Introduction
The concept of an Event Management Plan can be found in early event industry guidance such as the original Event Safety Guide (1999), paragraph 38:
“To provide a comprehensive overview to all these planning aspects it may be helpful to produce an event safety management plan.”
This was confirmed and expanded as part of the 2013 re-write as defined in chapter 2.43 of The Purple Guide (2013):
“It is useful to summarise and consolidate information into a single authoritative document, commonly referred to as an Event Management Plan (the Safety Plan). This will vary significantly in size and detail, depending on the scale and complexity of the event.”
Both documents refer to a number of suggested headings as areas for consideration, and we have included these in the templated headings with the Event Safety Plan app.
A key consideration is that the Event Management Plan is not a standalone document, but forms part of the overall Event Safety Plan which will include risk assessment / method statement documentation and information that complies with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM). In addition the Event Management Plan should be a dynamic document which is reviewed and updated as information becomes available, situations change or plans develop.
It is also important that full document control is in place to ensure that key stakeholders are not working from out of date documentation.
The Event Management Plan document will vary greatly in size, detail and scale depending on the type and size of the event. A small meeting or conference may only have a short document which highlights the key features – larger, more complex events may have documentation which runs to hundreds of pages – if required.
What is the Event Management Plan for?
The main use of the Event Management Plan document is to show the management of event safety for the live elements of the event. These will differ greatly to the event Pre-Construction Information and event Construction Phase Plan documents which deal specifically with the build and break down of the event.
There will be a greater number of considerations that have to be managed when dealing with the live event – the numbers of people, emergency procedures and management style will be very different to when its just the build team and your contractors.
Comparison with the Pre-Construction Information and Construction Phase Plan
Some elements of the Event Management Plan will be the same as the Pre-Construction Information and Construction Phase Plans – so you can use the app to duplicate and reuse these sections (for example, its unlikely that the address of your event site will change between the build and live parts of the event).
There are however many elements that may change – organisational management structure, first aid provision and welfare arrangements are just three examples.
Who is the document for?
The Event Management Plan can be a great resource for those who have an interest in the management of safety of the project. This could include staff members, volunteers, contractors and members of the statutory authorities (Health and Safety Executive, Local Authority) and blue light services. Done right, the Event Management Plan can be a resource document which can be shared widely to inform, educate and inform all those that will be working on your event site.