| The UK has some of the most stringent Health | | | | Risk Assessment. This supports the investigation of |
| & Safety standards in the World. Most blue chip | | | | the activity by the provider. A Risk Assessment |
| companies go even further than the prescribed | | | | ensures that potential dangers have been considered |
| standards to ensure the wellbeing of their employees. | | | | and steps taken to minimize the risk. Activities are |
| Yet the majority of companies employ team building | | | | then classified as low, medium and high risk. You may |
| providers without checking on their own policies and | | | | decide to avoid high risk activities on your event. Risk |
| procedures. In effect they are handing over the | | | | Assessments are living documents, in that an activity |
| wellbeing of their employees to companies who do | | | | provider should update it along with lessons learned |
| not have the same standards as they do and in | | | | as they practice. |
| some cases companies who have no standards at all. | | | | If you are choosing medium or high risk activities it |
| This is not to say that these companies are | | | | would be prudent to ask how many times the |
| purposefully dangerous but some team building | | | | activity company has provided these activities |
| providers are small or one man bands and lack the | | | | before. You may wish to avoid undertaking a high |
| resources to have set up and run an acceptable | | | | risk activity run by a company who was providing it |
| Health & Safety policy on an ongoing basis. In | | | | for the first time. |
| my experience less than 10% of companies so much | | | | The corporate event industry is divided into |
| as enquire about Health & Safety and the vast | | | | companies operating on static sites and companies |
| majority do not even check whether event providers | | | | with a mobile operation who travel to venues. In |
| carry adequate insurance. This is a shocking fact and | | | | most cases the event will be held in a field, often |
| I believe that it is caused by that dangerous | | | | close to the hotel at which a client is staying. It is |
| adversary of risk management; assumption. | | | | essential that any company providing such events |
| It is very difficult to assess the size and standard of | | | | visits the site before hand to assess the land. It is |
| operation of a company from their website. | | | | not enough to use a map as there can be trees in |
| Companies may look like an International operator | | | | dangerous locations, particularly for motorized |
| with hundreds of employees when in fact they are a | | | | vehicles such as quad bikes or dune buggies, or holes |
| one man band trading from a spare bedroom. It is | | | | in the land which make it dangerous for activities. In |
| essential that those booking events ask for | | | | some cases land can be contaminated with |
| reassurance in the form of copies of insurance cover | | | | dangerous scrap metal or broken glass. |
| documents, a written Health & Safety policy and | | | | If an event is water based the water should have |
| Risk Assessments of each of the activities being | | | | recently been tested. In water parks or regularly |
| undertaken. This is a simple process; documents need | | | | used locations this is likely to be a regular |
| to be seen and dates need to be checked to ensure | | | | undertaking, but in some cases a pond or waterhole |
| that they are current. | | | | will be used for bridge building or raft racing. This |
| Every activity provided by an event company should | | | | should be tested for bacteria or other dangerous |
| have a unique Risk Assessment. In some cases there | | | | deposits. It's a risk to simply use an area of water |
| is clearly no risk at all, but still the procedure should | | | | without considering this. |
| be undertaken. In such cases the Risk Assessment | | | | There are many other areas that a sound Health |
| will read 'this activity has been assessed and classified | | | | & Safety procedure will cover. It takes time and |
| as low risk' with the name of whoever undertook | | | | effort to set one up and it needs to be maintained |
| the Risk Assessment. Companies should have a | | | | and updated on an ongoing basis. All event |
| designated Health & Safety Officer who has | | | | management companies should have one in place and |
| undergone training and is sufficiently experienced to | | | | they will only improve if more clients demand to see |
| know how to recognize potential risks. | | | | them. |
| The key document to consider in this process is the | | | | |