Latest News

Up to date news, safety information, guidance and support for anyone working in the event & leisure industry.

Feb 2012 - Mini in the Park contract secured!

We are pleased to be able to confirm that UK Event Safety have been able to secure the contract to provide health, safety and welfare support for the award winning ‘Mini in the Park'. MITP is one of the leading Mini shows in Europe and is hugely attended by those wishing to celebrate the iconic car and associated lifestyle.

Mini in the Park, staged at Santa Pod Raceway is just one of the impressive range of products from Spalding based promoters, Event Development Ltd.

Feb 2012 - 'The Big BBQ' Event Planning Meeting

Today sees the management team from UK Event Safety's newest festival, 'The Big BBQ' who are attending their first planning meeting with their local council.  This is the first stage in the planning & licensing process of us compiling a full health, safety & welfare package for the BBQ & Music Festival to be staged in Essex during June.

Feb 2012 - UK Event Safety work alongside the Slingshot Monster Truck Racing Team

The UK Event Safety team have been working alongside the guys from the 'Slingshot' Monster Truck Racing Team, reviewing their health, safety & welfare documentation in readiness for their forthcoming season.  'Slingshot' will be appearing in both the UK and Middle East on it's car crushing journey and Karl Swallow, head of the 'Slingshot' team is looking forward to a very busy 2012.

'Slingshot' is one of a number of UK monster truck teams that advantage of the health & safety package designed specifically for their needs.  The UK Event Safety package is recognised by insurers across the Country as the industry standard for monster truck safety.

UK Event Safety are experts in the field of motorsports and stunts and can develop the necessary documentation to ensure that you operate safety and on the right side of current legislation.

Contact us for more, details are on this website.

UK Event Safety secure contract for Madonna's Hyde Park gig

We are pleased to announce that UK Event Safety have successfully secured a contract to provide health, safety & welfare support for the forthcoming Madonna gig at London's Hyde Park in July 2012.  There are further announcements to follow about this prestigious venue, suffice to say that we are at present putting together a team with a wide cross section of skill sets to assist with this significant project.

New health, safety & welfare package produced for exhibitions & static displays

Are you involved with exhibitions or static displays? UK Event Safety have produced a brand new health and safety package aimed at ensuring that your event goes off safely for you and your staff. We look at the suitability of the venue, managing your activities safely and we make sure your staff and the all important temporary/casual staff are aware of the hazards and understand how to keep themselves safe.

New, more comprehensive package 'Guidance for Those Working at Events'

We have completed reviewing our ‘Guidance for Those Working at Events' reference document that offers valuable information to employees working in the event and leisure industry. The newly produced package includes information on emergency procedures, radio codes and offers guidance on procedures regarding lost children, medical emergencies, evacuation, complaints and many other elements.

We have also produced a smaller pocket sized handbook which includes safety critical information for those working ‘at the sharp end' on festivals and similar.

The third piece of the package, a periodic newsletter provides up to date information and is designed to both keep employees informed of any changes to organisational procedures and provides a record for the employer that staff have read and understand this vital information.

Why not contact us for more information on how we can provide a package bespoke to your needs?

Revised Purple Guide - Dramatic Changes - 20th December 2011

This has recently been circulated by the Event Industry Forum ...

As you may be aware, we have been working with the HSE to produce a new guide to health and safety at events.

It is now looking increasingly likely that the HSE will be handing the work on this over to the Events Industry Forum to take forward. While a considerable amount of work has been done to develop a new health and safety guide for events, constraints within the HSE have made it impossible to cover the breadth of guidance needed to cover all the issues affecting the events industry. As a result, the Events Industry Forum made a decision two weeks ago to take this forward by producing a series of event management guidances, which we hope to start publishing next year. In view of this decision, the HSE is now considering not progressing their own guide and instead working with the EIF to develop one comprehensive set of guidances, including health and safety.

In doing this we will be starting by picking up the huge amount of work that has already been done by Working Groups set up originally to work on the HSE guide. We have established an editing panel to take these guidances forward with the Working Groups as well as a process for doing this and ensuring that this happens efficiently and with the involvement of those Groups.

We have produced a process document which can be downloaded via this link.

We are very aware that to date there have been issues with the consultation process that was originally set up by the HSE - something that was beyond our control. We will do our utmost to ensure that this does not happen again.

