Accidents at events in India are commonplace and many. Be it someone tripping on a loose wire, faulty rigging resulting in fatal falls, flammable material catching fire or injuries resulting from stampedes due to poor evacuation plans; the fact of the matter is that event organizers are ill prepared incase of any such event.
The topic of heath and safety at events was picked up as one of the more seriously discussed subjects at the recently concluded EEMAGINE 2016- an annual convention for the events industry in India and an initiative of the Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA).
Here are 5 takeaways from the session on health & safety to ensure an accident-free environment at events:
1. Culture and attitude needs to change
It is ‘not’ okay to host an event at a risk. The risk may be small or big, but it is the organizers responsibility to cover all corners. Globally it is seen that health and safety officers authorize events and venues and deem them fit for hosting events for regulated gatherings. Moreover, double checks are performed during rigging and trussing all over the world so the safety quotient is doubled. India needs to develop a similar attitude.
2. Use fire retardant material
Flex is a common material used as stage backdrop at events and in stage production. This is a highly flammable material but does the trick and comes at a cheaper cost compared to other materials that are fire retardant. Event organizers should ensure using materials that are not flammable, it may turn out to be slightly more expensive but will be worth the price if it can deflect a potential fatality.
3. Education on health & safety hazards
There should be regular conferences and discussions on global best practices, technology that enables safety and most importantly the requirement for maintaining health and safety standards at events.
4. Do not be bottom-line driven
Health and safety measures may be expensive but this is a price organizers should be willing to pay. One must understand that he cannot substitute the loss of human life at any cost; therefore prevention is a better strategy to stick with.
5. Do not compromise!
To compromise on account of one vendor who is slacking on the safety factor, means to risk everyone at the event. Event organizers must stand their ground and only work with vendors who are pro health and safety.
