Tuesday tips for planning safe events: plan appropriately for crowd management
It’s time for another edition of Tuesday tips for planning safe events!
Today’s tip is plan appropriately for crowd management.
In order to plan for a safe event it is important to consider how you will manage your guests. Any crowd has the potential to present hazards if not managed effectively. These hazards can include:
- Aggressive behaviour
- Dangerous behaviour
- Trampling underfoot
- Pushing, shoving, etc.
- Collapse of a structure
Crowd management is needed in order to assure a safe and comfortable environment for your event attendees. Here are some important things to consider when planning for effective crowd management:
- Type of event— the type of event you are hosting can tell you a lot about the crowd you will likely attract. Being aware of the characteristics of your suspected audience will allow you to make useful predictions about how your guests will behave based on their age, gender, interests, etc., which will help you plan effectively for crowd management.
- Characteristics of facility—an effective crowd management plan will require you to have a good understanding of your facility. This includes:
- Understanding the maximum crowd capacity the venue can
accommodate
- Identifying any objects that could obstruct movement and
cause congestion during busy periods.
- Determining what, if any, possible weather conditions
could affect the safety of your attendees
- Identifying any safety hazards associated with the venue
or facility
- Planning methods of entrance and exit for all guests
(both regular and in case of emergency)
- Size of crowd—your crowd management plan should include a maximum crowd size that can safely be accommodated. Devise a plan for effectively turning additional people away in order to avoid exceeding your maximum capacity.
- Demeanor of crowd—it is important to consider the demeanor of your expected crowd in order to plan for effectively managing their behaviour.
- Controlling the crowd—your crowd management strategy will also require you to have personnel in place to monitor the crowd for disruptions and control any unwanted behaviour that could affect the safety of your guests. Depending on the size and nature of your event, this may include security guards or police officers. Having an Event Medical Service team on site can also be of benefit as it ensures the safety of your guests should any incidents occur.