We all love a good event. From weddings and parties to charity events and sports matches, events help us to celebrate important moments in our lives, raise money for charity and are just a good bit of fun.
No matter what type of event you’re planning, you’ll no doubt want to ensure that it’s safe and successful for all your guests and your event staff. This is where things like event security, health and safety and risk assessments come into play. Although vital for pulling off a safe and successful event, all this paperwork can cause a headache for organisers, and make it difficult to know where to start when it comes to planning an event.
Here at Churchill Support Services, we can provide professional event security to cater to a wide range of event types. But we’re not stopping there. We’ve also compiled this handy guide on how to run a safe and successful event, so you ensure your event remains memorable for all the right reasons. So where should you start?
As we’ve already established, putting on an event is a lot of work, especially when it comes to managing safety concerns. No matter what type or size of event you’re planning, it’s a good idea to allocate the event’s health and safety responsibilities to a team or manager. This will ensure that safety factors get the proper consideration they deserve and that safety measures don’t fall by the wayside when it comes to event planning.
If you feel like your business, charity or organisation doesn’t have the skills or knowledge needed to carry out these duties, you can always seek help from a consultant or advisor. Bear in mind, however, managing health and safety will ultimately remain your legal duty.
Just like with other areas of your event, creating a plan for your health and safety is equally important. According to the Health and Safety Executive, this will require the event organizers to identify the:
All of the above information can influence the risk level of your event, as well as help to determine the resources and facilities you need to allocate. This will then help you to draft a safety plan that covers all eventualities.
As part of creating your safety plan, you’ll need to carry out risk assessments. Whilst most people see risk assessments as a bit of a pain, they’re actually vital for helping to mitigate and control health and safety risks at your event. This, in turn, will help to protect your event guests, staff or performers. According to HSE.gov.uk, the basic steps to carrying out a risk assessment are:
No matter what type of event you’re planning, you’ll no doubt need to outsource certain services to pull off your dream event. This could be anything from staging for a gig or concert or a security provider for professional event security. No matter what contractors you need, it’s vital that you ensure they’re suitable and capable of providing a safe and reliable service. This can be demonstrated through past work experience or via their membership of ‘an accreditation scheme, professional organisation or trade association’ (HSE.gov.uk).
With all the planning in the world, emergencies can and do happen. It’s therefore vital that you develop an emergency plan for your event. This will ensure that you have plans in place to respond to any health and safety incidents/emergencies if they occur. Most emergency plans have these basic requirements:
All your staff or volunteers should be made aware of these plans/procedures so they know what to do in the event of an incident. You should also include an evacuation plan as part of your emergency planning, ensuring you can move all your guests to safety without delay.
Part of running a safe and successful event is providing adequate first-aid; it’s also a legal requirement for most events as with staff and volunteers, they’re technically considered workplaces (and are therefore covered under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, as well as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974). The HSE also stipulates that you should include the visiting public in your first-aid/ambulance needs.
Organisations such as St John’s Ambulance are experienced in providing first-aid for events of all types and sizes. They recommend you consider the following when planning your first-aid cover:
If you’re looking to run a safe and successful event, hiring event security should also be on your to-do list. If you plan on carrying out ‘licensable’ security activity, you may need to hire security officers that hold an SIA licence- if not, you could be breaking the law. Approaching a reputable and qualified security company ensures that your event will remain safe and that your guest will be adequately protected from criminal activity and health and safety breaches. For more information on security at events, you can read this handy SIA guide here.
Here at Churchill Support Services, we can provide security professionals for any type of event – no matter how big or small. Take a look at our event security services for your yourselves.
With all the preparation behind a wedding, it’s crucial you put safeguards in place to ensure the day goes to plan. Our highly-trained security officers can control access and respond rapidly to emergencies, ensuring your big day runs smoothly.
If you’re holding a corporate event, you’ll no doubt want to give off the best impression of your business possible. Our experienced corporate event security officers are trained to the highest of standards to ensure your event runs as planned.
The safety of guests, performers and staff must be a priority for anyone planning a concert. Our security officers are highly trained in access and crowd control, and emergency planning procedures to ensure your gig never gets out of hand.
With charities coming under more and more scrutiny, you need to be sure your fundraiser runs without incident. Our unbeatable event security service will ensure that all your hard work is recognised, and your event is a huge success.
Whether you’re planning a private party or a sophisticated corporate celebration, the last thing you’ll want to worry about on the night is security. Our Door Supervision licensed security officers will watch over your guests and the venue so you can focus on enjoying yourself.
Security is an integral part of ensuring the safety of participants, spectators and event officials at sporting events of all types and sizes. We deliver leading security including ticket management, crowd control, car park security and VIP security management.
We have been providing comprehensive security services for events of all sizes, locations and requirements for more than two decades.
Whether you require security officers to guard the entrance to your wedding venue, mobile patrols to monitor a large festival arena or security officers to carry out crowd control, ticket management or general security, we’ve got you covered.
Each of our security officers are SIA licensed and trained to the highest standards. We have also been ranked in the top 1% of ACS Approved Contractors, with our services being recognised as “industry-leading”.
Churchill Support Services is a leading cross-industry corporate services company, supplying professional and comprehensive security solutions and electronic systems to businesses across the UK.
To find out more about how Churchill Support Services can support your business and its operations, get in touch with us today.