In addition to the work that has already been done on some guidances - see the list at the end of the process document - we will also be setting up new Working Groups to develop additional guidances.

I hope you will all agree that this is a positive step forward which we hope will lead to the development of a comprehensive event management guide - something most of us wanted at the outset of this exercise!

UK Event Safety win prestigious new festival contract

With the Christmas break just around the corner, the UK Event Safety team are pulling out all of the stops, planning on a brand new festival. Working alongside our colleagues from Adventures In Radio this event will be coming your way next June.

Working towards the first Safety Advisory Group meeting in the next few days, UK Event Safety will be playing a key role in this event for the promoters.

Event & festival resources shortage becomes a real threat as planners start working earlier than ever.

Pre season planning is coming at us faster than ever in the past as we find our team working away at yet another health, safety and welfare package for 2012 events. With the Olympics just around the corner in planning terms, festival and event organisers must focus on making an early start for the forthcoming season as a shortage of equipment and resources throughout the industry becomes a real threat to events throughout the Country. Why not contact us for more information?

We are advising promoters & organisers to start their 2012 planning as early as possible in view of the limited resources that will be available next year due to the massive infrastructure that will be needed to support the Olympics.

The team are heavily involved with office based tasks today, carrying out an independant accident investigation for a third party client, revising an Event Management Plan for another and reviewing risk assessments for a third! Wednesday sees the team over at Santa Pod Raceway working alongside the local authority agencies on the planning process for their 2012 season.

How's your planning for next year going? It is important to remember that there will only be limited resources available next year in view of huge support infrastructure required for the Olympics, much of which has to be in place a significant time before the event starts.

Safety planning is an essential element of any event structure and it would be frustrating for any event promoter if it was left too late and business opportunities were lost.

Why not contact us for more information?

The first 2012 contracts secured!

We are pleased to be able to announce that UK Event Safety have been able to secure their first 2012 contract by event promoters, Event Developments Ltd.  The Spalding based organisation have contracted us to provide health, safety, welfare and event planning support for thie up and coming UK Motohome & Caravan Fair series staged at both Newark and Shrewsbury.

Glenn Ramsden of UK Event Safety said; "We are so grateful that the team over at Event Developments have contracted our services for this event series which is going from strength to strength"

Glenn Ramsden on WHCR this weekend

Glenn Ramsden of UK Event Safety will be speaking about his life and times and sharing some of his favourite tunes with WHCR presenter Andy Carter-Fea from around 1130am on Saturday 22nd October, why not tune in on 106.9FM?

UK Event Safety on the BBC

We have been working alongside our colleagues from the BBC, speaking on Radio Humberside and Look North about the values of publically accessible defibrillators

Company Directors in the Dock

For the second time this year directors have found themselves in the dock as a UK company has faced corporate manslaughter charges, which followed the death of an employee who fell through the roof of an industrial unit.

This is only the second case to be brought under the Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act 2007. In addition three of the company's directors have been charged with gross negligence manslaughter and face charges under section 37 of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

This is a hard hitting message to directors and managers who must be seen to be driving a positive health and safety culture within their organisations. This also means that making sure that health and safety is a regular agenda point at meetings and NOT turning a blind eye to dodgy working practices. One person must be appointed as having responsibility for health and safety.

If found guilty of similar charges, you can expect to receive fines in excess of £500,000 which, depending upon the circumstances could run into millions and that is enough to cripple most businesses.

Why not contact UK Event Safety for more information?

Source: Tips & Advice - Health & Safety. Indicator.co.uk

UK Event Safety join with F& A Racing

We are pleased to announce that we are providing support for the UK's newest top fuel dragster from the stable of F & A Racing, working together in a technical partnership with the well established Team West Tec.

Driver Chris Andrews has been around drag racing since he was 17 and was also at the time the youngest driver ever to achieve his racing licence at 18. He is highly respected by other racers, once driving the fastest licensing run ever (5.13 secs @ 287mph!) in his top fuel dragster.

Mandy Ramsden of UK Event Safety says; "We are pleased to be a part of this up and coming top fuel team, it gives us great pleasure to able to provide a little support for them, they are great guys who are determined to make an impact on the European top fuel scene and we very much wanted to be a part of that effort."

