There are thousands of events taking place around the UK every month. Maybe its a small house party, a conference or even a large-scale music concert. Whats important to remember, if you are holding an event of any size, the safety of others should be top of your planning agenda.
The person organising the event, which could be you, must take on legal responsibilities. These responsibilities are then extended to everyone involved with the event including your own staff, sub-contractors, exhibitors and people that attend your event.
If you are holding an event, read our top 10 tips to help you with the end to end planning process.
- Set your objectives START WITH A PLAN
What do you want to achieve? How will you achieve it? Where do the responsibilities start and finish? If you spend the time asking yourself these questions, it will help you with your event plans. Every plan should start with your objectives.
- Do your research and document your findings ID YOUR RISKS
Come up with a number of questions and find the answers. Questions such as; Where is the event taking place? Is it the first time this event has taken place and if not, what happened last time? Are there other events of the same nature taking place in and around the area? Is there a risk that your event will likely be targeted by individuals or groups of people who may wish to engage in any type of anti-social behaviour? This information will help you form a picture and will discover your risks.
- What do the risks mean and what are your plans to manage them? RISK MANAGEMENT
Now that you have your risks identified, you need to set your safety and security priorities. For each one, you need to put measures in place to make changes. These changes maybe before, during or after the event. Think about emergency access to your site, public entry, if there will be any queuing and where will they queue? What are the plans to increase physical security personnel if there is a change to threat levels?
- Engage with local groups GET ADVICE AND PLAN AHEAD
There are people to help you. We recommend that you engage with your local groups, licensing authorities and other sources such as the Police and other emergency services. Discussing your event with others will help you to find out more information and if there are any current national issues.
Another key resource is the; The Health and Safety Executives Event Safety guidance, which was updated earlier this year and is full of great information. You can find it on their website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety/running.htm.
Make sure that all your licensing conditions are met and apply for these well in advance.
- Work with qualified and experienced people LET THE EXPERTS HELP
By using the services of a professional events security company such as Regency, it ensures the reputation of your event is upheld, and you can rest assured everyone attending has a safe and enjoyable experience.
However, it is still your responsibly, as the Event Manager, that the Security and Stewarding teams you have contracted, understand all possible threats and risks, and are suitably experienced or qualified to manage events effectively.
Event Security is a highly skilled profession, with Government recognised qualifications. The consequences of a security issue can be very serious. You need to protect yourself, your workers and the public. Engage with a company like Regency to design and manage your plans.
In 2006 the Government through its regulatory body for the security industry launched the Approved Contractor Scheme. This accreditation was aimed at those security companies already operating to the highest standards.
The object of the ACS was to maintain those standards and good practice, increase accountability and raise public perception of our industry to a level that had never been attained before. Regency Security came one of the first security companies in the UK to achieve this much coveted accreditation.
- Make sure that your communication plans are spot on HOW WILL YOU COMMUNICATE?
Document everyone that you will possibly communicate with. Think of the people working at the event, attending the event, external groups and the media. Have a list of the key people and duplicate this list. Think about the safety and security messages you need to tell people in advance, such as what they can bring into the event. Think about signage, exits, first aid and the security control room. The more planning in advance, the better the event will be.
- Test, test and test your plans GET PERFECTION
Now you have your plans for a great event, just test them. Bring your team together and discuss the plan, will it all work. Review any recent issues that have been reported by the media or your security team and ask yourself, if that happened at your event, what would the result be.
- Record information at the event DOCUMENT FOR FUTURE USE
You already have your pre-event planning records regarding risks and actions. You will also need to keep records of any incidents and the decisions made during the event. Record keeping is a key priority as if there was an inquiry of any nature, you will be asked to show the process and demonstrate your pre-planning.
- Have you taken all reasonable steps to keep people safe and secure? FINAL QUESTION
Put yourself in somebody elses shoes! If you attended this event would you be happy with the safety and security? The answer should be yes. If its no, then revisit and make sure the plans are changed. The consequences of failing to do so can be severe.
- Debrief WHAT HAPPENED
Following the event, get the key members of the team together and have a debrief. What went well, what didnt go so well. Take note of any failings and record what could have been done to make it better. It’s best to record it now so if you run the event again you have the answers recorded.
We hope that our 10 top tips will help you with your next event. We have been operating in the security sector since 1993 and have covered thousands of different events. We offer the full spectrum of services such as crowd control, turnstile and admission manning, car park stewarding & guarding, door supervision, first aid, response teams, search operatives as well as security event management.
Get in touch with us by telephoning 03300 563888 or send us an email at info@regencyguarding.co.uk or visit our website https://www.regencyguarding.co.uk/
