How to Build an Effective Event Safety Plan

One of the things that you have to keep in mind with every event is the safety of your guests. This means making sure you have the proper access, EMTs, or other professionals available, and so much more. This is a review of a great way to build up your safety plan piece by piece, alongside ideas of who you should talk to to beef up your security.

Building Schematics

If you can, one of the things that you should try and get a hold of is the building schematics or at least the floor plan for your event. This kind of information can help you plan safe exits and strategic moves should anything untoward happen while your event is running. 

Floor plans are generally going to have entrances and exits marked as well as restrooms, and sometimes the general flow of traffic for the area. This is all helpful information that you can have ready when you are going to speak with professionals to make sure your plan and preparation are on point for the area.

Working With Safety Specialists

Not everyone has this opportunity because, of course, those keeping us safe are often busy doing just that! Talking to building safety inspectors, fire department employees, and more is a great way to get an idea of how to best plan your decor, seating, food options, and a first aid station if necessary. Working first-hand with safety experts ensures that your plan is solid and can also be very informative for you and your team when having safety debriefs.  

Doorway and Walkway Access

Probably one of the simplest things to consider, but something that people often forget, is access. Either with accessibility for the disabled or general event flow, it is something that often gets thrown to the byways.

One of the reasons that you have to keep this in mind is because not only do you want to have accessible features for your guests, but you also want to make sure that all access ways are able to be seen and reached with minimal interruption. Any time there is something in the way of an access point, you are adding danger to your safety plan, so make sure pathways are clear.

Safety Briefs

When working with a team, you want to make sure that you have some sort of safety brief and debrief that gives them the perfect example and idea of what is going on with the floor plan and what you have learned from the safety professionals. 

These plans, or meetings, get everyone on the same page and avoid misunderstandings. Personally, there should always be more than one meeting because, to be honest, no one can memorize all of the details without a few meetings and discussions to help solidify what the plan is.

CPR Trained Staff

While not a requirement for most venues, there should always be at least one individual trained in CPR on your team. This is a great deal of responsibility for them, but at the same time, if they are willing to be the designated person for this type of assistance, then you have additional safety support that you wouldn’t have had before.

In fact, as the event planner and leader, it is probably a good idea to make sure that you have some sort of safety training as well as CPR so that you can best support your team. Better yet, have everyone on your team trained in CPR and possibly even minimal first aid. There are plenty of classes that help and will provide an additional sense of safety for you and your guests.

Physical Security

Not every event is going to need physical security; however, when you reach a number of people that is harder to manage and more likely to have some sort of disturbance, you will need to hire physical security. 

Additionally, when you have high-quality events with important figures, you will definitely want to have security and probably more than one security officer stationed around the event.

Bringing it All Together

A safety plan is something that takes time, talking with professionals, and being perfectly clear with your time to avoid any sort of misunderstanding. Safety plans can also include making sure you have non-slip carpets, protective glass, and a multitude of other elements. Make sure you consider what you need first and work from there. Happy planning!