May to September have for a number of years been extremely busy months for the live events industry in the UK. This year with the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee occurring at the same time the industry really is going to be under pressure. But let’s not get too over-focused on these individual one-off events. The industry’s resources would, as ever, be strained without them.
I am sure we have all realised, however, that the Olympics and the Jubilee will not be just a blip in the live events calendar, but will leave a legacy that will continue into 2013 and beyond. The huge exposure being given to Great Britain and the enormous numbers of overseas visitors we are going to attract this year, provides event organisers with a fabulous opportunity, and we have seen events actually being created to take advantage of these factors. Most importantly, these new events will not just be one-offs.
This is an opportunity, the like of which, the events industry has not seen before and requires a careful balancing act.
In addition, our experience is that that very few existing events are being moved to avoid clashing with the Olympics and the Jubilee. Quite the contrary in fact – many of our client companies are still going ahead with their annual or bi-annual events, for example, the Farnborough Air Show.
Moreover, the Olympics, the Jubilee and the Paralympics are not going to affect just June to September. The build-up to them has already started, and the wind down from them will not end until late October.
All of this means that the normal natural lulls in live events activity are going to be missing this year. We and our workforce are not going to have time to sit back, take stock and recharge our batteries.
The industry and its suppliers must therefore ensure that this year’s events, high profile ones notwithstanding, continue to run smoothly and that client needs are met.
So what can we do to make sure that client companies remain happy in 2012 and continue to use our services in 2013 and beyond?
In my view, the most important action we, as a crewing company, can take is to communicate with client companies. We need to forewarn them of the busiest times, support them and encourage them to provide briefs well in advance. We need to be realistic, and give them the opportunity to be realistic too in their expectations of what can be done in what timeframe.
The appointment of a crewing company cannot be left to chance and we know, for example, that demand for event “savvy” crew will increase by 60 to 70 per cent as this year progresses.
The eyes of the world will be on Britain this year and scrutinising what we do. We all have a huge challenge ahead of us, but there is also a huge opportunity. I firmly believe that in 2012, the industry will see 10 years’ growth in one year; and that – provided we maintain good communication with our clients – the number of regular events spawned from 2012 will ensure the profitability of the industry for years to come.

A version of this article also appeared on eventindustrynews.co.uk on March 29, 2012

Writing to Pinnacle to convey Caring Cancer Trust’s thanks, the organisation’s honorary executive chairman said: “Our patrons, trustees and volunteers…express our deep gratitude for your most generous and welcome donation….As we have no paid employees to fundraise for us, we are totally reliant on the generosity of organisations such as Pinnacle Crew for our funds to finance these healing holidays.”

Information about Caring Cancer Trust can be found at: www.caringcancertrust.com

Exhibiting once again at the Event Production Show, leading nationwide crewing company Pinnacle Crew (stand no: 342) are using the event to highlight the need for client companies to develop relationships with suppliers and provide briefs at the earliest possible opportunity in 2012.

Heath Freeman, Pinnacle’s managing director, predicts that with the usual packed calendar of events plus The Diamond Jubilee, London 2012 and Farnborough Air Show, demand for event “savvy” crew will increase by 60 to 70 per cent.

He explains:

“Under normal circumstances, most companies have quiet periods during a year, but we believe that this year there will be very few lulls because the packed calendar will mean that some regular events will be moved to quieter periods to be accommodated.”

Pinnacle already has a staff of 250 on its books, but has been actively gearing up to fulfil the extra demand in 2012.  As well as recruiting the correct candidates and providing them with the correct training them – including the various health and safety accreditations required by the Olympics – this means giving them the all-important experience that they will need to perform a good job.

As Heath Freeman says:

“The eyes of the world will be on Britain this year and scrutinising what we do.  It’s therefore more important than ever to have the correct crew working on an event – and that means client companies should be doing research now to ensure that they will be working with a reputable crewing company.  Crew are one of the most important resources in the events industry, and the appointment of a crewing supplier cannot be left to chance.”

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Freeman also believes that the additional demand for manpower this year will offer outstanding opportunities for people wanting to enter the events industry.  His advice is that starting at grass roots level mean that new entrants get the most rounded on-the-job training available.  In particular, beginning a career with a crewing company provides experience in hundreds if not thousands of events and approaches.

