Stand Approvals

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lee Holloway on September 19, 2007 at 9:55

I think we can help with this one Stephanie. I will chat with my colleagues at SMS Group and see what we can find out for you.

Permalink Reply by Lee Holloway on September 25, 2007 at 12:30

Now having spoken with my colleagues Andrew Sloane and Lianne Lisle I can hopefully shed some light on this.

In the business of "inspecting" as opposed to "approving" exhibiton stand designs, Andrew and Lianne both agree that ultimately it is only the individual(s) physically building the stand who can know if they have produced something structually safe, fit for purpose, and that uses compliant materials and fixings.

However in the event of an accident / incident, an investigation will start at the top of the event's management team and work down, checking that all parties have taken "reasonably practicable" steps with which to maximise safe and regulatory compliant behaviour from all show participants, including stand builders.

By its open ended investigative nature, this process inevitably means that there can be no black and white solution for eliminating an Organiser's management team from a share of the liability. What an Organiser can do though is implement a recorded process with which it can demonstrate it has done its best to communicate venue, safety, local authority and its own commercial regulations to stand builders and has gone to lengths to proactively undertake qualified and informed analysis of stand designs, identify and flag up non-compliance, and highlight regulations for the stand builder to consider when re-designing. As part of this information exchange it also benefits an Organiser if they can demonstrate that they have been proactive and "Duely Diligent" in collating, auditing and commenting on their stand builders' safety paperwork and proposed methods of construction.

Undertaken thoroughly and backed up with hardcopy records, all of these best practice steps will help to reduce the liability of the Organiser in the event of a stand related accident or incident. As a commercial nod to the services we provide at SMS Group, we can undertake all of the above, and make sure your venue and your floor staff are informed of all major known risks (or we can provide our own on-site floor and safety teams and keep the whole process under one roof). In the event of an accident investigation SMS Group can demonstrate systems and processes for managing this type of work that have been tried and tested over twenty years at most of the UK's major exhibitions.

Hope this helps, would be interested to hear other people's feedback on this.

Permalink Reply by Chris Simpson on November 23, 2007 at 10:37

Hi Stephanie..........this is obviously an area we are very much involved in, and it is a difficult area. Would be happy to discuss it with you if you want.........
.
Cheers
.
Chris