Managing Safety
The detailed management responsibilities fall into the following basic categories, each of which management should address in establishing a safety management structure:
a. Legislation:
Management should be aware of:
- the requirements of the safety certificate (if applicable)
- safety of sports grounds legislation
- fire safety legislation
- health and safety at work legislation
- legislation relating to people with disabilities
- civil contingencies legislation
- any other specific pieces of legislation that may have relevant safety implications
b. Staffing
Management should:
- identify those to whom it intends to allocate safety duties
- draw up and keep under review job descriptions for all posts holding safety duties and resource such posts
- appoint an occupationally competent safety officer and deputy
- ensure all operational safety-related posts are held by appropriately trained and competent persons
c. Planning
Management should:
- draw up a written safety policy for spectators
- draw up an operations manual
- draw up contingency plans
- agree an emergency procedure plan
- agree procedures for accommodating all spectators, including those with disabilities, the elderly, families and children and, where appropriate, supporters of visiting clubs
d. Monitoring and records
Management should:
- using standard forms, record all incidents and circumstances which have the potential to cause accidents, prioritise and monitor subsequent remedial actions and maintain an audit trail
- conduct periodic safety audits and reviews, in particular after any major event, and draw up any consequent action list
- ensure that no other management decisions or policies compromise safety at the sports ground
- maintain records of each event in respect of the event itself, stewarding, the fabric of the ground and first aid and medical provision
e. Risk assessment
Management must carry out site-specific risk assessments for all events including any ancillary activities. Risk assessment should not impose a burden but should encourage the formulation of practical and systematic action plans to reduce the level of risk to spectators.
It is recommended that the assessments should be undertaken by competent persons with the appropriate skills and experience. Specialist advice may need to be sought, but members of the management’s safety team should contribute their own experience and knowledge of the ground being assessed, including its operation during events.
Risk assessment should consist of the following steps, all of which should be documented:
- identify hazards to which spectators may be exposed
- determine which spectators may be harmed and how
- evaluate the risks and decide on the precautions to be taken
- record the findings and implement preventative and/or protective measures
- assess and review the adequacy and effectiveness of such measures and revise them where necessary
Experience has shown that hazardous situations may develop immediately before and during events. These may not have been identified in the pre-event risk assessments.
It is therefore recommended that management should implement a system of ongoing risk assessment during the event. This will assist and inform its safety decisions as the event proceeds. Such risk assessments should be documented.
It is recommended that when conducting risk assessments management should consult with the relevant authorities. Further guidance is available from the Health and Safety Executive.
Activity 1
Produce a presentation of 10 slides, summarising the responsibilities of managers of sports stadiums.
Spectator safety policies
It is a requirement of current legislation that every ground management should have in place a written spectator safety policy. Such a policy demonstrates that management has devoted thought and effort towards the safety and welfare of spectators. It also shows whether the policy has been fully thought out in practical terms. The safety policy should:
- explain management’s safety objectives and the means of achieving them
- be agreed by management and disseminated and explained to all members of staff, contract staff, part-time and voluntary workers
- demonstrate that from the highest level of management downwards there is a positive attitude to public safety
- be reviewed by management on an annual basis and revised as necessary.
The spectator safety policy document should clearly indicate:
- the ground management’s philosophy on safety
- with whom lies ultimate responsibility for safety at the ground
- to whom responsibility is delegated
- the chain of command
- how the safety policy is to be implemented and communicated
- how the safety policy is to be audited, by internal or external means, and reviewed.
The policy document and any subsequent revisions should
be signed and dated by the person identified with ultimate responsibility on behalf of ground management.
Activity 2
Summarise the purpose and content of a spectator safety policy.
Contingency plans
Contingency plans need to be drawn up by managers in order to comply with current ground regulations. The information below summarises the need for and purpose of contingency plans.
Ground management should assess the risk of any incident occurring at the sports ground which might prejudice public safety or disrupt normal operations. Such incidents often arise with little or no warning and may not be capable of being dealt with by the management operating under normal conditions. Management should therefore prepare contingency plans to determine specific actions and/or the mobilisation of specialist resources. The contingency plans should be reviewed annually and after any incident, significant near miss or exercise. Following the review the contingency plans should be presented to the board of directors (or equivalent body) for ratification.
