The M
e t a project brings together music makers and workers across the British Isles!
S a f e G i g g i n g
HEALTH
AND SAFETY
FOR MUSICIANS
by Dave Cross
Contents:-
 Safety of
performers
Safety of
the public
Risk
Assessments
Outdoor
events
Noise levels
What the law
says and what
industry organisations say :-
Check the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk -
relevant sections include manual handling, electrical,
chemical, working at heights, noise at work, and so on.
Check the ABTT website www.abtt.org.uk/info/index.html -
manly concerned with work in theatres but applicable to
many other venues. This site has more links to H&S
info.
Lets get one thing straight - There's never going to much
to be gained by trying to make out that its someone else
who is responsible for safety - if you have been in the
least bit involved in an event at which there's been an
accident, you are probably at least partly responsible
for it! There's a massive difference between being to blame
and being responsible. OK, maybe I'm exaggerating,
but if you think how much damages someone can claim for
an injury and how little you are going to be able to pay
for a full legal defence against a big claim, then we
might as well start thinking straight . . . we are all
responsible for making our gigs and our venues as safe as
possible. And we should all WANT to be making them as
safe as possible.
There's actually quite a lot we can do to try and make
gigs safe, and most of the skill lies in knowing what
these are. Reading this article should help. If everyone
in a venue knows the risks and knows procedures to avoid
or minimise them and then actually makes the effort to
put those procedures into practice, then there's not much
more that can be done. In fact the only other things
worth doing are writing down what those risks and
procedures are and trying to let all newcomers become
fully aware of them.
Here is how it works :-
First,
identify what the risks are and write them down (there is
a typical list at the end) ;
Second, decide how serious and how likely each of these
are ;
Third, decide what can be done to avoid or minimise them ;
Finally, decide who will be responsible for doing each of
these avoidance procedures.
If you've written these down and have been realistic in
putting those procedures into practice, then it should be
easy to show that you are acting responsibly if ever you
are challenged.
Of course if there is a serious accident, no paperwork in
the world is going to undo the injury, so we shouldn't
get too involved in meeting the legal requirements
without also looking carefully at the practical measures
we should all be taking to keep the music business free
from disaster !
Safety
of Performers
Before we
look at public safety, lets make sure you understand the
risks to yourself, the venue staff and the performers!
There's electrocution, injury from lifting heavy
equipment, accidents loading vans in the dark and wet,
hearing loss, tripping on cables, steps, staging and other objects,
driving accidents, injury from energetic dancing /
performing on-stage, disease from bad sanitation or food
hygiene, insecure stage structures, fire in the venue,
falling or bumping into something in a stage black-out,
inability to get to a hospital, inability to hear an
emergency announcement. And these are just for starters.
Many performers feel they can't do their job properly (or
certainly don't enjoy it properly) if they're sober. Just
look through that list of risks again and guess how each
risk would be affected by a different state of mind !
Performers and staff might be overlooked when planning
for safety (for example, there might be Fire Exits which
will get an audience out of the building in a hurry, or
there might be a First Aid kit for them kept in the box
office), but where there's risk there should be
prevention, so all the plans for public safety must also
have the special risks of performers and staff taken into
account. Lets just suppose that a venue has a beer cellar
and that only senior bar staff are allowed down there.
However, someone - a friend of a friend, someone who is
not on the staff, not a paying punter and not a performer
- is down in the cellar for some reason and is injured by a
falling beer keg. Unless it had been made clear that the
friend must not go there, so clear that there can be no
argument, then it seems like the venue manager is
responsible for that falling beer keg and therefore is
responsible for the injury !
Now there's an excellent example of what I mean by the
difference between being to blame and being responsible.
Gigging is a risky business, and I know from my own
experience that all of these examples have happened to
performers on gigs I've worked at. It really doesn't make
sense for a musician to be more pre-occupied with the
sound of a new effects pedal than any of these risks.
Dead musos don't use effects pedals.
Safety
of the Public
Never mind
getting punters to come to your gigs, lets just make sure
they can get away again - without injury !
