NASHVILLE — During the “Essential Promoter’s Survival Guide,” a panel discussion held during the Feb. 19-21 Pollstar Live conference here, members of the Event Safety Alliance (ESA) discussed the continued need for a safety-first mindset within the live event production industry.
ESA member and Linkin Park production manager Jim Digby relayed an anecdote where, upon being alerted that a rigger was up in the lighting rig without a harness, the production manager expressed an attidude of indifference. “That has to change,” Digby noted.
At the same time, Digby and the other panelists, including Charlie Hernandez of justabunchofroadies.org and Lauren R. Bailey of the Fireman’s Fund insurance company, also spoke of safety progress during the Feb. 21 seminar, which was moderated by ESA founding member Stuart Ross of Red Light Management.
Positive developments include the late 2013 availability of ESA’s Event Safety Guide and relationships forged with OSHA to develop specialized safety training courses. (ESA recently reported that Arizona State University is offering 10- and 30-hour OSHA Outreach Construction courses tailored to the live event and special event industry.)
Also discussed: the creation of new guidelines and safety incentives through and for insurance underwriters. Digby brought up the idea of a star rating system for live event companies adopting best safety practices, with the promise of more affordable insurance coverage serving as a spur toward inclusion in that kind of program.
Hernandez also discussed how strategic wording within artists’ contracts might lead to greater safety buy-in among the various parties with a stake in producing and transporting live entertainment productions.
Other topics for discussion included advances in severe weather warning systems, the importance of getting artists to support best safety practices, a formalized system of peer review to identify where improvements in best safety practices are needed, and the willingness on production leaders to allow shows to go on when safety is compromised.
More information on the Event Safety Alliance is available at www.eventsafetyalliance.org.
