Safe Gigging
by Dave Cross
Safety of performers | Safety of the public | Risk Assessments | Outdoor events | Noise levels | What the law says
Check the HSE web site www.hse.gov.uk -relevant sections include manual handling, electrical,chemical, working at heights, noise at work, and so on.
Check the ABTT web site 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 defense 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 minimize 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 Lisa 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 minimize them;
Finally, decide who will be responsible for doing each of these avoidance procedures.
If you've written these down and have been realistic inputting 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 muss 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 minimized 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 firehouses 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 dowse 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 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 organizers 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 organizer 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 even twill 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 event sand to arrange how to meet the requirements and concerns of the Police, the Local Authority and others.
What the law says
If you have 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 kilometer 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 accompany) 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 tonicities 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 worry some is that people can change their mind, or have their minds changed for them, after an incident. Lets look at fictitious example :-
Punter is dancing and, having drunk enough to be quitted, 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 hum our, 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 seesaw 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.(Booboo! 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 Fir stAid 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.here 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 aH&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 |
Riskrating |
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 the min.
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 noshing
from crowd surfing
|
Public
|
low
|
Security staff positioned near stage to identify and prevent stage divers
Barriers 1 mt in front of stage for busy events.
|
require security staff to approach ""misprint"" and disperse crowd with gentle,slow pressure out from the Centrex of the nosh;
require security staff to approach stage diver sand 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, inc. trolley loads where aw heel 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 of140dbA.
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 earth ed;
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 skunkweed;
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 reappeared before working on them;
connect equipment under test to supplies protected by D.C. 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 heavyweights 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 (indigoes & 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
|
Ad hereto 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
- U.S.A. |
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 (beg 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 ago od 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 organizer 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.hese 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).
Musicals 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 1989Noise 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 tome 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 wither-plugs and insist that they wear them. However, near-plug may claim that it can reduce sound levels by30db, but that's going to be the best figure achievable,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 behavior 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 amateur 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 sterling2003) to get ago od idea of whether your event or venue is exceeding safe limits. It will also be worthwhile spending sometime 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 perceived 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 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 level sin 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/con docs/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 co lour coding to clearly identify which can be used on which categories. This is to prevent cross-contamination of bacterium from foodstuffs that might harbor pathogens to others where they might thrive. You might also have read the very clear evidence that while this segregation has been enforced, food poisoning from "e-coil" 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 20chance.
Now keep doing those sums . . . After four years, with gigs attracting 200 punters twice a week, between you panda partner promoting in another venue, the odds are that one of you will have a fatality during a gig. AREYOU 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 ?
