Changes to the law and emerging new technologies could usher in some fundamental changes to the management of risk for event companies in the coming year.
New Technology
The events before Christmas at Gatwick with over 140,000 passengers affected when the airport was closed due to illegal drones allegedly flown by eco protesters shows that new technology has a downside. Calls for a tightening of the law with regards to drones misses the point. There are perfectly good laws which were tightened this year to control the use of legally manufactured and legally flown drones. The problem is that with new technology not only can drones fly further for longer, it is possible to build an illegal drone without the inbuilt controls that would prevent such an incursion. Tightening the law does not work against protesters or terrorists already bent on breaking the law and whose intentions will not be deterred by new legislation. Gatwick’s spokesperson unhelpfully admitted on television that they are virtually powerless to prevent this kind of incident which presumably now means that we can expect a spate of copycat incidents in the coming year. The events industry is quite well informed with regards to the threat posed by drones as they are used extensively and legally at events for a wide variety of functions from filming to crowd monitoring. However the pace of technical changes means that we must make renewed efforts to understand the threat as technology changes.
Whilst Lithium batteries are a potential fire hazard, new battery technology is again advancing quickly and requires that we rethink our approach to temporary electrics. Venues are rightly concerned with fire safety and by default control access to mains supplies. The obvious solution is to ban the use of rechargeable batteries for use other than in portable items. The main issue is not mainstream manufactured portable batteries but cheap imitations made in the far East. Does this, however, miss the point? Is there potential for venues or contractors to provide power in the form of rechargeable batteries making mains single phase connections virtually redundant? Certainly it would be of great benefit in developing countries where the mains connections are often far more dangerous than a battery solution would be. Do we need to redefine what we mean by mains supply? Whilst this may seem fanciful, the idea of Formula E, basically electric racing cars, sponsored by all the main motor manufactures with its own world championship would have seemed fanciful until it started a few years ago. Now it is a mainstream motor racing fixture.
These are only two examples and the lesson is clear, the industry needs to do some horizon gazing to identify the threat and opportunities that these and other new technologies pose.
Event Organiser Engagement with Health and Safety
One of the biggest positive drivers of health and safety has been the proactive engagement of event organisers and promoters, which, since they are at the top of the commercial chain, is how it should be. We are now seeing organisers and promoters taking the reins with a larger and more significant presence on the various industry health, safety and security committees. This is to be welcomed. Venues and contractors traditionally dominate these forums as they tend to be the organisations with their own in house professional health and safety teams. Ultimately, however, it is organisers and promoters who generate the business which provides the resources to manage risk. The organiser/promoter sector needs to make the most of this opportunity to ensure that developments in health, safety and security strike the right balance between reducing risk and serving our customers and by extension promoting business growth.
Security and Op Griffin
The government is considering reviewing The Health and Safety at Work Act and the Licensing Act with a view to including specific security related duties of care. Whether or not it happens in 2019, it points to a prevailing view that companies and employees should be subject to criminal law responsibilities for security as well as health and safety as has already happened in the sports industry. The events industry needs to get ahead of this by applying the same process and protocols to security as it does for health and safety rather than treating it as an add on. One obvious solution is to bring health, safety and security policies in line with each other as part of a single approach to risk management which many event companies already do. To some this may seem like an overdue and obvious development but event companies need to carefully consider the legal implications of what would be a fundamental increase in their criminal law liabilities.
Op Griffin in its current form is due to end next year with the launch of its replacement scheduled for April/May 2019.
Fire Safety
Housing minister James Brokenshire confirmed on 18 December that the government will implement all the recommendations made by Hackitt in her Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety published in May 2018. Although the new regulatory framework will apply to high-risk residential buildings, the government also plans to consult in the spring on whether other buildings should be included where a fire involving them could put multiple lives at risk. This will surely, therefore, include event venues. The government has also launched a full review of fire safety guidance in building regulations. This indicates that changes in the law are contemplated which will impact on all parties engaged with event management. One of the issues is that fire safety is a Home Office issue, so the events industry’s channel of influence via the HSE at JACE is unlikely to have traction with the consultation which closes on 1 March. Senior risk managers in the events business would be wise to consider how we can bring collective influence to bear to ensure that we are not unnecessarily disadvantaged by the new proposals.
