Things to consider when organising an event

As part of your event planning, you need to consider the Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2015.

We also need to make sure that you have considered this when we review your event plan.

In your event safety plan, you need to:

• acknowledge that your event has construction activities included in it 
• identify who your duty holders are
• include a copy of your construction phase plan as an appendix

Construction activities

For events, a construction activity is likely to include:

• construction of a stage and stage canopy
• a grandstand
• a tower / lighting tower
• the construction management and dismantling of tents and marquees
• construction of security fencing and barge barriers
• electrical installation

A construction activity is defined in the CDM Regulations 2015 as:

• 'The installation, commissioning, maintenance, repair or removal of mechanical, electrical, gas, compressed air, hydraulic, telecommunications, computer or similar services which are normally fixed within or to a structure', and
• 'The assembly on site of prefabricated elements to form a structure or the disassembly on site of the prefabricated elements which, immediately before such disassembly, formed a structure'

Not all of an event is defined as a construction activity.

Duty holders

The CDM Regulations 2015 place legal duties on:

• a person who designs, arranges, and manages the construction activities within an event
• client
• designer
• principle designer (only needed where it is expected that there will be more than one contractor working on site)
• principle contractor (only needed where it is expected that there will be more than one contractor working on site)
• contractor

For full details about the roles and duties, go to Health and Safety Executive: CDM roles and duties.

Notification of construction projects

Notifiable projects are construction projects/activities:

• which last longer than 30 working days
• have more than 20 workers working at the same time at any point in the project, or
• go over 500 person days of work

The event is reported to the Health and Safety Executive in the form of an F10 form.

Construction phase plan

The regulations also require that the 'defined' duty holders are appointed in writing and their specific duties identified in a Construction Phase Plan.

The contents of a construction plan should be proportionate with the size and complexity of the construction activities.

To help event organisers to include complete and correct information in a construction phase plan, the HSE has developed a Construction Phase Plan template to help you develop your own.

See Health and Safety Executive: Construction phase plan template.

Marquees and other temporary structures

If your event involves the use of a marquee or other temporary structure for example, a staging unit, you should get a plan and technical specification of the structure and provide a copy to the Council.

It is recommended that you use professional contractors for the set-up and de-rig of any temporary structures.

All temporary structures:

• are subject to a fire risk assessment by law
• must also be tested to make sure they are securely anchored and safe for use

Marquees and temporary structures fall within the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015.