Humberside Police Training Session

Wednesday 3rd August sees the UK Event Safety team presenting a training session for officers from Humberside Police as a part of their Event Planning Workshop. Humberside Police have been cascading this essential information down to officers in each of the four divisions and we have welcomed the opportunity to come on board with them.

Whilst the Police have their in house agenda for the training session, UK Event Safety are providing information based on a practical and realistic overview of the event industry. Our subject matters include the importance of having a robust event planning policy, problems encountered during the planning process, event design and layout and dealing with major emergencies.

If your organisation has a similar training need, why not contact us, details are on the Home Page.

July 2011 update - Revision of HS(G) 195, ‘A guide to health, safety & welfare at music and similar events'

HSE has been working closely with Local Authorities and members of the events industry, since May 2010, to revise the HS(G) 195 guidance, ‘A guide to health, safety & welfare at music and similar events'.

Work continues in pulling together all the contributions from the working groups. Delays in receiving the information, the diversity of the information received as well as gaps in material has meant the process has taken longer than expected. We are currently producing a coherent draft guidance, which reflects current health & safety legislation and the working practices of the events industry.

HSE is committed to producing high quality guidance and hope to have an edited draft ready in a couple of months for consultation, allowing everyone with an interest in the events industry to comment.

If you wish to be part of the consultation, please register your interest at the Industry Forum Website. (http://www.eventsindustryforum.co.uk/purple_guide/form.shtml)

Alternatively, if you are a member of a trade association or event industry group then you should contact them, as arrangements may be in place to circulate draft material to members and collate feedback for HSE.

25th Farmyard Party, another great contract!

UK Event Safety are proud to be able to announce that they have been selected as preferred safety providers for the forthcoming 25th Farmyard Party at Helmsley in North Yorkshire. The festival is managed by Magic Action Promotions who run a series of bike rallies, including Yorkshire Pudding and Into The Valley - on behalf of the Motorcycle Action Group.

Rules relating to work experience have not been relaxed!

Despite what many people are saying, there are no plans to relax the rules covering children and young people on work experience. There have been rumours circulating that ministers have agreed to change they present system but the fact remains that if you invite students into your workplace, you must take appropriate steps to ensure their health, safety & welfare.

The risk assessment must be completed by the educational establishment concerned or a third party such as a work placement organisation however identifying specific control measures to keep the student safe is your responsibility, not the school's.

Why not contact us for more details?

From The Big Bang to Shropshire....

The team have returned from this weekend's extremely successful Big Bang VW Camper & Bus Festival at Santa Pod Raceway and now it's a quick turnaround in readiness for the Shropshire Truck Show at Oswestry.

Our condolences go out to friends and family of Matt Cranch of Scott May's Daredevil Stuntshow

Matt tragically lost his life in the recent incident at the Kent Showground in Detling. The accident serves as a poignant reminder to everyone not only involved in stunt work but the many thousands of spectators, just how easy it is for a stunt or attraction to ‘bite back'. Many of us enjoy the thrill that is given to us almost daily by these guys, without doubt this is extremely dangerous work that very occasionally goes wrong and we feel that sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this.

Scott May's Daredevil Stuntshow has been touring the UK for many years and operates in a professional manner, our thoughts and support are with the crew on tour - respect.

The Justice Secretary has told the House of Commons about plans to review the existing Civil Litigation System.

Changes will make it more expensive for claimants to pursue a personal injury claim which will reduce the present excessive number of cases. The increase in costs should help to distinguish the more worthy cases and deter the more unscrupulous claimants and this in turn should leave to cheaper employers' liability insurance.

Whilst it may be more difficult to bring a claim it doesn't mean that accidents can be taken less seriously. If is claim is made against you, you will still need to be able to provide evidence that you have safe systems of work in place.

UK Event Safety live on the radio

UK Event Safety's Glenn Ramsden joins Ruth Barcroft & Carl Wheatley for Saturday Breakfast on BBC Radio Humberside in the morning where he'll be reviewing the news and having a general chit chat - why not join us? 95.9FM/1485AM/DAB

Following the recent tragedy at Newbury Racecourse, safety experts have issued a series of recommendations that will ensure that underground cables are safe.

The important thing is to understand that there is no need to start digging up underground cables for testing and whilst the events were tragic, such incidences are rare.