Just about all the risks to you (listed
above) could also apply to your audience and the venue
staff. Some of these might be avoidable if the public can
be kept away from the stage and back-stage areas, but
then you have to add the additional risks that your
audience might experience :- a locked fire exit, lights and
loudspeakers falling onto the public, trapped when trying
to leave in a panic, dehydration from heat and dancing,
an epileptic fit caused by flashing lights, injury from a
stage-diver or a crowd-surfer, injury from a violent incident,
tripping on loose carpet or furnishing, a collapsing chair,
hit by a flying drum stick, guitar string, microphone stand, or
beer can, cut by broken glass. You could even add:
trapped in a collapsing venue !
All of these risks to the public will presumably also
apply to the staff and any "guests" or other
workers in the premises. Its obvious that some of these
risks are going to come from the building itself and some
from the performance, but we still all need to know how
each risk can be minimised and by who, so we do have to
consider every one of these risks.
There are periodic checks of UK venues by Inspectors from
the local Fire
Brigade and by the
local authority's Environmental
Health officers,
but neither of these checks take away our responsibility
- if anything, they might just add to the list of risks
we have to be prepared for.
I was in one major venue when it burnt down. The fire
hoses had perished at the ends, even though the Fire
Officer had been in two weeks earlier and given approval
for the event to take place. The responsibility still lay
with the venue - it was their fire hoses which had
perished and their responsibility to check them
regularly. The Fire Officer should be able to assume that
venue managers act responsibly whether or not they come
out to inspect the building.
So if Public Safety is to be our first concern, what do
we have to do?
Write that list of all the risks and our proposed
solutions to each (see below). And don't put it off any
longer !
Make sure that we know who is going to make each of
these solutions actually happens, and who will check that it has happened.
Make a note of any injury or incident (and if there's a
chance that there might be a claim for compensation, get
the names and addresses of any witnesses, preferably
sober ones including the venue's security staff, if any).
Make sure that all the staff and any helpers & volunteers
know what these safety procedures are.
Make sure that everyone also knows who to contact whenever
something dangerous happens and even when they spot something
that might become dangerous.
Outdoor
Events
Special
considerations apply outdoors, in addition to most
of the issues mentioned above.
In the open air, there may be risks from debris falling
from buildings, sanitation arrangements, crowd and
traffic control, lost children, weather related hazards
such as sunburn or pneumonia or roads blocked by vehicles
stuck in mud.
For many risks the main difference between an indoor and
outdoor event will simply be the numbers of people - and
their needs for travel, catering, sanitation, first aid
etc.
Most of the concerns by police and local authorities at
outdoor events are public safety issues, especially crowd
control in case of serious incident, evacuation in the
case of emergency, and access by emergency vehicles.
Some of these can become quite complex, and to make
matters more complex, different police Inspectors and
different local authorities do not all have the same
concerns. Although the Home Office does publish
guidelines, the organisers of major events are expected
to produce an "event
manual" which goes
into detail about these and other matters.
It will be for the event organiser to convince these
authorities that there are workable plans in place to
deal with all the hazardous eventualities that could
arise and there are enough security staff with adequate
skill, training, experience and possibly qualifications,
to manage the detailed plans described in the "event
manual".
Good communications, good pre-event briefing and
experienced management all go a long way to deal with the
possible incidents that can arise at an event.
The newcomer to outdoor event production might be daunted
by the difficulty of satisfying officers that an event
will be safe enough to be allowed to go ahead, and the
cost of some of these security measures can be enormous,
but there have been too many accidents in the past - and
every plan to avoid these makes the difference between
gigs that can be allowed to go ahead and those that
can't.
There are professional firms of event management and risk
management who can be contracted to handle large events
and to arrange how to meet the requirements and concerns
of the Police, the Local Authority and others.
What
the law says
If you have
a look through the Health
and Safety Executive's web site,
you might notice that as well as good, practical advice,
they also list the prosecutions for breaches of safety.
There was a fine of £12,000 for an entertainment event
just a kilometre from my front door where a rope which
hadn't been adequately checked for safety eventually
broke. But lets just take that as a caution, because if
we have a proper attitude to safety, that kind of thing
isn't going to happen to us.
In law, there are two categories of offence.
