Expect the Unexpected:Expect the Unexpected:

Risk Management for Meeting & Hospitality Professionals

Risk Management for Meeting & Hospitality Professionals

Brian D. AveryBrian D. Avery

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1Getting to know each other…

Event risk… what does it mean to you?

Critical issues

Case studies

Getting to know one another…

• About me…– Job title(s)– Risk knowledge

• About you…– Job title – Risk knowledge – EAP

A test…

What if?

Is it your responsibility?

“Risk management is one of the primary responsibilities of event organizers, yet so often ignored or misunderstood, particularly by inexperienced planners, because one can not envision what one has not been exposed to… (Silvers, 2007)”

The day…

• Terms, terms and more terms…

• What matters? – Protection of assets (you especially…)– Minimize legal & financial liabilities– Mitigate potential loss– Manage growth & operate responsibly

• Can you predict risk?

What is at risk?

• People • Property• Finances• Systems• Environment• Image

What are the risks?

• Bodily injury or death• Property loss or damage• Reduced revenue• Reduced capacity• Resources available• Loss of goodwill or reputation

Types of events…

• Corporate• Charity• Expos & fairs• Festivals• Government • Sports• Social & life-cycle events

2 approaches… 2 solving problems

• Proactive– Mitigation– Preparedness

• Reactive– Response– Recovery

Understanding risk?

• What I subscribe to…

• Start with the people… and their behaviors? – Allocentric-accept risk (rock concert)– Psychocentric-avoid risk (ballet)

• Do accidents just happen? • Multicausation

– “And if only one thing had happened differently...”

– Applying it to our industry…

What are the odds?

• Hazard analysis– Look, listen and brush-up… a story will

emerge

• Probability– Impossible, extremely unlikely, remote,

occasional, reasonably probable, frequent

• Frequency and severity– Less severe more frequent

• A possible warning?

Death

Hospitalization

Medical treatment

Band-aid calls

10,000Near misses

1,000

100

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Heinrich’s Accident Pyramid

Exposure… it’s all in the numbers!

3 E’s

Engineer Enforce

Educate

Are you supposed to care?

• What does “LIABILITY” mean to you?– Your action & omissions

• Have you done everything “reasonably practical?”

• Standard of care breached – Assessed by degrees of negligence

• Malice: intent to cause harm• Willful misconduct: deliberate disregard • Gross negligence: reckless indifference• Negligence: failure to act reasonably

Basic things to consider…

• Did you do you homework? – Did you analyze the situation?– Did you address your findings with a plan?– Did you carry out your plan?

• Now --- know your laws and standards…– Statutes --- a written law– Regulations --- established policy seeking to

control, direct or manage– Standards --- established norm or requirement

Event regs. and standards

• NFPA Life Safety Code 101– Temporary structures– Fire codes– Assembly occupancy – Electrical

• ASTM F-24– Amusement rides and devices

• NFPA 1123: Code for Fireworks Display• OSHA

– Employee concerns

• Local considerations

Critical Issues

Allergies…

• Allergic reactions– Food

• How many?• Severity…• Eight foods account for 90% of all food-allergic

reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.

– Stings, bites, etc.• How many?

Food safety…

• Most risky in terms of outbreaks: – Leafy greens, eggs, tuna, oysters, potatoes,

cheese, ice cream, tomatoes, sprouts and berries.

– E. coli, Norovirus and Salmonella can be found in foods not properly washed.

– The severity of the illnesses ranged from minor stomach aches to death.

• How long before onset?

A guide to serving…

• As a starting point, assume 2 drinks per person for the first hour of the party, and 1 drink per person per hour for the remainder of the party.

• These calculations assume a 5 hour party of 12 guests – 12 guests x 2 drinks = 24 drinks for the first

hour of the party– 12 guests x 1 drink x 4 hours = 48 drinks for

the remaining 4 hours of the party: Total = 72 drink servings

• Keg Guide: when serving only beer: under 100 people = ½ keg, up to 200 people = 1keg; up to 300 = 2kegs; up to 400 = 3kegs

A guide to serving 2…

• Always serve food• Refrain from salty food• Emphasize high protein food• Start & ending times• Drinking games?• Have non-alcoholic alternatives• Know the laws• Avoid glass• Provide transportation alternatives

Dehydration or bust…

• Perspiration can deprive up 16 glasses of water daily.

• Children don’t express thirst. • Pregnant women need additional water.• Coffee & alcohol dehydrate. • 2% body drop in water can create short-term

memory loss.• 75% of U.S. citizens don’t drink enough

water.• International and remote locations…

Nature at its best…

• Hurricanes– A window of opportunity…

• Lightening – Kills more people in the United States than

tornadoes, floods or hurricanes; annually. – June, July and August– Mississippi, Ohio, Florida, and Colorado– 5 situations where most casualties occur:

• Under trees, Open water, Tractors, telephones, Open fields

• Tornados – Seek shelter…

Emergency response

• 1 EMS per 1000 participants • Add 0.5, subtract .25

– Audience: Antique show (elderly)– Time of day: August in FL, noon, add 0.5– Violence: subtract .25– Shade: low, add .50– Potential for fall: great, add .50

• 1 + .5 - .25 + .5 + .5 = 2.25

Emergency response

• Unit-team response– Advantages

• Less confusion?• Info more accurate?

– Disadvantages• Fatigue

– Errors

• Response time

• Zone-team response

Fire safety

• 18”, 36” (electrical, sprinkler, extinguisher)• Floor markings visible, unobstructed doors,

stairways, emergency exits marked working• Chemical stored • No smoking signs, ashtrays cleaned• Electrical cords (condition, length, rigging)

• Classes: – A -paper, wood, B -flammable liquids, C –

electrical, D -chemical • P.A.S.S.

Crowd management v control

• Management – Operational planning and procedures

• Control– The response techniques that may be

necessary when crowd behavior begins to disrupt acceptable crowd management expectations.

Crowd concerns

• Crowd density reaches a critical point when floor space is reduced to 1.5 sq. ft. per person.– Movement becomes impossible– Crowds begin to move as one

• 25 square feet - normal walking.• 10 sq. ft. - Noticeably reduces walking speed.• 5 sq. ft. - Marked restriction in individual movement.

– Imagine exiting a crowded theater or a large sporting event

• 3 sq. ft. - Involuntary touching occurs.• 2 sq. ft. - Potentially dangerous crowd forces are

possible. – Psychological pressures develop.