Event planners know the adrenaline rush that events and conferences hold. On the day, stress and problem-solving can take their toll on any event planner. The team can focus on all the negatives beforehand. However, not all problems can be predetermined.

Creating an event safety plan plays a crucial part in the success of any event or conference. The planning team can focus on three specific areas. The team must be able to deal with fire safety, crowd safety, and medical safety. These three main areas must have a set of prevention and if it occurs, safety management tips. First, the key to all safety tips is to protect the attendees and staff members. Whether faced with a fire, medical emergency, or any weather problems, attendees and staff must be taken care of first.

There are many tips that staff members and the management team can take into consideration. However, the key to success is that all employees understand what to do when a safety hazard occurs. Inform and take action is of utmost importance. 

Explain Onsite Event Safety Management

An on-site event refers to the actual site where the in-person event will happen. This is where all attendees, vendors, and volunteers will spend most of their time during the event. 

Risk assessment refers to all the procedures that must be in place before the attendees arrive at the event. These safety measures include medical, fire, crowd safety, and weather protocols to ensure that the event can run without any disturbances of these safety hazards.

Importance of Onsite Event Safety Management Tips 

Safety tips will provide the attendees with solutions when a problem occurs. This will ensure that attendees are safe throughout the event. These safety tips can assist the event professionals in preventing multiple problems on the day of the event. As the problem comes to light, the staff will have the education and knowledge to stop or prevent it from continuing. 

Creating an Event Safety Plan

It is up to the planning committee to create a safety plan. A safety plan is a set of rules and guidelines to follow when a problem occurs. These are preset problems that can be caused by fire, the weather, a crowd of people, or any other possible problem the team can think of beforehand. 

Identifying Risks and Hazards

Identifying a risk or hazard beforehand plays a key role in event safety management. Identifying a problem before it can occur is a must-have strength for any individual who wants to work in the event planning industry.

Event organizers take pride in their ability to see a hazard before every other person. This is a great skill, and it will assist the rest of the team in preventing some on-site risks that can occur. 

Planners will have to set up safety measures beforehand for hazards that might or might not occur. The risk management will ensure that the problem does not occur, or rather, when it surfaces, the team will have set plans to stop it.

Creating a Plan for Prevention and Response

A prevention plan aims to ensure that all attendees and staff members are safe at all times. A plan will be created that will state the problem with a solution. This will be done to many possible problems that may occur. The planning team must ensure that the entire team and audience have access to these plans. 

Multiple problems can occur, thus leading the team to ensure that there is an in-depth solution to all possible problems through risk assessments.

Crowd Management Tips

Crowd control management can be one of the most difficult tasks when facing a problem. Every attendee wants to secure on-site safety and will do that at all costs. This leaves a hard task for the management team to ensure that everyone follows the safety rules and regulations. 

Crowd Control Measures

The key to traffic management will be to ensure that there are more than enough safety officers and ushers to provide a clear path away from the threat. The ushers can be security or a team that the planning company will assemble. 

Another tip that can be followed when handling a big crowd is to have as much signage up that clearly states safe exits and other safe routes. When a group of people is in panic, the signage will state clearly where to go. 

Communication Strategies for Crowds

There are various ways to communicate strategies to a crowd of people. Speakers at the event can speak and mention all safety exits and precautions that must be followed in the case of an emergency. The problem, however, will be whether the crowd will follow through when the problem surfaces. 

Corporations must ensure that dangerous areas are taped down and have visuals to move the crowd away from the problem. In the event of a disaster, security and staff members must be extremely verbal and direct. Speak with authority and state clearly where the group must transit to.

Fire Safety Tips

The key to fire safety is ensuring that the planning team knows all the potential problems and fire hazards. Problems with gas stoves or event technology blowing up can be a form of a fire hazard.. Other forms of fire that can be started must be evaluated. 

Another key top to fire safety is to know the size of events. Attendance of the event will ensure the team is prepared with the necessary prevention measures for the correct amount of attendees. 

Fire Prevention Measures

A prevention strategy for fire is to ensure that there are enough fire extinguishers. Placing enough extinguishers all over the venue will ensure that in the case of a fire, employees, vendors or attendees will be able to extinguish it. 

Fire detectors can be placed across the event venue to pick up any fire or smoke. These detectors will provide a location of the fire, which can then be addressed and fixed before the problem is out of hand. 

Fire Response Plan

The first response to a fire on site is determining where it is located and its size. This will provide the necessary information to assist the team in evacuating the entire venue, moving a group, or growing around without disturbing the entire event. 

There are more fire procedures that the team can follow; however, securing safety for all attendees is of utmost importance. The fire department must be called, which will ensure that the right team deals with the severity of the problem. 

Medical Emergency Management Tips

The event organizers will set up a plan and strategy for a medical emergency. The team must ensure safety and evaluate the severity of the problem before any conclusions can be drawn. The team must set up specific points that the attendees can attend if an emergency occurs. 

Medical Emergency Prevention Measures

Multiple prevention plans can be used at an event. The measure depends on the size and the type of event. Prevention measures include communicating the set location for medical attention or having doctors and nurses ready if needed. 

