What are Event Safety Plans and why does your event need one?
Georgie D
Cofounder, Spyglass Management Inc.
IG: @spyglassinc.ca
Email: geo@spyglassinc.ca
When our operations team at Atlantic Event Builders (AEB) is working with an event on the ground, our safety plans are our most utilised tool amongst the team. That’s no joke - it can be a 20 page manual. The plans are a collection of processes and responses that any event department can use if they respond to non-emergency and emergency incidents that happen on your site. And they do happen, regularly.
I’ve met several clients who find the safety planning aspect of an event confusing. If you’re an event producer or owner and this is you - you’re not alone.
Here are some key tips on what’s included in thorough, executable safety plans.
We recommend that ‘best effort’ event safety plans:
Encompass multi-department teamwork strategies which address attendee, stakeholder and staff safety for event site evacuation and emergency protocols;
Operate within the guidelines of provincial or municipal regulations, permits, licenses, by-laws and codes;
Incorporate previous event years learning and incident report feedback into executable safety strategies and/or key safety messaging to attendees;
Communicate to emergency departments such as local Fire & Safety, Police and other relevant stakeholders prior to the event to invite feedback on process and strategy;
Respond to emergent scenarios or incidents that will support the expert response directed via 911 or other provincial or municipal emergency services.
There are several working documents in a safety plan package. Here’s what ours include, for your reference.
Emergency Evacuation and Muster Plans
Emergency Vehicle Access Points and Medical Evacuation Points
Attendee Communication With or Without Site Power
Crisis Response and Communications: Weather, Fire, Weapons Threat, Behavioural Incidents
Security and Safety Team Incident Response Protocol
Communication and Walkie Talkie/Comm Protocol
Attendee Ejection and Safe Ride Policies
Accessibility Plans
Mental Health Support Plans
Event Code of Conduct
Incident Reporting Systems
Seems like a lot right? It is! Not every event needs the full list. Though when they’re fleshed out, each of these documents work together to execute intentional safety responses.
Once you have your safety plans built, the most crucial step is to teach it to your stakeholders. Writing comprehensive safety plans is one thing - but the goal here is to implement it. In our experience on the ground, there’s a collection of hired suppliers, volunteers and staff on the ground who may or may not have participated with the event before. Having a strategy to convene several departments and get everyone on the same page for event safety is a key piece of successful, safer public events.
How do you teach multiple departments how to execute a safety plan? That’s up to you and your organization, though it can be difficult to effectively educate large teams at the same time. AEB relies on several internal education tools to do this, including building web-based education programs for staff, volunteers and suppliers to take and receive accreditation.
Hopefully reading this can inspire your own event’s safety planning process and what’s included. At AEB, we’re lucky to work with such a profound team of staff. Over the past 10+ we’ve developed an intuitive and comprehensive model for event safety planning. If you need help designing yours, our team is available to support.