Risk Management Example: Centenary of Federation

Case Study

Three events for 15,000 people to commemorate the first sitting of Parliament in Australia and staged at The Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne

Key Issues

. The client was the Federal Government

. This was to be the largest gathering of dignitaries ever assembled in one place in Australia's history

. The event was to be telecast live on the ABC

. The ‘proverbial’ would hit the fan in a big way if anything went wrong

Response

A management committee was established to oversee the event that included:

. Federal Parliament Security

. Federal Police

. State Police

. SEPCO

. Centenary of Federation

Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment was critical, as it would influence many aspects of the planning process.

A specialist company carried out a risk assessment and produced a document that ran to 96 pages and identified 434 issues that had to be addressed including:

. Terrorist Attack

. Power Failure

. Scaffolding Collapse

. Medical Emergency

. Fire

. Demonstrations

. Drowning in Ponds

. Weather

HOW EVENTive! Page 1 . Emergency Evacuation

Each and every one of the 434 issues had to be assessed and a plan put in place to assign who and how they would be dealt with, for example:

. Fire risk was assessed by and would be dealt with by the Fire Brigade.

. Each of the ponds in the forecourt area would have a lifeguard assigned to them.

. Due to the fact that raked seating was installed in the balconies the consulting engineers recommended that supports be installed under those balconies. This required holes to be cut in the floor to facilitate the installation of suitable concrete footings.

. Special MICA Ambulances were placed on standby in the case of medical emergency.

Key Messages

. Always undertake a Risk Assessment procedure with a qualified company.

. Make sure all parties are fully aware of the report, including your own company.

. Don’t take short cuts. Ensure all recommendations are addressed and implemented.

HOW EVENTive! Page 2