SAFETY FIRST

In safe hands

A shortage of good staff, time pressures during the build, and extreme weather. Event safety experts discuss the challenges of the summer and highlight areas of concern

Simon James, director of The Event Safety Shop (TESS), is in Westonsuper-Mare when StandOut talks to him about the latest challenges and trends within event safety. The event safety professional is delivering safety services to See Monster; a decommissioned offshore oil platform that has been transformed into a public installation. It is one of ten Government-funded projects commissioned as part of Unboxed: Creativity in the UK.

Having breezed through the “lunacy” of the summer season, James confirms that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) did visit the See Monster site whilst under construction. Yet, the Government agency did not wish to talk to the site’s safety professionals; it wished to chat with the event’s site managers and crew about their knowledge of site safety. Had essential safety information filtered through the chain of command and were all staff on site aware of the vital site safety information? The short answer is “yes” and it’s a great example of the importance of staff briefings, proper safety inductions, and health and safety awareness.

Now that See Monster is open, James is supporting NewSubstance, which designed the 35-metre-high installation, with event safety expertise and is taking time to reflect on this summer’s activities and look ahead to 2023. He foresees some potential challenges.

“I’m seeing a lot of new staging contractors entering the market, who build their stages using ground supports and truss. Historical data suggests that more staging accidents happen with this type of equipment. I am slightly concerned watching these types of structures come back because things can go wrong.”

James believes that the events industry is set for a tough couple of years and suggests that several organisers will fail, financially. Market pressures are strong. He continues: “What worries me is that people are taking on jobs that they shouldn’t; and that people are being elevated way too fast. There are some people in a position of power where I would not accept any information that they give me, and I would go and make some checks myself.

“It’s very easy to say ‘yes’ and it’s hard to say ‘no’ to the person that is paying you for your services,” James says. “I’m not convinced that some people entering our industry have the balls to say ‘no’.”

SIMON JAMES

JAMES HOLLAND

LOSS OF SKILLS

This year, the events industry has been dogged by staffing challenges and supply chain shortages. Rob Walley, managing director of Controlled Events, feels that staff churn has resulted in a loss of “institutional memory”. Furthermore, essential equipment has not turned up on time, or at all, and inexperienced staff are filling roles that they have little or no experience in.

Luke Fitzmaurice, managing director of LFX Events, asks: If suppliers let you down at the last minute, and you appoint a new contractor, do you have the time to carry out all the necessary health and safety checks that you’re supposed to?

EDDY GRANT

Supply chain challenges and lack of skilled staff pose serious issues for organisers. Fitzmaurice comments: “Big challenges remain around the status of stewarding and the impact of the pandemic on the loss of skills sets.”

James Holland, director and principal safety advisor at Beacon Events, says that he intends to increase random spot checks on SIA staff, as he has found some dubious variations on official SIA badges this summer, and Becky Stevens, director of Hybred Events, the Brighton-based safety consultancy, says there is not enough of the right people around.

On event sites this summer, she has witnessed staff turning up at random times and bad logistical planning. Some staff have turned up to a site with no PPE. She explains: “There are not enough good security people around. This summer, there has been a sea of jacket fillers. Organisers are being charged up to £27 an hour for an SIA-licensed security professional but are being provided with someone who is a steward and can barely speak English.”

She continues: “There is a lack of skilled people and I don’t know where they have all gone and I don’t know how our industry attracts them back.”

Walley concurs. He argues that whilst good chains of command and control remain, there are tensions sitting in the background. He believes that there is little continued professional development within the sector, at present, and wondered what impact this would have on events – will we experience short-term culture because the sector cannot retain staff?

HEAT AND WELFARE

However, staffing and supply chain challenges are not the only concern. If event equipment does not turn up on time, it poses massive challenges for the build. If equipment is not in the right place, staff that are already under pressure, are placed under greater stress. According to James, this puts more pressure on the build and is an area of concern for 2023; organisers will have to address build schedules and build in contingency plans for dealing with extreme weather events. Plus, more work around fire safety/grass fires will need to be considered.

Eddy Grant, head of safety at Symphotech, agrees that this summer’s heatwave had a huge impact on the season. “If you are knocking in tent pegs or putting in Steelshield, the effort is significantly harder,” he comments. “It’s the physical effort of putting stuff in. All events professionals will have to think about this in the future. In the heat, people tire quicker. You may have to look at when people work, extend work into the evening, and give people longer or more frequent breaks.”

James says that more and more crew are looking for better welfare measures on site; they want food, showers, and a Bunkabin – they want basic needs to be considered more.

GREY AREA

Holland agrees. He argues that event safety professionals should be a key member of the team because they can suggest ideas that simplify processes and save money.

In the last two years, Holland has witnessed an increasing number of venues choosing to load in one outdoor show at the same time as loading out another. Yes, this could bring about cost savings if both organisers chose to share infrastructure and many promoters are open to kit sharing. But from a CDM perspective, if a contractor is loading out, are they inducted into the other organiser’s event? It’s certainly a grey area but one that may crop up more often as organisers seek to recoup three years of lost revenue.

ZONE EX

Grant is curious about new Protect Duty measures, and he says it will be interesting to see if there are changes to the Green Guide. If Zone Ex within the Safety at Sports Grounds guidance becomes statutory, the consequence for events will be huge. Smaller event organisers would find it particularly challenging.

James concludes: “Looking to the horizon, I can see the next few years being bloody hard.”

BECKY STEVENS

Monster effort

See Monster, an Unboxed project created by NewSubstance, is causing a stir in Weston-super-Mare

See Monster, a decommissioned North Sea offshore platform transformed into one of the UK’s largest public art installations, has opened to the public. The installation – developed and engineered by NewSubstance – can be found at Tropicana on Weston-super-Mare’s seafront and aims to inspire conversations about reuse, renewables, and the great British weather.

See Monster, commissioned as part of Unboxed: Creativity in the UK, features four publicly-accessible levels and consists of a 10-metre-high waterfall; a multi-level slide offering an alternative route through the platform, a 6,000-piece kinetic installation forming the monster’s “shimmering scales”; kinetic wind sculptures; a wild garden of grasses, plants and trees selected to thrive in a seaside microclimate; artist-designed experiments in sustainable energy generation; a seated amphitheatre, unrivalled views out to sea from the helideck and, at its base, a broadcast studio.

The entire construction is 35 metres tall – 15 metres taller than the Angel of the North and just 11 metres shy of Nelson’s Column – and can be experienced for free from the See Monster viewing platform.

The transformation of an industrial structure into a public installation suitable for visitors is an unprecedented engineering achievement. In July, the 450-tonne platform was transported by sea on a barge as large as a football pitch to the beach at Weston-superMare, famous for having the second highest tidal range in the world. It was then lifted by crane over the seawall onto preconstructed legs within the Tropicana.

See Monster is open until November 5.

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