“Working for a crewing company like Pinnacle can often be regarded as an apprenticeship in the events industry,” says Freeman.  “Entrants will get a taste of a huge number of events and disciplines, and meet many of the top professionals which can created future opportunities.”

He does add a word of warning, however:

“My advice to anyone thinking of joining a crewing company is to join a quality and reputable operation as this will provide the best chances of working on high profile jobs with professional people, and most importantly the best and most rigorous training.”

Nationwide crewing company, Pinnacle Crew, has appointed Rui Fernandes de Oliveira, as its logistics manager.  In this post, Rui has responsibility for all front office activities for Pinnacle including client liaison, tendering, quoting and booking jobs, scheduling all projects, and organising crew teams.

Rui was previously an on-site crew chief for Pinnacle, having joined the company from Showstars in April of this year.

Commenting on Rui’s appointment, Pinnacle’s managing director, Heath Freeman says:

“With a background in business in Portugal and South Africa, and experience of the live events industry, Rui’s excellent organisational skills will make an important contribution to Pinnacle’s client services activities.”

“The burden of health and safety red tape has become too great, with too many inspections of relatively low risk and good performing workplaces, frequently poor health and safety advice to business from badly qualified consultants, and a complex structure for regulation.  The time has come for all this to change.”

So said the Government in its March paper “Good Health and Safety, Good for everyone – the next steps in the Government’s plans for reform of the health and safety system in Britain”.  And which of us in the live events industry would not agree with that?

Key to the proposed changes is to shift the whole focus of Britain’s health and safety regime to a “lighter touch” approach, concentrating efforts on higher risk industries and on tackling serious breaches of the rules.  Those organisations that pose a lesser threat and that do the right thing for their employees will be left free of unwarranted scrutiny.

By and large, the live events industry is well self-regulated, and we should welcome this less intrusive approach.  However, there have in recent times been instances of serious injury occurring, so less regulatory intervention does not mean less vigilance on our part.

The Health and Safety Executive will continue to play a central role in the modernisation of regulation and, with local authorities, is charged with ensuring that the regulatory system is focused on better health and safety outcomes and not purely technical breaches of the law,  that enforcement is proportionate to risk, that no unnecessary burden is placed on business that manages health and safety effectively, and that a strong deterrent is maintained against those who fail to meet their health and safety obligations.

In terms of the HSE’s own categorisation of industries, the Government’s document suggests that the live events sector falls within “non-major hazard industries” –  we cannot possibly be alongside the chemical and offshore sectors that are seen as major hazard industries.  The problem is, however, that the live events industry is not specifically mentioned anywhere in the documents the Government has published.

Non-major hazard industries are further sub-categorised into three sectors: those that present comparatively high risk where proactive inspection remains necessary; those where there remains comparatively high risk but proactive inspection is not considered as useful component of future interventions; and, those areas where proactive inspection is not justified in terms of outcomes.

The examples given for the first category are construction, waste and recycling, molten and base metal manufacture.  The second category includes agriculture, quarries, and health and social care; and lower risk areas include textile, clothing, footwear manufacturing; light engineering; transport sector; postal and courier services.

It seems logical to me that live events will probably fall into the first of these sub-categories as many of our health and safety issues and operator licences are similar to those in the construction industry; and I believe that venues and events are therefore likely to be subjected to continued proactive inspection.

A welcome fact is that the HSE wants to build and expand its joint working initiatives with industry to promote better health and safety and pass on good practice.  However, despite this, its work as the regulator in partnership with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Delivery Authority to facilitate a safe and successful London 2012 Games, has resulted in the most vague and unstructured health and safety requirements that many of us have ever seen.

More positively, the Government is committed to clamping down on rogue health and safety advisers.  To achieve this it has launched an official register of Occupational Health and Safety Consultants for those practitioners who are properly accredited to a professional body.  This move will make it easier for us all to access reliable, reputable advice.

Finally, as I write, an independent review of health and safety legislation commissioned by Chris Grayling, the minister for employment, is considering the scope for combining, simplifying or reducing the – approximately 200 – statutes owned by the HSE.  This is due to report by the end of October, and we can only hope that this rationalisation of health and safety legislation makes it as straightforward as possible for the live events industry to deliver a healthy and safe working environment.

A version of this article appeared in eventindustrynews: www.eventindustrynews.co.uk

Most contracts for services to deliver and stage the Olympic Games are being let by The London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG).

