Safety guidelines for event organisers

The event organiser can turn to the University’s Security Manager for guidance and support in safety and security matters.

1. General

An event always has an appointed organiser-in-charge, who is also accountable for the event’s safety. However, the event organiser’s responsibility is limited to the actual contents and way of implementation and possible consequences thereof. The organiser is not responsible for any defects relating to the structures or technical systems of the site or building, for example.

The event organiser can turn to the University’s security manager for guidance and support in safety and security matters. Site-specific practical guidance is provided also by the janitors of each campus area. It is advisable to communicate any needs relative to event security well in advance. If the size or nature of the event so requires, the security manager can take overall responsibility for the safety of the event. This is always agreed upon separately, however.

Public events are all slightly different with their unique characteristics, and it is therefore impossible to draft an all-embracing set of safety instructions in advance for the organisers. For this reason, the safety planning of each public event starts whit risk evaluation, including relevant parameters such as the theme, time, place and circumstances of the event as well as the organiser’s resources, the amount of audience, any special needs the audience might have, and also prior experiences from the organisation of similar events. On the basis of the parameters the likelihood of the most probable accidents and hazards can be estimated by means of a simplified model for risk evaluation ().

Aptly scaled and well implemented security arrangements constitute a quality factor for a public event. More broadly it is also a matter of the event organizer’s legal protection and the University’s image.

A department is going to organise an event with an audience of mainly elderly people. Some of the attendants have difficulties with moving and they need thus more assistance than usual. A number of assisting staff is reserved for the event to help people on the spot. There will also be one person skilled in first aid and equipped with a defibrillator, among other things. For the event, facilities are reserved from the building which is as accessible as possible and suits to people with motoric impairments.

The University is organising an open seminar. It deals with a topical social issue that has recently gained wide publicity. The seminar also includes a panel discussion. One of the panelists has been a target of an extensive and aggressive hate mail campaign in the social media and received actual death threats as well, even though being an expert she has personally nothing to do with the origins of the issue concerned. There have been demonstrations and counterdemonstrations across the country around the issue, and in the social media there are already miscellaneous boasts about disturbing the upcoming event. The University’s security manager takes responsibility for the safety measures. The police are informed in advance about the public event and any perceived risks are discussed with them. Security guards are hired to the venue for the time of the event.

2. The venue

Event arrangements must not impair the general security arrangements of the venue. Similarly, the event must not unreasonably disturb the normal activities of the area or building.

Basic information about the local safety and security arrangements can be found in the rescue plan of each building and event organisers are free to utilise these plans. The rescue plans of each building are available at the University’s website. These plans also include instructions for most likely accident and hazard situations. The plans and instructions may be supplemented as needed in view of the event concerned.

It is on the event organiser’s responsibility to book sufficient facilities regarding the number of participants. The maximum number of people allowed to each meeting room is specified in the construction planning permit. The allowed maximum must not be exceeded. Neither should any smaller rooms be overcrowded, since the ventilation system is not adjusted to allow such overloads.

Lectures given at the University are basically public and open for all. If the organiser wishes to restrict participation in the event, it can be done, for example, by invitation or registration. Any restrictions should be communicated clearly and in advance in order to avoid possible confusion and conflicts.

An event organiser parked a vehicle, which was used for advertising the event, in the middle of the way for light traffic between two buildings. The way is used daily by thousands of pedestrians and cyclists. The wrongly parked vehicle jammed the traffic and formed a visual obstruction especially for faster cyclists, which resulted in several hazardous situations. In addition, the way was marked as an emergency route leading to the main entrances of the buildings and in such places parking is always forbidden.

The organiser of the event wedged open the locked front door of the property. Later, the event participants left for lunch. The event organiser left a notice on the front door stating how long they intended to be away. During that absence, a thief gained access to the property through the unlocked front door and stole property belonging to the participants and the university.

Too little space had been booked for an event and therefore people were placed in the available rooms in greater numbers than allowed. As a consequence, the feedback collected from the event did not focus on the contents but rather on experienced crowdedness and poor air quality indoors.

3. Notifications to authorities and other obligations

Larger public events may call for various notifications to the authorities. As for safety and security matters, the most essential ones are a notification to the police about a public event as well as a rescue plan for a public event, which is submitted to the rescue department. The need for such documents varies case by case. Related guidance is available from the Unversity’s security manager or directly from the responsible authorities.

The authorities may require that security guards, traffic guides, a first-aid manager or other such officials be appointed for the event. The costs of hiring this staff belong to the organiser’s responsibility. Of course these officials can be hired by the organiser’s own initiative as well.

4. Management of exceptional situations

Event participants expect the organisers to take an active role when something exceptional happens. As regards safety and security, such exceptional things can refer, for example, to a fire alarm, a seizure or accident, troublemaking, etc. Appropriate measures should be planned, designated and, if necessary, also rehearsed in advance. Relevant instructions can be found mainly from the rescue plan of the building.

Themes related to politics, religion, sexuality and other such matters can raise even heated reactions and deliberate disturbances for the event. Occasionally, the disturbance can escalate to violence, but fortunately such incidents have been rare. The responsible organiser or the chair of panel, for example, plays a central role in keeping disturbances in control. Trouble-makers should be dealt with as follows:

The person is noted for their disturbing behaviour and asked to stop it.
If disturbing behaviour still continues, the person is asked to leave.
If the person refuses to leave but keeps disturbing the event, the person can be removed from the site by a janitor, security guard or the police (tel. 112), depending on the severity of the case.

It must be kept in mind that disturbing behaviour has to be bad enough to significantly interfere with or prevent the planned course of the event. Mere disagreement and correct criticism are not disturbing behaviour or troublemaking. Report the incident also to the security manager.

5. Conclusion

Most events organised at the Ģ��ֱ�� follow a regular format with minimal risks as such. Our facilities are designed to accommodate a large number of people and are thus suitable to events with large audiences. While safety hazards are rare in the big picture, their consequences can nonetheless be serious. The hazards usually emerge suddenly and without warning, so that there is only limited time to react. When the basics of safety and security matters are taken into account, most risks are already under control and the event can be organised confidently. If you have any worries in this regard or any safety issues seem challenging, please turn to the security manager for advice. Things can be settled by cooperation.

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