The accident appears to have been caused by a combination of the cable being too close to the surface and it becoming damaged and experts have made the following recommendations -

• All cables should armoured and be buried to a depth of at least 500mm beneath the surface.

• Before back filling, warning tape should be put in place

• Standard practice on new installations and a recommendation on existing is to make sure that any power supplies running to outdoor equipment are protected by a 30mA residual current device (RCD)

• Where cables run beneath areas that are used by heavy vehicles etc, they may become closer to the surface over time (due to erosion, compaction etc). Make sure these are prioritised during inspections

• When carrying out excavation works, make sure you've identified all services at risk before the work starts.

 Creamfields Festival 2011

We are proud to announce that UK Event Safety has yet another event to add to it's already hugely successful portfolio. Creamfields is in the Top 5 festivals in the UK alongside the likes of Glastonbury, ‘V' and Reading.

Beginning life in Winchester in 1998, and the following year relocating to Liverpool, 2006 saw the festival move its new home at Daresbury in Halton near Liverpool.

It set out to provide the clubbing world with a large scale outdoor event and has become the most popular and renowned open air electronic music festival in the world.

Creamfields is the only festival concept that has been successfully exploited on the global market. In June 2000 Creamfields Ireland & Creamfields Argentina were launched. To date Creamfields has been staged in over 15 countries including Spain, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Poland, Czech Republic and Portugal.

UK Event Safety secure a further contract

The UK Event Safety team are celebrating more success having been awarded a contract to take care of public safety for 2011 at Santa Pod Raceway. A full calendar of events are staged at the venue each year and UK Event Safety will be providing not only safety support during the events but also compiling documentation and making representation at a range of planning meetings.

In addition to international drag race meetings, a number of race related festival events are held at Santa Pod, these include the much acclaimed ‘Bug Jam' a celebration of all things VW. Another event, Ultimate Street Car (USC) is one of the biggest modified car festivals in Europe attracting a crowd of over 25,000 people.

Santa Pod Raceway has been staging drag racing since 1966.

 SONISPHERE 2011

We have recently secured a contract for the increasingly successful Sonisphere rock festival, staged at Knebworth House in Herts, during August.

The festivals first ran throughout the summer of 2009 at six venues, returning in 2010 with 11 venues. Future Sonisphere plans include increasing the number of festivals, making the event global rather than local to Europe, expanding the UK event into a 3-day festival, and increasing the UK capacity from 40,000 to 60,000 attendees.

Originally a concept developed by Stuart Galbraith, the first Sonisphere festival tour was made up of six one-day festivals across Europe with a seventh festival in England spanning two days. The festival had a core group of bands that played each of the 6 dates with numerous extra bands added to each date individually.

The British edition of the Sonisphere Festival took place over two days on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2, 2009 and was headlined by Linkin Park and Metallica. The festival featured four stages of music over the weekend, with the main two being staggered staging, the others being within the Bohemia village.

The Sonisphere 2010 tour visited eleven locations around Europe between June 16 and August 8, 2010. The locations for Sonisphere 2010 were Poland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland. Unlike in 2009, there was not a full touring headliner performing each date. The headliners for 2010 were Iron Maiden, Metallica and Rammstein.

 Hard Rock Calling 2011

UK Event Safety are proud to announce that we have been awarded another very prestigous contract, this time for Hard Rock Calling, staged at London's Hyde Park. Hard Rock Calling (formerly Hyde Park Calling) first took place in 2006 is organised by Hard Rock Cafe and Live Nation. In the past has featured The Who, Aerosmith, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder & Sir Paul McCartney, the 2011 event includes Bon Jovi as a part of the line up. UK Event Safety are providing safety support for specific elements of the event.

Download Festival 2011

UK Event Safety are proud to announce that we have been awarded a contract for the 2011 Download Festival staged at Donington Park in May. Rock festivals have been staged at Donington Park since 1980 when the 'Monsters of Rock' brand was launched, this event evolved into what is now one of the world's most famous rock events, Download.  Last year the festival was licenced for 111,000 people and attracted such headline acts as ACDC, Aerosmith, Slash & Motorhead.

We are indebted to our loyal clients for this prestigious contract.