First, there
are criminal
offences which can
even apply if no one is actually injured. These including
putting the public (or staff) at risk, usually by failing
to observe some well established procedures for avoiding
risk. This might be as simple as keeping the public out
of dangerous areas or providing clear notices to warn the
public of exceptional risk or not having a First Aid Kit
available.
The Health and Safety Executive (a department of the UK
Government) offers advice and publications to help
promote Safe working practices. Similarly, a number of
Trade Unions publish guidelines for their particular
areas of activity. Probably the most relevant to us is
BECTU, the union representing Theatre technicians among
others - their web site includes a safety forum
(links below).
Many of the recommendations are not legal requirements
which lead to prosecution if you don't comply - but if
there is an incident, and its clear that you
hadn't followed the recommendations, then you'll probably
have to pay for your "negligence".
Secondly, there are civil
offences which are
claims for compensation made by an individual (or by a
company) who have actually suffered in some way and
believe that they can show that their loss was caused by
someone else's actions (or more usually, by someone else
not having acted as they should - a negligence).
Compensation claims can reach millions of pounds per person
injured or killed, which is why event insurance is so important -
and expensive.
Let's not get frightened by the law, many Health and
Safety guidelines have been the result of experience -
and are a serious attempt to make life safer for all of
us. The Health
and Safety Executive and local Environmental
Health officers
are very willing to talk through a particular event and
bring their valuable knowledge about what can be done to
minimise risks - normally, they will only take legal
action in cases where their advice has been repeatedly
ignored. If you follow the general advice in this
article, and look on H & S officers as allies in the
struggle against accidents, that will leave you with the
civil offences to worry about.
One reason why civil actions can be more worrysome is
that people can change their mind, or have their minds
changed for them, after an incident. Lets look at a
fictitious example :-
A
punter is dancing and, having drunk enough to be quite
dis-orientated, bumps into a loudspeaker. Someone else
had put their bag and their drink on top of that
loudspeaker. The bump causes the speaker to wobble, the
bag and glass topple off, the bag falls on the punter's
head and arm, the glass lands on the floor, spills the
drink over the floor and breaks into pieces. The punter
is startled by being hit on the head, slips on the wet
floor, is cut by fragments of glass and has a bruise on
the arm. Other friends who didn't really see all these
details do see someone hurt on the floor and offer to
help. In good humour, the injured person gets up and with
only a complaint about a tear in some clothing, sits down
for a few minutes, has another drink or three bought by
the well-wishers, and carries on dancing.
The next day, feeling dreadful (from the injury or the
drinking?) a friend advises that our injured punter sees
a solicitor, anyway it won't cost anything because the
solicitor offers free consultation for the first meeting.
The solicitor suggests having a go at making a claim
and advises writing a letter to the venue
threatening to sue for multiple injuries leading to
damages of the "loss of income". The torn
clothes are evidence, the friends can be named as
"witnesses" and when they are helped to recall
what happened by a solicitor's letter and a chat the next
weekend, they are all very sober. Someone from the venue
is going to have to defend a large claim in court, with
very little evidence, no witnesses, no insurance against
the claim and wishing that gig had never happened. The
venue in turn might try and make someone else liable -
the loudspeaker shouldn't have been left where it could
wobble or have things put on it, the bar manager
shouldn't have served breakable glasses, the security
manager should have taken a signed statement from the
punter and any other witnesses straight away. Others will
blame the venue management - there should have been
barriers and warning notices - security staff should have
stopped people dancing on the wet floor - and on it goes.
It could be
you - so what would you do ?
The first solution is to be able to see into the future.
The second solution is only a little easier ! It is to
think of as many possible risks as you can, and then
create a "Risk Assessment" which all the staff
will be involved in writing, reading and understanding.
Risk
Assessment
The
following table is a specimen Risk Assessment and
Safety Policy for some Risks.
Many of the details may not apply to your particular
activity at all, while others which are not included here
will apply to you.
But these should give you a good idea of what sort of
risks and actions you should be considering, the level of
detail that your preventative measures should go into and
the general principles of writing a Risk Assessment.
