessment may state that if the back of the queue at the pedestrian gate reaches the main road, another gate must be opened to relieve the pressure and keep members of the public off the main road), and ‐you must check with the local authority and the emergency services to ensure that your risk assessments, plans, management, and procedures are acceptable. (University, 2017) When we are discussing health and safety you need to have in mind the following elements: Health and Safety Structures

 Stages  Platforms  Temporary shelter

Audience Safety

 Public Health (food handling)  Medical Care  Environmental Risks

Fire Safety

 Vendor set‐up  Use of pyrotechnics  Monitoring of open flames

SUBUNIT 3: CROWD MANAGEMENT Events are part of a booming industry that continues to grow both domestically and internationally. As events grow in popularity, attendances also increase. Due to this rapid increase, crowd management and crowd control are now important issues in the event industry. (Ogulganmis, 2017) Crowd management and crowd control are two distinct but interrelated concepts. The former includes the facilitation, employment, and movement of crowds, while the latter comprises steps taken once a crowd or sections of it has begun to behave in a disorderly or dangerous manner. Crowd is a relatively large number of people who are close to each other, a group of people who gathered in one place at one time; Crowds contain many faceless individuals that follow a certain lead without really contemplating the reasons why. Crowds can be furious and perform acts leading to possible destruction, hooliganism, and murder. However, individual members of a crowd generally would not perform any of these acts without the anonymity that the crowd provides. It is important to understand that no two crowds are the same. Crowds can behave violently, resulting in the destruction of property, personal injury, and, in extreme cases, death. (Development, 2017) Crowd management must consider all the elements of the event: ‐the type of event (circus, sporting, concert, rally, parade, etc) ‐the features of the facility ‐size and demeanor of the crowd ‐methods of entrance ‐communications ‐crowd control ‐quivering To ensure the crowd management you need to understand the: Crowd Personality

What type of crowd is likely to attend? Previous behaviour at other events? Are they likely to engage in violence? Crowd Roles Observers (watchers) Cheerleaders (verbal support) Active Core (doers) Crowd management plans should be adjusted to meet the needs of the event and the potential crowd. Another element of an effective crowd management plan entails adequate communication among employees, guests, and between management and guests. Effective communication should lead to successful coordination between these parties. Another form of communication that is significant from an event manager's perspective is signage. Signage can serve to: Warn (e.g., slippery when wet), Instruct (e.g., No alcohol beyond this point), Inform (e.g., Exit only), Direct a crowd (e.g., Car park entrance 100 meters). In so doing, signage fulfills the requirement to advise spectators of potential dangers and risks. Signage should be clear, concise, unambiguous, well written, and must be readily recognizable for maximum effect. To ensure the clarity of signage you need to take into consideration the following key elements: Type of sign information (e.g., security, medical, lost and found, promotions), Size and dimension, shape, height, width, depth, Material (e.g., cloth, plastic, flat panels, billboards, streamers, colours), Wording and language specifications, Location.

An appropriate plan for crowd management also entails ushering and security personnel. Ushers can be used to communicate information from the stands to the main office and to assist guests to their seats. They may reduce disputes among spectators by monitoring the guests' behaviour, reporting any accidents and safety hazards, alerting security of any potential problems, and checking whether people may need medical attention. Security is also a significant feature of a crowd management plan. Security personnel should be experienced in handling disputes, protecting from theft, implementing emergency services, and providing an overall safe and secure environment for the guests. Alcohol Management Having assessed various event conditions, a manager must then consider issues related to alcohol distribution. Alcohol sales and consumption may lead to excessive drinking and result in personal injury and property damage. Personnel should follow proper policies associated with their own alcohol consumption. They should not drink on the job and should be trained to deal with intoxicated people. In addition, participants are not allowed to drink during their performance, and highly intoxicated individuals will not be allowed to enter the venue. Policies concerning alcohol consumption should be created prior to the sale of alcohol. For instance, alcohol should not be sold where crowd problems are foreseeable. Age requirements must be strictly followed and enforced by regularly checking identification. Security should also be positioned where alcohol is sold. Intoxicated individuals must not be served, and a purchase limit should always be established. More importantly, alcohol should never be the event's primary source of income. In addition to alcohol, the security personnel should consider illegal drugs so that they reduce the risk of injury and other crowd problems. In order for event managers to limit their liability, to preserve their financial stability, and to secure the success of the event, they must focus on both crowd management and crowd control. Developing crowd management and crowd control plans will help protect managers and employees as well as the public. By reviewing legal case event/venue managers can develop a better understanding of what both the public and law expects from them in terms of protecting their guests. Thus, creating plans with an eye toward these legal issues,

