Folk festival risk assessments

Subject: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Arnie
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 02:47 PM

I've recently joined a folk festival committee and have been asked to do a risk assessment. I've done risk assessments before, but only for my office under the Health & Safety at Work Act, so I haven't a clue about folk festivals. Does anyone know what is required and under what legislation? Better still, has anyone got a previous festival risk assessment that I can adapt? Also, is this risk assessing of folk festivals something new? We never bothered previously but now the local council has started asking questions....

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: greg stephens
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 02:50 PM

Well, there's people turning up at sessions with bodhrans...

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 02:56 PM

Or banjos, or enjoying themselves and getting drunk

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,aeola
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:03 PM

Well, that's that then.....

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Houston_Diamond
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:06 PM

main risk is if the pub runs out of beer

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Def Shepard
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:10 PM

and crisps :-D

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: M.Ted
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:11 PM

You could always ask the local council for risk assessment guidelines and for copies of assessments of other events--or you could look it up on line, in which case you'd find something like this Risk Assessment Guidance Notes

Or you could just invite bored Mudcatters make sarcastic remarks --

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Barry Finn
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:11 PM

You migh want to let folks what country & local you're looking to get info on as these requirements change at least in the states by state agencies as well as federal agencies.

Barry

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:13 PM

You might ask the Association of Festival Organisers (AFO), which now seems to be incorporated with Folk Arts England

Mick

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Skivee
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:17 PM

I'm not sure if this fest is on the other side of the pond, but here are a few things to consider:
Food Safety
Sanitation ( both with food and human waste control)
Electrical risks ( use of power sound and lighting during rain for   performance and camping)
Traffic control matters
crowd control including drunks
Is this the sort of thing you are chatting about?

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Jack Campin
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:24 PM

How about:

- being discovered in flagrante in your sleeping bag and being stabbed to death by seven of the lady's brothers?

- being kidnapped by roving press gangs?

- getting sacked up and delivered to the vivisectionist?

- being the only tentful of Macdonalds in a campsite full of Campbells?

- tent fabric not being durable enough to cope with Hard Rain when it falls?

- contamination of the Workers' Beer?

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,aeola
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:27 PM

The local council will have a risk assessment officer who will hopefully be able to guide you with a sensible H&S approach.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: ced2
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:36 PM

I wrote some for Yorkshire Dales Workshop (in folk arts). pm me if you want a copy or if you want my phone number for a natter about it.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,aeola
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:43 PM

It is worth bearing in mind that different local councils have slightly different inerpretations of H&S rules & regs.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 04:05 PM

"a sensible H&S approach" - to go along with Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the reasonable woman.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 04:57 PM

Where health and safety are concerned, this is no laughing matter.

It's all good fun until someone loses an eye, and these days, that victim is followed in short order by law suits and massive insurance payouts.

I know people say 'you have to be thick as sh!t to have an accident there with that' but the one thing you can guarantee is that there will be that one person who shouldn't be allowed out without a carer.

As seen above, there are several examples available online and most councils or local government bodies will give you a helping hand. Trouble is, this can be a double edged sword, bringing a festival or gathering to their attention where they might not have previously bothered about it. An innocent enquiry to a council about an existing festival could result in a visit from the HSE that might close it down... it has happened to a group of my acquaintances.

LTS


LTS

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: oggie
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 05:01 PM

Who is the risk assessment for and for what purpose? Then check with whoever needs it what they are looking for.

Steve

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Def Shepard
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 05:16 PM

"Or you could just invite bored Mudcatters make sarcastic remarks -- "

Well, fortunately, MTed, I'd already passed on the request, for information, to someone who actually works in the field of folk festivals. before I made my remark

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: greg stephens
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 06:12 PM

Point taken, MTed. But in fairness to myself, I do help organise a few events and so on and I take H&S very seriously. Doesn't mean you aren't allowed to make jokes about bodhran-players, does it?

