Without an effective crowd control plan, any event can end in disaster. The long and short of it is that you’re never going to be fully prepared for a disaster or a major event requiring crowd control, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. You don’t want to end up with someone being harmed or worse, killed because there wasn’t due diligence done in the planning phase.
We’ve talked in a previous post about creating effective strategies for crowd management, but in this post, we’ll dive deep into create a plan on paper, and what that will look like, with examples of plans that have been used effectively in the past. We’ll go through it piece by piece.
1. Objective
Once you written down all the information at the head of your plan (point person, event location, relevant contact info), next comes the objective. You don’t have to be fancy, just say what the objective of your crowd control plan for your event is. Some great resources to start with are some like these from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. In one of their crowd management plan example documents, they give this as a template for an objective:
“The objective of this plan is to provide a safe atmosphere for people to gather and reduce any risk to an acceptable level. By establishing this plan, YOUR ORGANIZATION has taken steps to try to identify and mitigate all foreseeable hazards, before during and after the EVENTS NAME.”
You can expand on the objective a little bit, but simple language is key. If you’re planning a concert, trade show, convention, it doesn’t matter, the point of your crowd control plan is to create safety and reduce risk. A quick internet search can provide a world of crowd control techniques and ideas.
2. Hierarchy
Your plan should include at the bare minimum a list of the most important positions within your event’s hierarchy. Who is the event manager, the person in charge of crowd control, their assistant, and the point people on the ground? All of these people (with smaller events, they might be the same person) should be listed, with contact information and a list of what their responsibilities are, so on the day of the event, unforeseen obstacles can be accounted for and taken responsibility for.
Additionally, a flow chart describing the hierarchy can be useful so that volunteers and staff can reference who they’ll need to talk to in advance.
IMAGE OF A FLOW CHART
3. Plan
Your official crowd control plan should feature a section that describes specifically how to proceed in an emergency or crisis situation. One of the nice things about thinking about your event this way is that it can help you plan out the regular and normal functioning of your event. Here are some important items to include.
The briefing
Your plan should outline how you will prepare staff each day for the event. What time will the meeting take place? Who’s going to be leading it? What is the essential information that must be shared between stakeholders?
Getting attendees attention
In the event that you need to get the attention of your attendees, how will you do it? Who will have the keys to the car (figuratively speaking)? Intercoms, marquees, staff with megaphones? It’s important that this information be agreed upon so your staff can remain calm in an emergency situation.
Providing information
In crisis and emergency situations, what will be the easiest way to communicate with the crowd. An alarm to grab their attention, followed by intercom announcements? Staff members with megaphones directing people to the exits? Examine your space and determine what will be most helpful going forward.
Lights, visible exit information
What will happen to your light array in the event of an emergency? Will the lights turn on full, or dim slightly, with floor lights directing to the exit. Whatever you decide, it must be immediately clear to the average person where they’re supposed to go to exit safely.
Who will do what
This one should be a no brainer. With reference to your hierarchy, who is going to be in charge of what in the event of an emergency?
Pre and post event information
Before and after the event, will there be information sessions for your staff. You likely want to include these in the plan as well, as they’ll give everyone a solid idea of what the order of operations is.
4. Layout and Diagrams
Finally, a helpful component of an effective crowd control plan is diagrams, charts, and pictures! Everyone loves a good chart, right? Well, even if you’re not a chart-lover, having the relevant layout information of your space easily accessible to your team can be invaluable, especially in the event of an emergency situation. When first responders know the fastest exits in your space, and you have an easily referenceable document, emergency situations can be resolved easier. Here are some great examples of chart-making and mind mapping apps.
Seating diagrams, lighting plans, even photos of important landmarks can be invaluable in creating an optimal plan, so make sure to use them!
We’ve got plenty of options for helping you create an optimal crowd control setup, and we’re happy to consult with you and talk options. Make sure to check out our other posts on thinking through crowd control procedures too. Browse our products or be in touch!