(Ooooh ! Won't the Health and Safety Inspector
just love you if you have one of these ?)
Note that in
this example, there is no reference to First
Aid procedures,
fire fighting, or to naming the officers responsible for
Health and Safety. Some of these are more matters of
procedure, which ideally you will also have written down,
they are certainly important elements in running a venue.
There must be a
First Aid Kit, and as you
are required to have a fully stocked First Aid kit at all
times, and which must be available for inspection by a
H&SE officer, you should actually keep two - one for
use, and one which stays fully stocked ready for an
inspection.
The Fire
extinguishers must be
working, must be regularly checked and there must be
clear signs indicating all your Fire
Exists -
these signs must remain lit at all times.
Everyone on the staff and management must know where the
First Aid kit and Fire extinguishers are, and how to use
them.
| Activity |
Who
might be harmed |
Risk
rating |
Existing
risk control methods |
Further
action to reduce risk |
Fire
|
Staff
& customers
|
med
|
Exits
via front doors or unlocked fire doors
Fire doors to be unlocked an unobstructed when
public in the premises
Fire extinguishers
Fire drills
Do not risk injury by fire-fighting
Prohibit smoking in areas of risk
|
Switch
off hot appliances (e.g. cooking rings, soldering
irons) when not in use;
Only use flammable substances when necessary and
under conditions described below under
"Hazardous substances"
Dispose of lit cigarette ends and matches with
care;
Do not leave any items on, in front of or next to
electric heaters;
Check electrical safety of equipment (see under
"Electricity"). |
| Slips,
trips & falls on level ground |
Staff
and assistants
|
med
|
Keeping
working area floors free from obstacles.
|
Clear
up spills & dropped items immediately;
Inspect outside loading areas before loading;
Watch out for where colleagues are walking &
advise if dangerous. |
| |
Public
|
high
|
Keep
floors free from obstacles.
|
Where
cables MUST be left on floor level, run along
walls and secure them, or across open spaces,
cover them, secure them or in turf, trench them
in.
Mark all hazards clearly so that the warnings can
be seen and understood under all conditions when
the public have access.
Keep a supply of signs, bollards and hazard tapes
which can mark areas as slippery, having an
obstacle or a hole. |
Injury
from stage diving
from moshing
from crowd surfing
|
Public
|
low
|
Security
staff positioned near stage to identify and
prevent stage divers
Barriers 1 mtr in front of stage for busy events.
|
require
security staff to approach ""mosh
pit"" and disperse crowd with gentle,
slow pressure out from the centre of the mosh;
require security staff to approach stage divers
and crowd surfers and insist that they cease -
remove repeat offenders from the stage area and
warn that that they will be asked to leave if
they return there; |
Injury
from carrying
(manual handling)
|
Staff
|
high
|
Observation
of proper lifting procedures:
Training courses and pamphlets to instruct safe
manual handling procedures.
|
use
lifts, trolleys and other aids whenever possible;
think through the safety hazards of each load and
the route to follow before lifting;
share heavy loads with others;
use bent legs and straight back when lifting from
ground level;
distribute the weight of a load evenly between
people on stairs;
avoid unstable loads, incl. trolley loads where a
wheel may suddenly stop;
check all handles and corners to be held are
secure & dry. |
| Loading
& unloading vehicles |
Staff
|
high
|
|
watch
continually for moving vehicles;
|
| |
Public
|
high
|
|
secure
vehicle doors to prevent them swinging into road
or people esp. if buffeted by wind or passing
vehicles;
where there is a choice, use the safest loading
doors;
give priority to passing pedestrians - always
wait for pedestrians to pass. |
| Driving
vehicles |
Staff
and
public |
high
|
observe
the highway code
|
prohibit
reversing without a second person being present
to keep the public and the vehicle apart;
|
| Soldering |
Staff |
med |
avoid
breathing solder fumes by using in ventilated
area |
do
not lean over work;
avoid soldering in confined spaces. |
| Hazardous
substances |
|
|
flammable
cleaning solutions & solvents to be kept on
ground level in fire resistant store |
|
Noise
|
Staff
Public
|
high
|
earplugs;
sound level meters - advise venue managers of
risks and permitted operating sound levels and
durations of exposure.
