BackAll employers know that one of the most important aspects of building or breaking down an exhibition stand is Health & Safety. It may be a headache and a lot work but unfortunately, it’s a mandatory task that needs to be done.
Here are the most important laws of Health & Safety in the exhibition industry.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
PPE is one of the most important aspects when building exhibition stands. PPE includes eye masks, safety boots, hard hats, high visibility vests etc. Your employer will provide PPE for every employee. These items can prevent you from having a nasty accident – they may actually save your life! If an employee refuses to wear any PPE (if they have common sense, they would wear it!), the employer can discipline the employee and make sure that they wear it. The venue where the exhibition stand is being built/broken down has the authority to stop you working on the site if you refuse to wear PPE. Click here if you would like more information about PPE.
First Aiders:
Having a qualified first aider in your team is a must! If anything does happen the first aider will know what to do straight away and give the person the correct treatment. Depending on the severity of the accident, the first aider will contact the injured person’s emergency contact to inform them of what happened and take all the right measures to make sure that the correct procedures are followed. An accident report form will need filling out after the accident has been dealt with. The first aider will also make sure that there is a fully kitted out first aid kit on hand in case of any emergency.
Clear Access and Pathways:
This Health & Safety area is more about having common sense. If there is a fire in the venue that you are building the exhibition stand, then there needs to be a clear pathway so that everyone can evacuate the building in a calm and safe way so that no one gets injured or left behind. If there is something in the way of the exit, then it needs to be moved to somewhere where it is not causing an obstruction. The clearer the environment around you, the easier it will be to evacuate if needed.
Risk Assessments:
This has got to be the most mundane part of the Health & Safety laws but it needs to be done for every exhibition stand and exhibition venue. The risk assessments need to take into account every aspect from working at heights to manual handling to hand held tools etc. Then, once completed, the event team will need to read the assessments before build up/breakdown so that they can prevent any accidents from happening. It will be worth the bore and headache when everyone comes home in one piece!
Safety Training:
It is a good idea to send all your employees on a manual handling course or working from heights course so that they are all aware of the risks that could happen. Not only will it help keep them safe, they will be helping other people stay safe because they know ways to prevent accidents from happening.
There you have it, 5 Health & Safety laws that will keep all employers safe whilst building or breaking down an exhibition stand!
