Creating a ‘safety first’ philosophy in the events industry

Over the last year, I’ve had many conversations about safety in the events environment. Invariably, the question is asked about who is responsible for safety on an event site. There’s lots of finger-pointing as various stakeholders attempt to avoid responsibility. In reality, it is clearly defined in the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act (No. 2 of 2010; SASREA), which describes how a controlling body, event organiser or stadium/venue owner must put in place measures as may be prescribed to ensure the physical safety and security of persons and their property at an event.

The event organiser is then responsible for appointing sufficient persons for safety and security at an event, including an event safety officer.

Competency Is Key

The responsibilities of the event organiser and the event safety officer are clearly defined in the Act, as are the penalties that apply if the organiser fails to comply. And let’s be clear: the penalties are severe. A person convicted of an offence under SASREA is liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to 20 years.

That’s enough to have me quivering in my boots, so the sensible question is to ask how to minimise the risk of something going wrong. To a large extent, the answer is to ensure that your event safety officer is competent. Guidelines from the Department of Employment and Labour detail that for a person to be regarded as competent in the health and safety aspects of their work, they will meet at least the following requirements:

• be qualified through knowledge, training and experience, and where applicable, a formal qualification to do the assigned work/tasks*

• know the hazards and risks associated with the job or the tasks to be performed

• know how to recognise, evaluate and control these hazards and risks

• know the laws and regulations that apply to the work/tasks. Event organisers interested in reducing their risk exposure need to take these requirements seriously.

*SACIA’s Certified Event Safety Practitioner designation is registered with the South African Qualifications Authority and listed on the National Qualifications Framework, therefore meeting these requirements.