Contingency plans should lay down a structured and graduated response with clear guidelines on the measures to be adopted in particular circumstances, bearing in mind both internal and external factors specific to the individual sports ground.
Exercises to test contingency plans must be staged at least once a year in consultation with the relevant authorities and emergency services. It is essential that the safety officer, deputy and appropriate stewards have a full working knowledge of all the contingency plans. The procedures set out within contingency plans should also be made familiar to all staff at the sports ground, not only to those with specific safety-related duties.
Activity 3
A list of the headings which should be covered in a contingency plan is set out below. Add the missing words.
- Fire
- Bomb threat, suspect package, terrorist attack (including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear)
- Buildings and services
- damage to structures
- power cut or failure
- passenger lift or escalator failure
- gas leak or chemical incident
- Safety equipment failure
- turnstile counting mechanism
- closed circuit television
- public address system
- electronic information boards
- stewards’ radio system
- internal telephone systems
- fire warning systems
- Crowd control
- surging or crushing
- pitch incursion
- late arrivals or delayed start
- lock outs including progressive turnstile closure
- disorder inside the ground
- large-scale ticket forgery
- Emergency evacuation
- Severe adverse weather
- Ticketing strategy in the event of an abandoned fixture
Click the reveal button above to check your answers
Record keeping
Management is responsible for keeping records of each event, including:
- details of all pre-event inspections
- details of the pre-event briefing and, where appropriate, any training given to stewards
- the number of spectators admitted to the ground, and, where appropriate, to each section of the ground
- the numbers and posts of all first-aiders and doctor(s) in attendance
- incident forms recording any accident or incident which might have led to an accident
- details of all first aid or medical treatment provided, while preserving medical confidentiality regarding the identity of those treated
- details of all emergency drills or evacuation exercises plus any incident which tested the contingency plans
- details of any non-routine opening of an exit door or gate
- details of any assumption of control by the police
- details of any defects relating to the safety of the ground arising from the event, plus details of any remedial action taken
- reports of any significant motion of the structure
- details of all fires and fire alarm activations
- details of all emergency systems failures
The above list is for guidance only and is not intended to be comprehensive in all circumstances.
Activity 4
Summarise the range of records which managers of sports stadiums have to keep and assess the need for these records.
Opposition players and supporters
Advice relating to the segregation of, and provision for, away supporters is set out below.
At sports grounds where supporters of visiting clubs or teams attend, advance planning between the ground management, the visiting club or team and the police is essential to ensure that such supporters are:
- directed and welcomed to the ground
- directed to the appropriate entrances
- accommodated safely
- always kept clearly informed of any special arrangements made for them inside the ground and on their departure
Liaison between the management and police may be necessary to ensure that the likely numbers of visiting supporters is known. In consultation with the police, management should also determine clear policies on the accommodation of home and visiting groups of supporters and on appropriate ticketing arrangements. There should be debriefing meetings to evaluate these arrangements and, if necessary, formulate changes for future events.
When a large number of spectators are expected from a non-English speaking country, management should provide verbal or written information in the language of the visiting supporters.
If ground management adopts a policy of segregating groups of supporters, the arrangements for admitting spectators should be drawn up in consultation with the local authority and police, and be carefully controlled to ensure as far as possible that segregation is effective. Each segregated area must have its own independent means of egress or evacuation.
Where considered necessary, a neutral or sterile zone may be provided between groups of supporters. However, in all cases it is recommended that the method of segregation used should be flexible.
Management should ensure that each segregated area offers full access to sufficient toilet and catering facilities. It should not be necessary for spectators in segregated areas to have to cross barriers or seek special permission to use such facilities.
Management should also ensure that, wherever possible, sufficient viewing accommodation and facilities are provided in each segregated area for disabled spectators.
Activity 5
Summarise the provision for away supporters at venues such as the Liberty Stadium.