Expo Europe Health & Safety Overview

Overview - It is very important that you read this section

We appreciate that some of you may have limited experience with regards to the legal and practical aspects of health and safety management. This section is designed to give you sufficient guidance to discharge your responsibilities. Guidance, however, can only go so far and you have a legal duty to ensure that your operations do not compromise health and safety. Failing to do so can lead to prosecution and other legal sanctions.

If you are unsure you are urged to contact OperationsEMEA @IAAPA.org. Please do not leave health and safety issues to the last minute. The earlier we have your information the better the support we can give you.

Policy Statement

IAAPA aims to set the benchmark standard for managing health and safety in exhibitions. This is not only our moral and legal duty, but it is commercially important for the success of every event. We recognise that our exhibitors rely on us to provide a trading environment on the exhibition floor that is safe and without risks to health. We also recognise that running a public event places a special responsibility on IAAPA and extends our duty of care not only to our staff but also to exhibitors, contractors, venue staff and visitors.

To ensure that all IAAPA health and safety obligations are met, the IAAPA team onsite will:

Allocate sufficient resources to meet health and safety objectives.
Provide adequate control of health and safety risks arising from our work activities.
Consult with the venue, exhibitors and contractors on matters affecting health and safety.
Provide relevant health and safety information to employees and others.
Ensure all employees are competent to do their tasks particularly with regard to health and safety training.
Recommend that high vis jackets and steel capped shoes are worn during move in and move out.
Ensure so far as is reasonable that the contractors we engage for the show are competent.
So far as is reasonably practicable prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health and maintain safe and healthy working conditions.

Risk Assessment

IAAPA has carried out suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks associated with this event, details of which can be obtained from the organiser’s office if you so require. However, general risks associated with any exhibition are as follows:

Multiple contractors working in a single workplace.
Fall from working at heights and working on a live edge.
Objects falling from height or loads falling from vehicles.
Impact injury from moving vehicles.
Structural collapse of seating or an exhibition stand.
Outbreak of legionnaires disease from a water feature.
Food poisoning incident from temporary catering outlet.
Fire.
Major incident and civil emergency.
Excessive working hours.

This is an overview and by no means a comprehensive account of the risks involved at this event. It is the absolute duty of all parties to ensure that under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations and other legislation suitable and sufficient risk assessments are conducted on all significant risks.

The Management Regulations and associated guidance also requires that risks should be mitigated with a view to achieve maximum reduction in the level of risk within the bounds of what is reasonably practicable. In general terms, emphasis should always be placed on eliminating or reducing risk at source. It must be remembered that personal protective equipment is usually a control of last resort.

There is a template available for your convenience included in this manual.

Exhibitors and Contractors Legal Duties

As an exhibitor or contractor, you have a legal duty of care for the safety of anyone who may be affected by your activities. You are ultimately responsible for all aspects of safety on your stand or work area during the build-up, the open period of the show and during the break down. Where exhibitors contract out the building and finishing of stands you are still vicariously responsible for the activities of your contractors. You can discharge your duties by ensuring that you do the following:

Appoint a competent person to be responsible for health and safety on site.
You MUST carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessment of all your activities and obtain relevant risk assessments from your contractors or sub-contractors. Exhibitors must obtain supporting method statements for the building and demounting of your stand. If you have a shell scheme stand the organiser has obtained the shell scheme contractor’s risk assessment on your behalf.
Ensuring that your staff and sub contractors’ staff working on site are informed of the site rules and health and safety arrangements which are detailed below and you must ensure so far as you reasonably can that they follow them.
Ensuring that all your staff, contractors’ and sub contractors’ staff are familiar with the venue’s emergency procedures which are available on request.

Stand Designers Legal Duties

Stand designers have a legal duty to ensure that the stands are designed to be fit for the purpose intended, structurally sound and safe to build, use and demount without any undue risks.

Items to be submitted to IAAPA by Exhibitors, Exhibitor Contractors’ and Organiser Contractors:

Name and contact details (including out of office telephone details) of the nominated health and safety representative on site
A suitable and sufficient risk assessment covering all hazards involved in the build and dismantling of the stand (not required for shell scheme stands)
A copy of the method statement confirming the nominated health and safety representative on site plus a description of how the stand will be constructed and dismantled (not required for shell scheme stands)
A copy of your stand plans, including height dimensions, any rigged items, construction and material details (not required for shell scheme stands)
Notification and supporting risk assessments for any activity on your stand that represents a significant risk. This includes but is not limited to the following:
Flammable substances or naked flame
Pressurized gases such as LPG
Hazardous chemicals and substances
Ionizing radiation
Water features
Demonstrations
Visitor treatments - e.g. massage

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