Outdoor events: planning for the rainy day

As we move into the summer season and the weather heats up, many of us will be attending outdoor events whether they are sporting, music or theatre. Those planning such events however have much more to consider than just the weather.

Risk Assessments

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides free advice on their website about running events safely and confirms that an event organiser has a duty to plan, manage and monitor the event to make sure that workers and the visiting public are not exposed to health and safety risks.

The website provides a useful checklist for event organisers to follow when planning an event and suggests that a safety plan should be drawn up to include a risk assessment of all hazards on site. It highlights the following factors as being potential hazards at any outdoor event:

• Buried services such as electric cables
• Segregation of cars and pedestrians
• First aid, toilet and wash facilities
• Emergency arrangements
• Weather forecast news

There has been a stark reminder recently of the importance of proper planning, following the conviction of Shelby and William Thurston of gross negligent manslaughter and associated health and safety offences. The pair were sentenced to three years in prison each after seven year old Summer Grant died in a bouncy castle that blew away in strong winds. In sentencing, the Judge commented that a reasonably prudent person would have foreseen the obvious and serious risks and the failure to have any sensible regard to the weather was at the heart of their negligence.

Workforce

The event organiser is also required to safeguard the health and safety of employees and others, including contractors who are involved in the running of the event. The HSE recommends a site induction to ensure that the team is familiar with the risks associated with their activities or tasks… READ FULL ARTICLE