Fotomast

We are proud to be associated with the development of this superb service, ideal for use in the event and festival industry. Fotomast, specialists in ground based aerial photography, operate a 4 x 4 unique vehicle equipped with a 16m mast. Mounted at the top of the mast, the camera is linked to a laptop making everything operative at ground level. From the laptop you can see your intended shots in real time as well as being able to use all camera functions - see out Latest News page for more info ...

The event and festival industry is an ideal application for ground based aerial photography, offering a very cost effective, accurate and reliable method of obtaining aerial imagery, ideal for those prestigious stage, VIP and venue shots in addition to proving useful for providing retail evidence & accident investigation etc than hiring expensive aircraft and helicopters or cumbersome cherry pickers and scaffolding etc. - Click on Fotomast on our Homepage link.

Lost Children

Event & Festival Promoters are you aware that you need to have a ‘Lost Children Policy' in place and those dealing with children should have CRB clearance?  The loss of a child at an event or festival can be devastating, the team at UK Event Safety are well versed in dealing with such instances and can offer not only a bespoke Lost Children Policy but also offer advice and training based on actual (and we must say heart stopping) incidents. Why not contact us for more information?

If you're thinking of using old drums as litter bins, pay attention as the HSE have issued warnings following recent fatal explosions during the cutting process

Event promoters are being reminded of the dangers of using old containers for litter bins that contain, or have contained, flammable or combustible substances following two recent fatal accidents which killed employees who were engaged in cutting up drums.

There is a risk of explosion causing serious injury or death if hot work is carried out on drums, containers, or any receptacle which contains, or has contained flammable or combustible liquids (eg waste thinners, new or used engine oil, anti-freeze, solvents, petrol, methanol or diesel fuel).

The use of combustible, flammable and highly flammable materials (eg petrol, diesel, paints, inks, solvents, dyes etc) is widespread across industry. Flammable materials may be supplied in a variety of containers and receptacles of different sizes. There is a significant risk of injury if hot work is used to cut up, alter or repair such containers or the containers are used as a support during hot work activities, such as welding.

A container may appear empty, however seams, creases and folds in the container may still harbour sufficient liquid residue to give rise to an explosive vapour and so the risk of ignition and injury remains. Even where the contents of a container may not have been classified as flammable under normal conditions, the extreme temperatures which can be generated during hot work can heat the vessel contents sufficiently to cause them to ignite.

You may also find additional uses for drums and containers meaning that the vessels contents may not reflect the original labelling.

The Health and Safety Executive has investigated a number of serious and fatal accidents involving hot work over the years, for example in repair of diesel tanks in motor vehicle repair^[1]. As a consequence guidance has been published which details the risks involved and the precautions which should be adopted.

Leaflet INDG314 entitled 'Hot work on small tanks and drums' ^[2]provides a brief guide on the issue . More detailed information is contained in the Approved Code of Practice and Guidance publication (L137) entitled 'Safe maintenance, repair and cleaning procedures', Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002^[3].

Anyone contemplating hot work on used drums or similar containers or anyone that manages staff who use welding and cutting equipment, must urgently review their working and training procedures in line with this guidance to ensure that risks are adequately controlled. In many cases hot work may not be necessary. Safer alternative methods of working could be employed.

These may include :

• Disposal or replacement of drums and tanks rather than repairing;
• Use of cold cutting techniques (eg hydraulic shears, pneumatic chisels);
• Use of cold repair methods;

If hot work is necessary, the risks should be avoided by using a specialist company or  reduced by using methods such as gas-freeing, cleaning or inerting before hot working. All employees engaged in hot work must have received adequate training in the risks involved and the precautions required.

Users of Scissor Lifts - Critical Safety Warning

The HSE are warning the owners and operators of JLG 500RTS and 400RTS scissor lifts about the inherent dangers relating to 3 fatal incidents which have occurred in the last 4 years all of which involved the overturn of a JLG 500RTS scissors lift killing the occupants.

The JLG 500RTS scissor lift is equipped with an oscillating axle which allows the machine to be driven on uneven ground with the platform in the transport position. JLG 400RTS models have a similar design of oscillating axle lockout valve (and lift/drive limit switch). As soon as the platform is raised out of the transport position (by the scissor arms being raised off the chassis), the oscillating axle should lock preventing further rotation of the oscillating axle. This functions by a plunger valve (the oscillating axle lockout valve) mounted on the chassis being released under spring pressure, preventing further rotation of the oscillating axle.