If there are no doctors nearby, team members must be equipped with medical aid. This will ensure that smaller problems can be dealt with when needed. 

Medical Emergency Response Plan

A response plan must include a medical doctor or hospital number, which can be contacted in the case of a severe emergency or other potential risks. If there are no doctors nearby, companies can have emergency services in the form of ambulances and medical staff on call to assist where and when needed. 

Weather Preparedness Tips

The weather can be unpredictable. This has been proven over time. Event organizers can use weather apps to ensure that they are prepared for what might occur. Organizing a team can not be certain thus must have strategies in place to ensure that the event can continue in the case of a severe weather change. 

Weather Monitoring and Alert Systems

A few alert systems and monitoring methods can be used on the event day. Even though bad weather will disturb outdoor events, all events must have these monitoring systems in place. 

Simple alert systems can be in the form of well-informed websites that use the correct information to predict the weather. Another form of the alert system is in the form of an educated weather analyst. An analyst on the team will provide great value. These individuals will be able to evaluate the weather as the day continues. 

Emergency Response Plan for Severe Weather

An indoor venue can be set up and ready in the event of severe weather. This will add expenses to the organization’s budget but will ensure a successful event that can run its full course even through bad weather. 

Security Management Tips

A team of security personnel can have a great effect on any event. Not only will they assist in the case of an emergency, but they also provide a sense of calm to a conference. When a crowd spots a security team, they understand that there are people taking charge of safety and security. 

Security Measures for Preventing Incidents

A well-thought-out prevention strategy focuses on providing safety information to the security team, using CCTV cameras to have eyes on every part of the event, and making use of a high-quality security company to keep everything intact. 

Emergency Response Plan for Security Threats

A response plan aims to solve a security problem that comes to light as quickly as possible. A simple plan will be to provide the security team with hand-held talking devices, which must be used to communicate regularly, or when in need. A set of procedures and sections must be provided to ensure that the team knows where to go and what to do. 

Staff Training and Management Tips

Staff Training and Certification Requirements

As mentioned, medical training, first aid, or other educational training must be completed. The company can assign certain roles to the staff that they must learn and practice on the day of the event. Some staff will be allocated to the medical field, while others will focus on security or crowd management. 

The team must know exactly what to do at all times. Every member must be educated in the state of an emergency to assist where needed. This will ensure that the attendees are safe at all times. 

Check Out First Aid In The Workplace:

Management Strategies for Ensuring Compliance with Safety Plan

There are many methods to ensure compliance from team members and vendors. The first method is to provide as much training as needed. This will motivate and support the team, to know exactly what to do in need.

Secondly, engage with the employees. Clear communication and conversation will add to the compliance of the team. By clearly stating the causes and responses, the managers must open the conversation to any questions. This will ensure that the entire team understands the task at hand when the problem occurs. 

Tips for the Success of Events

Events aim to ensure that the audience receives what they signed up for. They must enjoy the event space in which they gain information or relax with some friends. The key to a successful event is thus having safety measures and preventions to keep everyone safe at all times. 

Events industry companies can observe and provide all vendors with safety measures and preventions through a safety checklist. The technical team can ensure a safe set of equipment that must be placed in a way that does not cause any hazards. The team can explain to the food vendors that all precautions and prevention must be followed, including no open fires or other damaging situations indoors. 

The use of different techniques to observe the event can ensure a safety net. While some enjoy the input of friends and coworkers, the best will be to obtain the advice of a safety expert. This can be in the form of a safety team or a cybersecurity team which protects the event online. 

Having a walkthrough of all possible problems and hazards before starting the setup might lead to businesses spotting problems beforehand. The organizing team must have clear guidelines and key problems that might occur, with solutions and procedures that must be followed. 

Lastly, teams can send all employees and staff working at the event to obtain the necessary certification for specific problems. Some might need to learn fire drills and protection, while others focus solely on medical prevention. This will ensure a high-quality team that can deal with multiple problems. 

FAQ

What are the Different Types of Safety?

Some forms of safety can be seen as weather and medical safety. While most people are aware of fire safety and crowd safety management, many forget about the security safety that aims to keep every attendee and staff member safe at all times. 

Final Thoughts

Safety procedures can be skipped when the team is under pressure at an event. With all the focus on setting up the vendors, the décor, and other aspects, teams can miss the prevention and safety measures that are needed for a successful event. 

Teams can have a dedicated individual who will provide the rest of the team with all hazards and other problems. This will ensure that the team is ready for anything that might come their way. 

Sabine Ghali

Kelly Murphy

PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

Certified Meeting planner with 20+ years of event management experience, founder of ConferenceSource, expert in meeting facility sourcing & contracting in North America, Europe, South America and Asia. Kelly will manage your budget as if they were her own, negotiating the best possible rate and hotel contract to benefit and protect every client and exceed all expectations for all planning aspects for sales meetings, educational meetings, product launches, incentive trips down to a small board of directors meeting. We make meetings easy understanding your meeting objectives and delivering meeting matched components.