event/venue managers may avoid legal liability and other negative implications. Through effective planning and organization, they will achieve financial success as well as a safe event.

SUBUNIT 4: RISK MANAGEMENT Risk management can be defined as the eradication or minimisation of the adverse effects of risks to which an organisation is exposed. Stages of Risk Management •Identifying the hazards. •Evaluating the associated risks. •Controlling the risks What is a risk assessment? A risk assessment is a formal review and consideration of potential hazards, their impacts and the likelihood that together they could cause harm, affecting the health and safety or welfare of people affected by your event. The 5 steps in preparing a Risk Assessment are: ‐Identify the hazard ‐Decide who might be harmed ‐Evaluate risks & decide on precaution ‐Record your findings ‐Review assessment & update if necessary There are a variety of resources, some of which you already may be working with, such as local representatives from the hotel or meeting facility, a DMC, or a tourist authority. The embassy or consulate of the country in which you will be working, as well as the local, national, and international news services, can keep you abreast of political developments in the destination. The Centres for Disease Control (CDC), travel medicine Internet sites, and insurance companies provide up‐to‐date health information and immunization recommendations. (Waitakere, 2017) What is a hazard? A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause harm in any given circumstances! Take litter as an example, a simple plastic carrier bag left on a country path may seem quite harmless, but there are several ways it could cause harm.

Types of hazards Hazards presented by a crowd  Crushing between people.  Crushing against fixed structures, such as barriers.  Trampling underfoot.  Surging, swaying or rushing.  Aggressive behaviour.  Dangerous behaviour, such as

Hazards presented by a venue  Slipping or tripping due to inadequately lit areas or poorly maintained floors and the build‐up of rubbish.  Moving vehicles sharing the same route as pedestrians.  The collapse of a structure, such as a

climbing equipment or throwing

fence or a barrier, which falls onto

objects

the crowd.  People being pushed against objects, such as unguarded, hot cooking equipment on a food stall.  Objects, such as stalls, that obstruct movement and cause congestion during busy periods.  Crowd movements obstructed by people queuing at bars etc.  Crossflows as people cut through the crowd to get to other areas, such as toilets.  Failure of equipment, such as turnstiles.  Sources of fire, such as cooking equipment.

Event risk, safety, and emergency planning

Step Step 1 – Form a Planning Group

Description  create a risk and safety planning group (key event organisers, venue, emergency & regulatory authorities, contractors and suppliers, security/crowd control, others (e.g. legal, etc))  identify other stakeholders  ensure risk, safety and emergency planning is on your meeting agendas

Step 2 – Develop your Risk,

 develop a plan at the start of event planning process

Safety and Emergency

 be systematic

Management Plan

 tailor it to your event  consult widely and document  do your contingency plan  allocate responsibility  continuously update your plan