When positioning temporary loudspeakers, consider
the risks to public, staff and performers in
various positions. |
advise
use of sound level readings and avoid prolonged
exposure to average levels over 85dbA if
possible, and never over a peak maximum of
140dbA.
Avoid installing speakers in concentrated
clusters where people may become close enough,
long enough, to receive damage.
Avoid installing speakers where anyone is likely
to stand immediately in front and certainly where
staff are Required to stand, in order to prevent
the risk of hearing damage. |
Electricity
|
Public
|
high
|
ensure
all equipment is earthed;
use of Earth Leakage Current Breakers;
routine cable and equipment safety testing;
keep mains connectors away from public reach. |
regularly
check earth continuity, integrity of mains
connections and operation of Earth Leakage
Current Breakers to protect public and those
using equipment (performers etc.).
Avoid using connections to extend cables by using
longer cables. |
Electricity
|
Staff
|
high
|
|
check
earth continuity to all equipment;
disconnect / isolate equipment from supply before
removing equipment covers;
use enclosed power supplies where possible to
power equipment under test;
avoid contact with high voltage areas by
insulated coverings;
discharge high capacity / high voltage power
supplies before working on circuitry that is
unpowered;
double check all work on mains circuits before
powering up;
never work on live circuits unless absolutely
necessary, and then only with managerial approval
and close supervision;
only use adequately rated insulated tools for
live working (including meter probes);
never leave exposed live equipment unattended;
always double check that mains cables are
unpowered before working on them;
connect equipment under test to supplies
protected by R.C.D. circuit breakers;
never work on three phase supplies without
supervision;
protect equipment and connections against water -
if non waterproof equipment or connections have
become wet, switch off as soon as practicable. |
Electricity
and water (or other fluids)
|
All
|
high
|
Ensure
all outdoor installations use waterproof
connections, housings and equipment , or that
they are protected by adequate housing. (Refer to
IP rating chart)
Ensure all indoor installations are protected by
reasonable means from fluid spillage.
|
Prefer
battery operated equipment if feasible;
Only where there is a confident prediction of no
rain, snow, mist or spray will indoor equipment
be useable out of doors;
Switch off all equipment affected by accidental
spillage;
When delivering or installing equipment, advise
operational staff to similarly switch off all
equipment affected by accidental spillage. |
Falling
from heights
|
Staff
|
|
Regular
inspection and testing of ladders.
|
never
work at heights alone if avoidable - always
inform someone else of your intention to work at
heights;
never carry objects up a ladder where they can be
raised separately and/or secured by rope;
sustained work at heights and work with heavy
weights or awkward shapes should be performed
from access towers. |
| Objects
falling from above |
Staff
|
low
|
protective
clothing;
use of step ladders to reach high shelves etc. |
wear
hard hats where risk of head injury is present;
always ensure ladders are secure & stable
before use. |
| |
Staff
& Public
|
med
|
safe
working practices
|
never
work above the public;
use barriers or an assistant to ensure that an
adequately wide area below will remain free from
people;
secure all equipment with both primary and
secondary fixings to a stable structure;
check all high surfaces are free from loose
objects (tools, spare parts, etc) before
admitting public. |
Use
of power tools
|
staff
|
high
|
Use
of protective clothing where appropriate (incl.
gloves & goggles)
|
Ensure
that the work piece and the tool are firmly
secured (never use your foot or knee to secure
the work when using a a hand held tool);
before drilling into walls, check for hidden
cables or pipes by all available means;
when attaching brackets etc. to walls (or
ceilings) ensure that the bracket and its fixings
are rated for the load to be attached;
check that wall fixings are securely attached to
the wall,
test the fixings before attaching the load, then
re-check;
ensure that the power tool is properly connected
to the mains supply and that its cable does not
present a hazard to yourself or others by the
route taken by the cable. |
Driving
|
Staff
& other road users |
high
|
Adhere
to the guidance in the highway code |
report
defects in vehicle which may have safety
implications. |
| Office
work - back strain |
Staff
|
Low
|
Supply
of office chairs with adjustable lumbar support.