It has been established that in all three cases:

1. the oscillating axle lockout valve failed as the platform was raised, and,
2. the lift/drive interlock system did not work allowing the platform to be elevated above 6.7m without the stabilisers being deployed. In addition, in at least one of the three overturns, the scissors lift was also driven with the platform above 6.7m which should not be possible.

In two of the three overturns the oscillating axle lockout valve plunger was found to be seized in the down position as a result of corrosion products. In the third incident, the oscillating axle lockout valve switch was described as being stuck and non-operational.

In one of the three overturns, the lift/drive limit switch (part of the interlock system) may have been deliberately defeated, in another the lift/drive interlock system failed for reasons that were not established, and in the third case the roller cam assembly on the limit switch may have been loose.

Why not contact us for more details?

New HSE Event Safety Guide (Purple Guide)

The team are currently engaged in reviewing the first draft of the new HSE Event Safety Guide (otherwise known as the ‘Purple Guide'). The chapter we are dealing with at present is the Amusements and Attractions which encompasses every type of fairground attraction you may employ for your events from a complete fairground or an individual ride, inflatables such as bouncy castles & slides, bungee jumping, water balls, flight simulators and computer games.

UK Event Safety are already well versed with the management of and safety implications surrounding such attractions, should you need any information why not contact us?

Two killed in separate golf buggy accidents at motor sports event

Two people in two days have been killed after being thrown from golf buggies in separate incidents, the two men (47 & 60 yrs old) died after the incidents at Beech Bend Park in the USA. According to the Kentucky State Police, both victims were passengers on golf buggies travelling through the venue and were ejected, each succumbing to head trauma.

In both cases it is alleged that alcohol was a factor that led to the accidents.47 yrs old Edie Phillips was sitting on the rear fender well and was thrown when it turned left, this buggy been modified so it sat higher off the ground than a standard golf cart.

The second incident involving 60 year old Henry Messer happened as the buggy was travelling down a hill. The casualty was standing up on the back and holding on to the roof as the driver made a left turn when he was also thrown off.

Beech Bend Park, which is closed for the season, was hosting a Harley-Davidson drag racing event. The two men were apparently among those who had arrived early to camp out for the event.

Both accidents happened in the campsite at the venue and the victims were thrown onto a paved area.

Neither golf cart involved in the accidents belonged to the venue.

 "Had the storm struck the night before, the death toll could have been higher than the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the USA..."

UK Event Safety's Glenn Ramsden has joined forces with professional trade journal Event Industry News to bring to you a series of articles based around sharing experiences and giving advice regarding public safety at events. The second published article is about event emergency planning and uses the devastating flash floods at the 2005 Farmyard Party as an example.

A number of years ago, at one of the very first tabletop emergency planning exercises I hosted, I was listening to some of the people that were set to work at the event and quotes such as; "Well, I'll be in the bar at that time" and "I had a good drink at the event last year" were commonplace.  Whilst we don't expect any event worker to be tee total throughout the duration of their particular event, it is prudent to identify just who will be available at what time to do what task in what way.

Imagine then, 2 o'clock in the morning and a serious incident occurs at your event, what and who do you have to hand?  Do some soul searching and truthfully address the question, in a lot of cases the answer has to be very little equipment, certainly no plan and an undetermined number of people who often cannot be guaranteed to be fit or sober. However incidents do occur and occasionally they are of a serious nature and rarely it means that an event has to be closed - where would you send everyone, how will you do it and most importantly - can you deal with it?

It had been a very hot weekend at the 2005 ‘Farmyard Party' bikers rally at Helmsley in North Yorkshire.  The event was already well established on the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) calendar and was and continues to be one of the better managed events in the Country.  The majority of the 7,000 campers leave the event from early Sunday morning and the venue is more or less empty by late afternoon.  Early on the Sunday evening the skies unexpectedly turned black and an incredible rainstorm ensued an hour after the rain had stopped and without warning, a wall of water swept through the venue wiping out anything in it's path and destroying most of the infrastructure left on site.  A Sea King Search & Rescue helicopter was scrambled to carry out a number of rescues from the venue.... SEE THE ARTICLE IN FULL AT www.eventindustrynews.co.uk

UK Event Safety secure a second 2011 contract...

For the second time within seven days UK Event Safety (UKES) can announce that they have been awarded another 2011 contract, this time with the internationally recognised Santa Pod Raceway.

