Health and Safety Changes in the Event Industry

The PKL Event Hire Team:
Manager Krista with Sales Executives Ciaran and Dan

In this post, PKL’s Event Hire Team blog about changes in event health and safety legislation and highlight the importance of ensuring your event is compliant.

Recent changes to legislation will see an increased focus on health and safety standards at events throughout the UK. These changes are being supported by the Events Industry Forum, the Concert Promoters Association, the AEV Catering Working Group, Thames Water, WaterSafe and the HSE.

We know that there is sometimes a pressure to focus on minimising costs during the installation of catering equipment or temporary kitchens, but can you afford to run the risk of spot fines due to unsafe practices, having your venue closed during your event, or even assume legal responsibility for a non-compliant venue that goes wrong?

In this blog post, we’ll outline some of the key things you need to know when organising catering facilities for events.
                                                                                                          
What’s Going On?

The introduction of the new Construction Design Management (CDM) Regulations in October 2014 will mean a higher level of safety standards for the events industry, similar to those seen within the construction sector. Venue owners and event organisers will often see the legal liability for compliance falling to them as the main contractor, and unless managed carefully, will be liable for any wrongdoings by subcontractors working on an event.

How can PKL help? PKL has supplied temporary catering facilities to large construction companies for many years and, as a result, we are fully compliant with CDM regulations. In fact, we’ve already been supplying a CDM compliant product and service to the events sector for over five years!

Water Supply Regulations

It is the duty of event organisers or venue managers installing plumbing systems or water fittings to ensure that they are compliant with Water Supply Regulations. It’s important to comply with these regulations in order to ensure that equipment doesn’t contaminate the local water supply or use an unnecessary amount of water. Penalties for non-compliance are severe and can result in an event being closed down.

How can PKL help? We’ve recently undertaken a complete review of our fleet of catering equipment and temporary kitchens to ensure that they are Water Supply Regulations compliant.


Who Enforces the Legislation?

Health and Safety Executive – The HSE will have more power to issue spot fines and even stop the build-up and breakdown of an event until safe practices have been put in place.

Fire and Rescue Authorities – Individual authorities will have the power to enforce fire safety legislation.

Local Authorities – Local councils, often represented by Environmental Health Officers, will have the power to enforce health and safety measures.

Never Fear, PKL is Here!

Over the last few years, we have dedicated a large amount of time and resource into ensuring that our product and service complies with all relevant health and safety legislation. We have taken into account advice and guidance published in all the key events health and safety documents, including:

• The Purple Guide
• The Association of Event Organisers eGuide
• The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health National Guide for Outdoor and Mobile Catering
• NCASS Guidance for the Installation of LPG and LPG Fired Equipment in Catering Trailers, Converted Vehicles, Portable Kitchens, Carts, Trolleys and Bikes
• UKLPG information sheets

This means you can be confident that from our equipment to our installation service, we comply with all relevant regulations. As with any reputable company, we can, of course, also provide you with hard evidence (certification, forms, and all the official documentation) to prove that we are fully compliant – just ask when you book and we’ll be happy to provide you with copies. Asking your suppliers for this kind of evidence is very important, as all suppliers should be able to back up their health and safety claims with the correct documentation.

Need help? If you’re worried and need any advice on how to ensure your event complies with these health and safety standards, please just get in touch, as we are experts in this area. We also work with consultants who can provide you with a full health and safety audit for your event.

For more information on our event kitchen hire and catering equipment hire, please visit our website.