Safety Planning and Your Event or Festival Insurance (part 2 of 6)
Now that we have the basics of the Safety Plan down (See Part 1: 5 Stages of Safety Planning & Your Event Insurance) let’s delve into the first piece of the puzzle, Planning. Planning an Event is a long and multi-tiered process but an important component is Safety Planning. Not only do you want your spectators, employees, volunteers, etc. to be safe, good safety planning will help to avoid insurance claims and ultimately keep the premiums for your Event Insurance to a minimum.
During the Planning Stage you will want to consider all of the following:
A Safety Team: The team should have an established leader and hierarchy. Each member should have specific duties and responsibilities. The team should include employees, volunteers, venue representatives and members of local law enforcement as well as local fire protection so that there can be a broad understand of the various parts of the event and the associated risks along with how to handle those risks.
Insurance Review: The Insurance for your Festival or Event is a key element in you over all safety plan. Ultimately safety, risk management and insurance are all simply about taking care of people. The insurance is there in case the worst happens so it’s important it be set up properly and that it contemplates the unique risks faced by your event.
Safety Plan: This is a document which outlines the importance of safety, the responsibility for safety at all levels of management and the details of what steps will be taken in various hazardous situations. A comprehensive plan will contemplate all stages and elements of the event. This will included strategies for crowd management, major incident contingency planning, transportation planning (for attendees and contractors), medical emergencies and first aid readiness, identification of fire hazards and preparedness, safety rules, and evacuation plans among other things.
Identification of Risk & Hazards: Identify the hazards associated with the venue and planned activities and who or what could potentially be harmed. Outline the precautions that can be taken and the procedures to prevent problems. Determine what, if any, additional steps or actions need to be taken to ensure a safe event.
Prepare a Site Plan: The plan should show all buildings/structures (permanent & temporary), stages, barriers, fencing (permanent & temporary), sound & lighting towers, positioning of bathroom facilities, parking areas, camping areas, and vendor booths. Additionally, all roads, pathways, entrances & exits should be clearly marked. Each member of the safety team as well as anyone involved in the building of the infrastructure should be given a copy of the site plan as well as a build out schedule.
Certificates of Insurance: Collect Certificates of Insurance from all vendors and contractors. This includes all food and craft vendors, all contractors, all stage, lighting and sound companies, and/or anyone else involved with the festival. Make sure these are all collected before anyone is on site for the build out or event.
Timeline: Prepare a comprehensive timeline of the set up & tear down and everything that goes on in between such as schedule of build out, arrival of attendees, arrival of entertainers, etc. and provide a copy to all employees, volunteers and contractors.
Being prepared and anticipating problems (and their possible solutions) is the key to have a safe and successful event. The planning stage is perhaps the most important stage in Health and Safety Planning and this planning will go a long way in assisting you should you have to make a claim against your Event Insurance.
Stay tuned for part 3: Event Set Up and the Safety Factors…