|
ensure
that you are comfortably seated when working for
prolonged periods in one place;
take routine breaks to exercise your body. |
Office
work
- eye strain |
Staff
|
Low
|
|
Ensure
the work is adequately lit;
take routine breaks from work involving a fixed
distance to the work you are doing |
Computer
work
- eye strain
- back strain
- headache
- R.S.I. |
Staff
|
med
low
low
low |
|
take routine breaks away from the screen
ensure that the seating position is comfortable
and supportive;
stop working if a headache begins - take a rest
& refreshment;
take routine breaks from repetitive work. |
General
- inebriation |
All
|
High
|
Prohibition of work with any equipment or with
electricity whilst intoxicated. |
Seek assistance if work becomes necessary whilst
intoxicated (eg late night call-out). |
Other
risks
|
All
|
|
Notify
superior of any dangers (actual or potential)
that becomes noticeable;
Warn all others at work of that damage and seek
health & safety guidance as soon as
practicable. |
|
Notice that
one of the most dangerous activities of all - driving -
barely gets a mention. Where it is mentioned, the Risk
Assessment only adds one minor safety measure to the Highway
Code. There's a
good reason for that. The Highway Code, and the laws that
it is based on, have already been accepted as the
required safety guidelines for driving - people are not
allowed to drive without having passed an examination
that shows they understand that code. Consequently, if
there was a safety measure that drivers should be taking
but which is not in the Highway Code then you, an
event organiser or a musician, can hardly be held
responsible for pointing it out to your staff or public.
There are other examples of general guidelines which you
could simply refer to and mention that they must be
followed, in the knowledge that others have already
declared and accepted that these guidelines are adequate.
These include building
regulations and electrical
wiring regulations. You should
know they exist, and you should insist that work complies
with these regulations - but you are not expected to
learn what's in them (unless you try to do the work
yourself - just like the driving example).
Music
as Noise. We all know
that loud music can cause hearing
loss
or deafness
, but the
guidelines, the enforcement and even the law can be very
hard to understand. It also seems that many VERY loud
gigs and clubs continue week after week without
prosecution, so its tempting to think that we can all
carry on regardless, as long as our venue or gig seems no
louder than any other.
Wrong.
The law is actually quite clear, The 1989
Noise at Work Regulations
spell it out. Simply not many Health and Safety officers
understand it, understand the measuring instruments and
have no guidelines from their Council to help them know
what to do. I have actually met three Local Authority Safety Officers during
separate music events who had very nice, new and
expensive measuring instruments. Not one of them
understood the instruments, and one actually passed it to
me so that I could take "the right reading"!
Exposure to 85dbA or more is considered
dangerous to a person's hearing. Its that simple. It
doesn't make any difference whether the person exposed is
in the audience, a member of staff or a performer, though
if they are staff you have the power to issue them with
ear-plugs and insist that they wear them. However, an
ear-plug may claim that it can reduce sound levels by
30db, but that's going to be the best figure achieveable,
when perfectly fitted into a perfect ear - typically they
will reducing the level by only 10 to 20db. Exposure to
higher levels such as the 110dbA often
sustained for hours in clubs is going to increase the
risks to the point where the venue operator and technical
staff could be accused of grossly irresponsible behaviour
and even willfully attempting to inflict physical damage
on the public !
The Regulations require peaks of 140dbA to be avoided at
all times. As the sound is always going to be loudest
immediately in front of the loudspeakers, it would be a reasonable
precaution to ensure that it is not possible for anyone
to stand within a meter or two of the speakers.
These sort of violations haven't been the subject of
unexpected late night raids yet, but it might just be a
matter of time.
It is also worth being aware that the information
available in publications and on the web doesn't stop at
advice to employers - there is just as much advice and support
for employees and audiences in making a claim for
compensation !
If you do choose to buy a sound-level meter, you will
find prices range up to over a thousand pounds. Some of
the more expensive models will record the maximum and
average sound levels that occurred over a specific period
and can store results for analysis by computer later. But
there may be no need to spend much more than one or two
hundred pounds (UK sterling
2003) to get a
good idea of whether your event or venue is exceeding
safe limits. It will also be worthwhile spending some
time understanding the meter - that might give you an
advantage over a Council officer who doesn't!
