Live Events, Construction and the Importance of Occupational Health and Safety in a Multi-Employer Worksite
Some may believe that load-in and tear-down are distinctly different for live events and construction sites, when in reality they have very similar challenges and solutions when it comes to compliance with the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR). There are similarities and differences between live events and construction sites, where each sector could likely learn from the other.
The similarities are clear:
- Both deal with a worksite and crew that is temporary.
- Both heavily rely on third parties, contractors, and possibly sub-contractors to execute projects.
- Both face challenges with establishing and operating a joint health and safety committee due to the temporary nature and use of third parties.
- Both can be indoors and outdoors and have increased risks from severe weather hazards.
- Both require site-specific orientations, secured perimeters and robust emergency plans.
- Both require lead organizer(s), who generally would be deemed “prime contractors” by WorkSafeBC. A prime contractor is usually the individual(s) or organization(s) undertaking a project. The prime contractor is responsible for ensuring overall site safety of a multi-employer workplace, which includes (but is not limited to) coordinating activities along with providing first aid and emergency
response protocols. - Both are fast-paced environments dealing with higher-risk work activities such as mobile equipment and machinery, scaffolding and temporary work platforms, fall protection and rigging, chemicals and compressed gases, electrical hazards and other physical
agents such as noise and vibration.
There is no denying that live events and construction worksites are active, complex and dynamic environments. This is why proactive hazard identification and mitigation must be employed in the planning stage, along with robust risk management strategies that are regularly reviewed. Employers (and prime contractors) must build robust safety programs, taking a multi-layered approach to controls so that if one control fails another one is there to protect workers at the worksite. These control methods include, but are not limited to:
Contractor pre-qualification and management
This helps ensure that contractors and subcontractors have:
The required skills, experience, training and certification
An occupational health and safety program for their organization
The required minimum insurance
Adequate supervision on site
Safety rules and expectations through documentation and orientation, shared in advance
Communication between the prime contractor and other contractors on site
A written agreement that clearly defines and outlines responsibilities for health and safety
Contractor management for a multiemployer workplace does not end there. It requires the oversight of the key elements of an occupational health and safety program including, but not limited to:
- Written programs, policies and requirements: when things are written down, they can be referenced, followed and fairly enforced. Alternatively, employers (and prime contractors) can use technology to train, document, report and share information with all workers, contractors, subcontractors and employers on site while complying with privacy and confidentiality laws.
- Training and orientations: if we don’t train and orientate our workers, how can we expect them to know how to do their job well and how to do it safely? This is increasingly more important with new and young workers in the industry and the added challenges of “gap years” caused by the pandemic. Two measures to consider are:
- Confirm that workers performing high-risk activities (i.e., rigging, fall protection, mobile equipment and working with chemicals or electricity) have up-to-date specialized training and certificates as applicable.
- Use site orientations and daily pre-shift briefings to communicate safety expectations and requirements. This allows for safety to be discussed regularly before each shift and helps to raise awareness of the reasonably foreseeable hazards.
- Inspections: when you formalize inspections you reduce risk by dedicating people and time to identify hazards with fresh eyes that
at other times may be only focused on their specific task at hand. This also helps to facilitate a worker’s right to participate in
health and safety at the workplace along with demonstrating due diligence and proactively managing safety. - First aid: by performing first aid assessments, you can ensure worksites have adequate first aid equipment, supplies, attendants and transportation during non-event times. First aid assessments for a workplace are a legislative requirement and help to systematically ensure all workers, including travelling crews, security and other workers, have been accounted for on multi-employer worksites. Actsafe provides a valuable tool specific to the industry to perform quick and online first aid assessments. When it comes to event times with guests, more considerations should be made to ensure first aid and medical levels and capacities are adequate. Event
organizers should consult with legal, perform risk assessments, review event safety guidance and work with an event medical provider along with city officials and emergency responders to ensure first aid is adequate for the event and to discuss when guests/patrons will enter the venue. - Risk assessments: job hazard analysis and job safety planning provide an opportunity to identify the daily job information including tasks, equipment and location to help identify hazards and determine the controls (and ensure they are adequate). As the project progresses, risk assessments must be updated accordingly as risks change and new risks are identified.
- Incident reporting and effective investigations: when you report hazards, near misses or minor injuries, you can correct the hazard and contributing factors before the incident becomes a serious injury or a fatality. Processes for reporting and investigating must be established and communicated on-site to workers.
- Joint health and safety committees: recognizing that joint committees can pose a challenge for temporary worksites such as festivals and outdoor events, this may be one of the biggest returns on investment. Regular meetings can help to improve a safety culture mindset by ensuring corrective actions are completed promptly and employees/contractors are accountable for improving health and safety.
- Emergency response plans: this includes planning, training, tabletop exercises and drills, especially with ongoing threats of severe weather. Emergency planning includes ensuring workers are familiar with emergency notification alerts, shelter-in-place protocols and muster locations in the event of an emergency.
Multi-Employer Workplace H&S Due Diligence Checklist
Navigating health and safety responsibilities in Performing Arts & Live Events can be challenging. That’s why it’s crucial to clearly define roles in contracts and service agreements. Our comprehensive checklist will help you identify the prime contractor and ensure compliance with the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. Keep your workplace safe and responsibilities clear.
It is important to have a designated safety position on site, similar to the construction safety officers on construction sites who help execute and monitor these health and safety activities. In addition to a designated role for safety, it’s important to have project safety boards and required safety postings for the worksite, along with securing the perimeter, delineating hazardous work, and communicating personal protective equipment requirements.
There are unique factors and specific challenges to the live events industry which support the ongoing need to safely and effectively coordinate a multi-employer workplace, comply with WCA and OHSR and ensure due diligence of employers and prime contractors. A helpful resource is Actsafe’s Multi-Employer Due Diligence Checklist. The purpose of the checklist is to aid event organizers, promoters,
venues and employers in coordinating activities to reduce risk through key elements of contractor pre-qualification and management, along with the main pillars of an occupational health and safety program. This checklist also speaks to the importance of designating a prime contractor and ensuring written agreements identify responsibilities for health and safety. It is recommended to consult legal advice to determine your responsibilities for health and safety as a venue, promoter and/or event organizer.
Prime contractors, employers, venues and promoters all play a critical role in ensuring a safe workplace for all workers of a multiemployer worksite.
All of these items are mandatory requirements (i.e., the law). However, we need to remember that the reason they are the law is because they work. They work to make our workplaces and events safer; they work to save lives and prevent accidents by keeping workers safe; and most importantly they work to make sure workers go home to their families at the end of their shift.