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Def Shepard
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 06:15 PM

That's always assuming the bodhran players in questions have a sense of humour :-D

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Leadfingers
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 07:14 PM

I know that we are expected to have Public Liability insurance when we do Corporate Gigs - But that comes with MU or Equity membership any way !

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Houston_Diamond
Date: 18 Jun 08 - 07:45 PM

Risk assessment is a headache and a half... http://www.hse.gov.uk/

Dunno if that link helps ?!? :D

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,Shimrod
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 05:34 AM

You should probably talk to Manchester City Council. They are as obsessed with Health and Safety as any other 'modern organisation' (aka: bunch of power-mad, useless tossers). Recently they invited many thousands of football fans to invade the city centre and allowed them to drink all day - and then were a bit surprised when it all when 'pear-shaped' and the fans wrecked the place.

I would love to have seen the risk assessment written prior to this event!

There was probably a clause in it somewhere which said, "on no account must this risk assessment be allowed to prevent the city from raising lots of lovely revenue as a result of this invasion of drunken yobs".

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Houston_Diamond
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 05:55 AM

Are you just doing it to get a safety certificate for insurance purposes and other licences?

I'm sure that you only need one document that provides the details of how 'safe' each venue is and any underlying faults with a venue that can be rectified by a suggested fix (such as signage). The venue would include anywhere you have workers or the general public which includes campsites or any rented or owned site.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Mo the caller
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 08:13 AM

Think about children. Are they going to be allowed on the site, will their parents let them 'off the leash', will they romp all over the dance floor tripping up doddery oldies? Are you having events for accompanied / unaccompanied kids, how will you avoid losing them (NOT taking them in a crocodile through Whitby harbour is a good start - that was 25yrs ago though)?
A warning to parents in the programme may alter some parents ideas, at least it protects you from some of the risk of litigation.
And alert the stewards to possible risks and what actions should be taken - e.g. if stewarding an outside display should they stop unaccompanied children climbing on a wall?

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,Arnie at work
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 08:14 AM

The folk festival is in the County of Kent (not Kent County on the other side of the pond!)and the risk assessment is required as a condition of some funding that is on offer. Thanks everyone for the various links to H&S information which I shall be studying this weekend - well it is due to pour down in the south so I don't mind sitting over a hot computer for a few hours. I also don't mind the humourous comments 'cos at the end of the day, where would we be if we couldn't have a bit of a laugh on Mudcat?

ced2 - I'll PM you from my home computer to take up your kind offer of assistance

Arnie

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 08:51 AM

At the end of the day here in UK we are expected to excersise due care in respect to our patrons. The onlly way you can do this is to prepare documentation covering the risks the patrons (paying or not)may be exposed to and how you can mitigate those risks to try as far as you are able.

This usually involves a risk assement of all aspects of the event along with a manual of procedures (MOP).

A good MOP once produced will then need to be re visited each year to ensure that there are no changes for better or worse.

One event I am involved in the Mop is a4 about 1.5" thick and it covers everything. I didn't write it.

Andy

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,Blowz
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 09:21 AM

The Risk Asst might be required to help you get some funding, but it is the organisation who needs it themselves, really. It is there so that, should something go wrong, and person / people get injured, you can demonstrate that you have done what you can to ensure that the place / event was safe and that you considered all hazards and did what you could you mitigate them. Don't know what type of event it is you are organising, but you may need to consider the different areas you are operating - eg areas where there is potential conflict between pedestrians and moving vehicles - what can you to lessen the risk of people being run over? Are there any areas of open water? What can you do to lessen the risk of people falling in? If somebody does fall in, how would you get them out? Do your marquees have guy ropes which people can trip over? What First Aid provision do you have and how would people access First Aid if required? What specialist equipment do you provide litter pickers, in case they have to deal with sharps / broken glass / hazardous sunstances?