The loudness of sound is measures in decibels, which is
abbreviated to "db". The
several letters used in specifying sound levels, 'A',
'B', 'C' etc (called weightings) refer to the
way the sound readings are adjusted in respect of the
amount of bass and treble that are being measured. This
is because loud bass is not percieved to be as loud as,
for example, the same level of a more vocal sound.
Different regulations refer to different weightings -
when you come across a limit of, say, 100dbA, the last
letter, the 'A' in this case, indicates which weighting
should be used when measuring the sound. The "A"
weighting filters out a lot of the low bass sound,
measuring only those sounds which are agreed to be
hazardous to hearing. The "B"
weighting measures predominantly the bass sounds which
are usually the cause of nuisance complaints and are
referred to by Environmental Protection legislation,
whereas the "C" weighting
measures all sounds almost equally.
It may take some time before UK law starts to be enforced
sensibly and consistently, but don't be the first one in
your town to be caught out - enforcement is coming so you
might as well speak to your Safety Officer or Environmental
Health Officer now, rather than wait until its too late.
Breaches of the regulations will be considered when the
venue's licence comes up for
renewal - that would not be the best time to start
thinking about music as a health hazard.
Similarly, the 1996 Noise Act allowed
the seizure of equipment if an Officer found that the noise exceeded
the levels permitted in accordance with the Environmental
Protection Act. Even asking for your equipment back the
next day won't be easy if there is likely to be a
prosecution because the Police can hold on to your
equipment for use as evidence for as long as they think
is necessary for their investigations whether or not they
lead to a case against you in Court.
The Health & Safety Executive has published a consultation document
which asks for comments from interested parties about their proposals to
implement new (2003)
Directives which are aimed at lowering noise levels
in the workplace even further. This would have a massive impact on music
and entertainments and readers may be interested to read these.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd196.pdf
Sections 20 to 22 refer to live and recorded music venues.
Catering.
If you serve
food
and drink, there are
also a whole list of other measures which must be
observed, including the hygienic disposal of the rubbish.
Your local Environmental
Health department will give
you guidance notes about hygiene in the kitchen. If there
is ever as much as a hint that they might close your
venue on health grounds, don't, don't get annoyed at the
Health Officer - look at why your kitchen is unhygienic.
Even if its just a perished seal around the freezer's
door - don't get angry, fix it ! It matters !
For two decades now, food regulations have insisted on
using different implements for the preparation and
handling of different categories of foodstuffs, and
recommending a colour coding to clearly identify which
impliments can be used on which categories. This is to
prevent cross-contamination of bacterium from foodstuffs
that might harbour pathogens to others where they might
thrive. You might also have read the very clear evidence
that while this seggregation has been enforced, food
poisoning from "e-coli" has actually
increased, whereas public health has actually improved by
implementing other methods of hazard analysis and
control. Scientific evidence and the law are not the same
thing ! So don't pick an argument with the Environmental
Health Officer - their policies may be misinformed, but
they are still obliged to enforce them and you are still
obliged to comply.
The
unthinkable. The more
gigs you promote and the more people you have attending,
the greater the risk of a grave medical condition
arising. If it wasn't for the fact that many people at
critical risk of a serious condition might stay away from
your gigs, just consider the statistics :-
During a 3.5 hour gig, with an audience of only 100,
there's a probability of 1 in 2000 that someone in your
audience will die.
After two years promoting that gig once a week, that
probability will have accumulated to a worrying 1 in 20
chance.
Now keep doing those sums . . . After four years, with
gigs attracting 200 punters twice a week, between you and
a partner promoting in another venue, the odds are that
one of you will have a fatality during a gig. ARE
YOU READY FOR THAT ?
As I said, these statistics are skewed by the fact that
most unhealthy people will stay away. Of course the odds
get to be alarmingly high when you start to include
various illnesses or accidents - these do happen with
frustrating regularity. I have actually been at a gig
when a man in the audience suffered a fatal heart attack.
The staff knew what to do.
Do yours ?
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