LOCOG says that it “welcomes formal proposals from a wide selection of bidders”, and there seems to be three clear means of discovering what opportunities are available. The first is by registering with CompeteFor, an internet site that can be accessed via The London 2012 Business Network at www.london2012.com/business.  This acts as a brokerage service between potential suppliers and buyers throughout the London 2012 supply chain, and bidders who are successful in winning work with LOCOG will be encouraged to use CompeteFor to advertise any related business opportunities.

According to LOCOG “by using CompeteFor, buying organisations gain access to many thousands of potential suppliers who have registered on the site.”

Expanding on CompeteFor there is also a download that may be accessed from http://www.london2012.com/documents/business/future-competefor-opportunities-feb-aug-2011.pdf.  This provides a schedule of CompeteFor opportunities.

Further information may be obtained by registering for London 2012 business e-alerts at

https://www.london2012.com/settings/login.php?reason=businessProfile

The “formal proposals” are expected to be submitted for evaluation in response to an invitation to tender from LOCOG.  The results of the ITT process will lead to selected bidders either being invited to present their proposals for further scrutiny, or directly enter discussion and negotiation talks with LOCOG.  The award of contracts will be made based on what “is deemed the most appropriate match to LOCOG’s needs.”

Chief amongst these needs is value for money; although it is true to say that LOCOG’s view of value for money is different from that of some other organisations.  To support its vision for London 2012, it will be considering a broad range of criteria when assessing tenders.

LOCOG expects pricing to be competitive, make best use of discounts, value-in-kind agreements and other “innovative arrangements”.

Quality, delivery and disposal is at the heart of its Sustainability Sourcing Code (a document far too detailed to go into in-depth here), along with criteria on the environmental, social and ethical issues in connection with procurement.

Goods and services must be inclusive and support LOCOG’s aim of delivering an Olympic and Paralympic Games for everyone.  Successful bidders will have to demonstrate their commitment to being a diverse and inclusive organisation.

As with any other tendering process, suppliers must conform to LOCOG’s terms and conditions, and must be financially sound to assure supply.

Naturally, health and safety is also a key consideration.  Suppliers and licensees must comply with health and safety legislation and industry standards. LOCOG’s stated belief is that high H&S standards can be further achieved by visible leadership and personal commitment at all levels, combined with effective management in consultation with a trained and competent workforce. 

Bidders will probably be asked to tender via LOCOG’s eTendering system, but before being invited to view the ITT document will be requested to sign and return a confidentiality agreement.

During the tendering process, it is also likely that potential suppliers will be required to prepare a management plan, using a template provided.  This will need to be updated on a regular basis or whenever there is a change to the products or services being supplied.

Finding the way through all this bureaucracy is not going to be easy for any of us.  But London 2012 is not only going to be a prime business opportunity for everyone in the live events industry, it is also going to be an opportunity to showcase our abilities to the rest of the world.

A version of this article may be found in the May edition of Access All Areas: www.access-aa.co.uk

Most people I have talked to in the live events industry recently are saying that there are a great number of hoops to jump through to fulfill LOCOG’s requirements for suppliers at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.  And the standards set for the supply of staff and labour in LOCOG’s Sustainable Sourcing Guide adds yet one more confusion.

The Guide asks that “where suppliers and licensees intend to use temporary/agency staff they should seek to ensure that any labour providers supplying such staff are members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and, if relevant, are licensed by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA)”.

On its website the GLA states that it is a government agency established to regulate those organisations that supply labour or use workers to provide services in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, shellfish gathering and food processing and packaging.

So as far as crewing and other staff supply companies in the live events industry are concerned, I think this can be safely ignored.

The REC, the representative body for the UK’s private recruitment and staffing industry, may be far more relevant to us.  But, there are certain areas that still need to be made clear.  For example, do organisations in the live events industry – such as crewing companies, providers of stand staff, production companies who employ freelancers – fall into the category of the “recruitment and staffing industry”?

If we look at the government’s The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, the Employment Agencies Act 1972 and the Employment Relations Act 199, we will find definitions of employment agencies or employment businesses.

Broadly speaking an employment agency introduces work-seekers to client employers for direct, permanent employment by those employers.  Of more importance to the live events industry is the definition of an “employment business”.  To quote directly from the regulations:

“An employment business engages work-seekers under either contracts for services or contracts of employment and supplies those work-seekers to client hirers for temporary assignments or contracts where they will be under the hirers’ supervision or control”.