Whilst other organisations might ask you to provide evidence of your risk assessment in order to issue a license / give permission for the event to take place on their land / in their building etc, or to confirm award of a grant, at the end of the day, it is the organiser who needs the risk assessment - to show that risks have been considered. If something goes wrong and someone ends up in court, it is difficult to say - oh, we considered that risk and did such and such about it - with no evidence.

Oh - and a risk assessment should also be signed and dated ... and the 'crew' should all sign to say they have read it and are aware of its contents etc ....

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Houston_Diamond
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 10:50 AM

Oh yeah, forgot about the MOP (manual of procedures) what a barrel of fun that is :s

Nice one Andy :D

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 03:14 PM

I would really look hard at the following...depending on size of festival, etc...I would consult with fire departments etc.

1. Electrical wires all over the place. Safety in thunderstorms etc.
2. This one gets me all the time at folklife..they have open grills, extremely hot, right out in the flow of traffic..sometimes a little rope barrier...cooking shish kabobs etc. I think anything like that should be barricaded and out of the flow of traffic, period. Too easy for a child to get pushed into something or caught on fire etc.
3. Crowd control and liquor control and concealed weapons and gang possibilities etc. Gun went off at Folklife this year and wounded a couple of people.
4. Sanitation -- give free admission or whatever to people who monitor and clean bathrooms.
5. Hire security as needed. mg

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Houston_Diamond
Date: 19 Jun 08 - 03:29 PM

Watch out for number 3 especially... Kent, United Kingdom is thriving with gangland warfare, all donned with guns!!!

Not sure about liquor control?!? Folk festival with control over alcohol?!? could it work? it'll be just like the 80's but with the need for H&S :D

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Arnie
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 03:36 AM

The worrying thing about alcohol control is that I've had a look at the HSE (Health & Safety Executive) website for events and it starts by saying that preferably all alcohol should be banned!! Can you imagine a folk festival with no booze? This MOP also sounds a bit worrying - I don't mind doing a bit of work on this but writing a manual 1 1/2" thick is not what I'd planned for the weekend! One of the problems as I see it is that, if you have a marquee with the usual guy ropes, then you can't really stop people from tripping over the ropes - would you be expected to put a traffic cone alongside each rope or what? Talk about the nanny state - everyone is so afraid of being sued that it's no wonder some folk traditions have simply died out from being strangled in red tape.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Megan L
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 03:56 AM

As senior first aid officer at many diferent types of event over the years I insisted the organisers provided a plan of the site, including stalls, arenas, toilets and first aid post. Mark foodstalls a different colour.

As someone allready said food in waste out, also make sure you are aware of slip trip fall hazzards it is never the big things that usually happen and small accidents can end up costing a lot if the person is that way inclined.

Make sure you know how to get safely and swiftly to any part of the site in event of trouble or emergency, and work out some evacuation plans. It sounds like a lot of faf but if the worst does happen you wont have time to think what to do so do it before.

With certain venues that were used frequently I created a training plan with the owners of the site and would usually spend a day when they were quiet setting up and running training scenarios for my volunteers so the layout of the site was in their mind. Then if a disaster should happen they at least had a building block of ideas to work from. Panic kills.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Arnie
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 04:01 AM

Megan - thanks for the advice. However, this festival is spread around various pubs in the town, together with open air events in a few locations - including down the high street and on the pier! I think I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew volunteering for this particular risk assessment!!

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Blowzabella
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 05:05 AM

Hint re guy ropes on marquees .... wrap em in bunting or, failing that, red and white hazard tape. A traffic cone at the peg would be a good idea! We use barrels.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Blowzabella
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 05:10 AM

I see you mention a pier ... one thing we encountered was with an area with open water - not barriered off, in the general course of events so you might think, 'well, we don't need to worry about it'. However, if YOU are inviting people to that area .. it becomes your problem. You might need to think about how you stop people (& children) falling into the water ... without actually preventing those people who have a right to access the edge of the pier (fishermen / boaters etc) from being able to do so.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Folkiedave
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 05:14 AM

I'd contact the organisers of the Sword Spectacular a few weeks ago who produced a risk assessment for York town centre (not perfect but it may help).