UKES will take care of public safety at no less than 10 of their key events in addition to adopting a consultation role, working alongside their management team, representatives from the local council and emergency service officers.

Santa Pod Raceway's 2011 event dates have now been confirmed and UK Event Safety will now start the complex task of planning the safety management element of the events. It is estimated that over the 2011 season, UKES will be responsible for the safety of thousands of people at the venue.

 

UK Event Safety secure 2011 Contract!

UK Event Safety are proud to announce that they have been contracted to provide public safety support to Event Developments Ltd (EDL) for their 2011 season.  EDL ‘s portfolio includes the UK Motorhome & Caravan series, Mini in the Park and the Shropshire Truck Show as well as other highly prestigious contractual work.  UK Event Safety will be playing a key part in the planning and management of their 2011 event calendar.

Speaking about the contract, Russ Harman, Managing Director of Event Developments Ltd said; "There are very few organisations who can fit into so many varied roles and UK Event Safety are a vital part of the smooth running of our various regional and national events."

Planning work for next year's events will be starting very soon when UK Event Safety begin the process of preparing the necessary management documentation, this will be coupled with a range of meetings with venue owners and council representatives.

Glenn Ramsden of UK Event Safety said; "We are indebted to the team at Event Developments for offering us the 2011 contract. UK Event Safety specialise in not only caring for the public with a commonsense approach but also the interests of the event promoter."

Promoters asked to consider reloacting portable toilets after innocent people are injured and unecessarily contaminated

UK Event Safety are appealing to event promoters to reconsider the manner in which portable toilets are located at events after being involved in a number of instances of people deliberately tipping the toilets over.

Although this is certainly not a new thing, it is extremely dangerous and the act leads to serious contamination of the person left inside to suffer. Along with all of the obvious substances that are present, there are a number of very aggressive chemicals present which both clean the toilet and also breakdown the waste.

Glenn Ramsden from UK Event Safety said; "We are asking event promoters and planners to position the toilets back to back to lessen the risk of them being tipped over."

Although our recommendation for positioning the toilets will not stop them being tipped over, it will certainly reduce the risk significantly and make it more difficult to do. One of the chemicals used in the portable units has properties that can cause burns and are very toxic by inhalation, ingestion and through the skin. Medical teams that encounter casualties involved in such acts always take the people to a local A&E where they can often spend up to 24 hours in hospital under observation.

In one recent instance, a toilet was tipped over on to the door and the innocent person sustained cuts as a result, clearly this increased her chances on contamination affecting her blood. During another similar incident, a teenager was said to have ingested some of the contents whilst being freed from the toilet.

There have been cases of the perpetrators being charged with assault after being involved in such mindless acts and UK Event Safety would like to appeal to police forces nationally to enforce this as much as possible.

The act is also a massive drain on resources; those involved are event medics, NHS services, event security teams, police forces, toilet contractors (additional unnecessary decontamination work) and often a team will need to be brought in to decontaminate the ground in the area.

We appeal to those who think that this type of act is funny to think again, put yourself in the situation of those innocent people and also the shoes of those having to deal with the aftermath.

Another first for UK Event Safety

UK Event Safety are proud to have been a part of the 2010 Global Gathering at Long Marston airfield near Stratford Upon Avon.  This is the first time we have supported the ' Gathering and it was a huge success for us and we're certainly looking forward to the prospect of being invited back on to the team.  Despite this being the first time at the event, UK Event Safety have been the chosen safety providers for the venue for a number of years and we return there in the not too distant future for the Bulldog Bash.

Machinery Users - watch your backs!!

The HSE priorities aren't going to change dramatically in the near future. This means that working at height construction and refurbishment projects, slips trips and falls and managing asbestos will remain key focus areas. However, in addition machinery maintenance is being added to the priority list largely because the number of accidents involving machinery has increased.

Why are accident numbers going up?

It is suggested that the reason more staff are being injured in accidents involving machinery is because their employers have cut maintenance budgets. To a certain extent this is understandable - after all, money has been in short supply recently - but it cannot be condoned as it could put staff at risk.