Step 3‐ Analyse your venue,

 create or obtain site/venue plans

site and surrounds

 determine the capacity of site/venue  consider entries and exists – size, access for emergency vehicles, evacuations, signage, lighting working, etc  the best location of services e.g. First Aid, security event control centre, etc  signage e.g. services, emergency, etc  consider site hazards e.g. overhead power lines, terrain, wildlife/fauna, water  fencing, barriers, restricted access areas  lighting  rubbish bins  toilets  accessibility  impact of the event on nearby locations

 environmental, weather impact  what else is happening nearby Step 4 – Consult widely

 talk to, consult with and get

and assess activities and

information and input from

stakeholders

key stakeholders  assess risks arising from your activities  assess risks arising from your stakeholders (e.g. suppliers)

Step 5 – Be Prepared –

 identify and develop required

develop plans and

actions plans, policies and

implement

procedures  Identify responsible persons required to implement the plan  Develop and test procedures  Implement training and inductions

(Shire, 2015)

EXERCISE

Tyra Hilliard, JD, CMP, associate professor in the Department of Tourism and Convention Administration at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, suggests asking the following questions to assess the specific risk potential of an event: ‐Is there anything of concern with regard to the timing of the event? The date? The season? ‐Is there anything of concern with regard to the location: the specific destination or venue? ‐Is there anything of concern with regard to attendees, for example, age, physical limitations, and political views? ‐Is there anything of concern with regard to the program components, such as controversial content and potentially dangerous activities? What is exposed to loss? What specifically could cause a loss? Who would suffer a loss? ‐What are the consequences? Now that you know what questions to ask, where can you get answers?

FURTHER READING AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ACTS, 2017. Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act, 2010. [Online] Available at: https://www.acts.co.za/safety‐at‐sports‐and‐recreational‐events‐act‐ 2010/1_definitions [Accessed 1 12 2017]. Acts, S. A. C., 2017. Safety at sports and recreational events. [Online] Available at: http://www2.saflii.org/za/legis/consol_act.DEL/sasarea2010415/ [Accessed 1 12 2017]. Bay, H., 2017. Risk, Safety, and Emergency Management. [Online] Available at: http://www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/files/assets/public/documents/pdfs/experien ce‐hobsons‐bay/festivals‐and‐events/risk‐safety‐and‐emergency‐management.pdf [Accessed 11 9 2017]. BCLR, 2017. BCLR. [Online] Available at: http://bclr.com/pdf/legal/Safety_at_Sports_and_Recreational_Events_Act.pdf [Accessed 1 12 2017]. Conway, D. G., 2014. The Event Manager's Bible 3rd Edition. s.l.:How To Books. Development, T. E., 2017. Coordinated Special Event Planning and Emergency Management. [Online] Available at: https://www1.toronto.ca/City%20Of%20Toronto/Economic%20Development%20 &%20Culture/Special%20Events%20Office/Event%20Support/Topic%20Areas/File s/EAP%20for%20SE%20Presentation%20‐%20141118.pdf [Accessed 1 12 2017]. Guide, I. F. T., 2017. Trackside at Monza – 2018 Italian Grand Prix. [Online] Available at: https://f1destinations.com/trackside‐italian‐f1‐grand‐prix/ [Accessed 1 12 2017]. Kouga, 2017. Events and Entertainment Policy. [Online] Available at: www.kouga.gov.za/download/2109 [Accessed 1 12 2017]. Ogulganmis, E., 2017. Meeting Hand. [Online] Available at: https://meetinghand.com/blog/7/ [Accessed 1 12 2017]. Shire, M. P., 2015. Event Planning Risk, Safety and Emergency Management, s.l.: s.n. Somerset, W., 2017. Event safety a guide for event organisers. [Online] Available at: https://www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk/getattachment/Environment/Licensing/ Event‐Safety‐Guide‐for‐Organisers‐pdf.pdf [Accesed 28.08.2018] [Accessed 1 12 2017]. University, L., 2017. University Event Safety Policy, s.l.: Loughborough University. Waitakere, 2017. Safety Planning Guidelines. [Online] Available at: http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/Frefor/pdf/event‐safety‐guidelines‐ Osh‐200104.pdf [Accessed 11 9 2017]. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.