This is where we get into a grey area for crewing companies, suppliers of stand staff and the like, who in the main employ their staff on a job-by-job contract basis.  It is a highly moot point as to whether, once your team is on-site, whether they remain under your supervision and control or that of your client’s.

Even legal advice that we have taken does not make it any clearer.  We were told that in the end it comes down to who has the degree of control, who creates the schedule of work, and even if there is a team leader on site supervising crew, who supervises the team leader?

If we feel that it is our clients who have the ultimate control, then I believe each and every company that provides staff to the events industry needs to consider joining the REC as we could all be thought of as an employment business – not just by the law and regulations, but by LOCOG too.  And, since crewing and other staffing is often the last element of the supply chain to be put in place, we need to be prepared now rather than later when at the last minute – we may discover we cannot even be considered as an Olympics supplier.

Ideally, LOCOG itself needs to clear this up.  London 2012 is too important to all of us to miss opportunities because of a technicality.

A version of this article can be found in eventindustrynews: http://www.eventindustrynews.co.uk/2011/05/olympic-employment-regulations-need-clarity.html

The most important requirement that LOCOG has when it comes to sustainable procurement is buried some way down in its 31-page Sustainable Sourcing Code. It expects all suppliers and licences that provide products and service to the events industry to be taking steps to implement BS 8901:2009 ‘Specification for a sustainability management system for events’.  How many of us are doing that, I wonder?  And how many of us knew that was in fact a requirement for gaining work at the Olympics?

Just as interestingly, while LOCOG is a company registered in England and Wales, it is not subject to EU procurement regulations.  However, it claims it “will adopt fair and sustainable procurement principles and processes…” and that “contracts will be awarded to businesses that reflect London 2012’s procurement policies and values”.

In particular, prospective suppliers and licensees need to ensure that their businesses and supply chains comply with LOCOG’s Sustainable Sourcing Code – a 31-page document that goes into great depth on the Committee’s approach to sustainable sourcing.

Put simply, LOCOG will look at where goods come from, who made them, what they are wrapped in and what will happen to them after the games.  In addition, when it comes to sourcing labour it intends to use the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) Base Code as the required standard that suppliers should achieve.  The ETI Base Code is founded on the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and is an internationally recognised code of labour practice.

Where suppliers and licensees intend to use temporary or agency staff they must ensure that labour providers are members of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and, if relevant, are licensed by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

Overall, the Sustainable Sourcing Code requires suppliers and licensees to manage the environmental and social impacts of their business practices.  This means that suppliers have to meet certain core principles: responsible sourcing that ensures products and services are sourced and produced under internationally acceptable environmental, social and ethical guidelines and standards; maximising the use of materials with reused and recycled content, minimising packaging and designing products that can either be reused or recycled; maximising resource and energy efficiency and ensuring that appropriate substances and materials are used in order to protect human health and the environment.  In fact, LOCOG expects suppliers where appropriate to amend their business practices to ensure that they meet with the requirements of its Sustainable Sourcing Code.

For example, sustainability related certified products will need to carry a certification mark, such as those from the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, the Soil Association and the Rainforest Alliance.

Naturally, health and safety forms part of the Code; but the actual wording is rather non-specific.  It says:

“LOCOG is committed to creating and maintaining a positive health and safety culture which secures the commitment and participation of all its employees, volunteers, contractors, partners, suppliers and licensees.

“Suppliers and licensees must comply with health and safety legislation, industry standards, and LOCOG policies”.

It goes on to add:

“All suppliers of services will be required to be actively involved in working safely to mitigate health and safety risks and will report accidents and hazards to LOCOG…a suitable audit procedure will also be required for all suppliers of services.”

There will, of course, be particular sustainability objectives for particular tendering processes.  These will be outlined to all prospective bidders; and the evaluation criteria used by LOCOG at the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage will include a range of criteria relating to value for money, including sustainability.

Suppliers and licensees will generally be asked to complete either a management plan or LOCOG’s Supplier and Licensee Sourcing Document.  This will help prove that the supplier is integrating the Code into the management process.

Even this simple outline shows how the Olympics tendering process could be long and complicated, so with some contracts already out there for bidding, it’s time all of us in the industry get on our bikes and make our pitches.  Let’s prove that the British events industry is the best in the world.

A version of this article can be found at www.eventindustrynews.co.uk