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 05:21 AM

Don't forget that if your event is in a pub / pubs and/or public premises these venues are already licenced to hold a set number of people. It is their licences and certificates that are in force whan you run events in them. It is up to them to say 'No, sorry, no baby juggling and piano swallowing here!', but you must comply with their rules or risk being evicted:-(

BTW - Is there realy an organisation called Folk Arts? Surely in keeping with current thinking it should now be renamed f-arts...

:D

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Houston_Diamond
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 06:09 AM

lol I can see the problem of that one dave... especially when they put it like fRoots has... fArts! lol

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: banjoman
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 07:01 AM

you could start with a SWOT analysis it may help with risk assessment SWOT stands for

Strengths
Weaknesses
Opporunities
Threats

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST,guest at work
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 07:38 AM

Beverley Folk festival have produced a very comprehensive risk assessment for this weekend Chris Wade would be the one to ask

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 08:39 AM

When the fire prevention officer comes round - be there. Talking to them looking at the site would be instructive.

Of course there is always the problem of people. They are unpredictable in some ways, but given the headline act and A N Other in the other venue, they will all turn-up to the main venue and stand in the fire exits with their clobber on the ground and line the escape corridoors with themselves and dogs etc.

Now the MC might have a mind to the risks involved and his insurance, not to mention his skill in assessing the potential hazard. And he is in a good position to see it. There is a real additional risk if the main organiser's viewpoint differs in the level of risk. Money tends to obscure the viewpoint.
Usually the inquest will put that straight.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 08:52 AM

Greg
Point taken, MTed. But in fairness to myself, I do help organise a few events and so on and I take H&S very seriously. Doesn't mean you aren't allowed to make jokes about bodhran-players, does it?

Banjo jokes are funnier PAL.

The best jokes about H&S should be so black it focusses the mind.

You can't imagine the bizarre way just one person will react to blood or fire. It only needs one person to run and trip 10 more and and and.

Ibrox Park, Heisel Stadium, Bradford, Hillsborough, that amusement arcade in Douglas IOM (plenty more if you want lists). The reason history repeats itself is because no one is listening. Money obscure their ears too.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Houston_Diamond
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 10:52 AM

I thought SWOT analysis was for personal development planning?!?

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 20 Jun 08 - 06:44 PM

What nonsense, I would be very interested to know what consideration to health & safety was given prior to the escape from Stalag Luft III during WWII.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jun 08 - 08:01 AM

Food Poisoning/Illnesses

INSURANCE

Handicapped Access

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Keefy
Date: 21 Jun 08 - 05:25 PM

Arnie,

I've not read all the contributions in this thread but in answer to your original question you might like to get yourself a copy of a book called:

'The Event Safety Guide'

A guide to health, safety and welfare at music and similar events.

Published by the HSE as HSG195

Don't worry it is readable, i.e. it's not full of legal type language although it does explain the laws and rules.

checkout www.hsebooks.co.uk

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Folkiedave
Date: 21 Jun 08 - 05:54 PM

Handicapped Access????

What an ugly phrase.

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: Arnie
Date: 22 Jun 08 - 10:15 AM

Keefy - that sounds like good advice, I'll have a look at that site. In the meantime Cedric (ced2) has sent me some excellent risk assessments that he prepared for a folk event in Yorkshire. I'm feeling a bit more optimistic about tackling this now so thanks everyone for your help!!

Subject: RE: Folk festival risk assessments
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 22 Jun 08 - 10:19 AM

Risk assessments are all about pointing out the bleedin obvious. We are to assume that the general public know nothing and we are to be aware of that as event organisers. Belt and braces, my dear. If you make a slip up, some one will sue and your insurance is invalid.

Pain in the arse!

Sal