• The "can't afford it" line won't get you too far with an inspector - especially if they can see that cuts you've made have increased risk. This means that if you do need to make cutbacks, you must ensure that you're not compromising safety standards by doing so.
• Don't be tempted to slash your maintenance budget. One of the first questions asked, either on a general inspection or following an injury, relates to arrangements for ensuring machinery is kept in safe working order. Maintenance record sheets, receipts etc. may be required as evidence to prove you're keeping on top of it.

Key areas

Obviously, when inspecting machinery, the inspector's focus is on the safety devices. Not only will they expect them to be in place, but also in full working order. They may well insist on testing them, i.e. they'll hit the emergency stop buttons, and use isolation switches/systems etc. They'll also be very interested in machinery guarding. In particular, they'll check that it's in place, not damaged and can be seen through, i.e. it's not scratched and cloudy.
You should expect the inspector to question staff using the machine. In particular, they are likely to ask:

• is regular maintenance completed?
• is there a reporting system in place to report defects, and, if so, are the reports followed up?
• has the member of staff been fully trained in the safe use, and if applicable, safe maintenance, of the machine?

For more information contact UK Event Safety, details are on our website Contacts Page

IMPORTANT INFORMATION!! Safe Storage of LPG Cylinders

The HSE is currently having a big push on Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) safety and during this time inspectors will be looking at portable cylinder storage. So how should you be storing them on your site? UK Event Safety can offer you guidance which will help to keep you and your gas safe.

The HSE has 3,000 inspections planned to look at how businesses store and use LPG on their sites. As this is right at the top of the inspection agenda, how should you be storing cylinders so you'll have no problems if you're visited?

LPG is held under pressure and although the cylinders themselves are very strong, the valves and hoses can be damaged, resulting in the gas leaking out. The gases are heavier than air, which means that they collect in low areas such as drains and basements. And as the gases are colourless, an explosive atmosphere can quickly develop inside a building without anyone realising.

The gas only needs to find an ignition source, such as a match or some static electricity, for a serious explosion and fire to occur. For this reason, not only should safe practices be followed, like turning off the valve when not in use, but the number of cylinders kept should also be kept to a minimum. This applies to empties as well, because although they may appear to be empty, there will still be sufficient gas left in the cylinder to cause or fuel a fire.

For more information contact us on info@uk-event-safety.co.uk or call us on 07905 068531

UK Event Safety head west...

UK Event Safety are heading west this coming weekend, this time to the Shropshire Truck Show.  Providing safety support for the guys at Event Developments Ltd, they have chosen UK Event Safety to take full responsibilty for public & arena safety as well as emergency planning and traffic management for the 2 day spectacular.

Find out more at www.shropshiretruckshow.co.uk

We've added a GALLERY!!

We have added 40 'views from the office window' pictures to our new gallery - go to our Previous/Gallery page to see them...

Guns N' Roses cancel show following stage collapse

Guns N' Roses have cancelled a show in Costa Rica following stage collapse Axl Rose's band's problems continue on South American jaunt

The show at San Jose's Estadio Ricardo Saprissa was called off because part of the stage collapsed from the weight of the screen which the band have been using as part of their live performances.

They had planned to reschedule the gig over the weekend before jetting off to their next South American concert in Guatemala. However, Axl Rose posted on his Twitter account earlier that it now looks unlikely the gig will be rescheduled.

He wrote "Though we'd obviously rather have a had a fun show we're more than thankful the very real n' serious staging problems were discovered b4 hand n' no one was hurt."

This is the second time a Guns N' Roses concert has been cancelled on their current jaunt due to the stage collapsing. Last month the band axed a show at Rio De Janeiro's Apoteose Stadium after heavy rain resulted in a similar problem.

At a later gig in Peru another concert was almost shelved after Rose threatened to walk offstage when he was hit by an object.

(Source NME)

UK Event Safety can provide you with support and advice on this and other event safety issues, why not e mail us info@uk-event-safety.co.uk or call us on 07905 068531

Traffic Management Plans - April 2010

Some event organisers have expressed surprise at a recent statement made by Gwent Police regarding Traffic Management Plans (TMP's). Gwent Police have said that they will no longer promulgate Traffic Management Plans for organisers. Most police forces ceased to provide this service some time ago as it proved to be such a drain on resources for them, so promoters in the Gwent Police area, you've been very lucky! UK Event Safety have a vast amount of experience in this field and regularly provide TMP's for a number of other events up and down the Country. Why not contact us for more details?