Risk assessment
Event crew risk assessments for stages, power, and load-in
Event work is short, crowded, and often at night. The stage build is work at height and manual handling. Temporary power is an electrical installation, not an extension lead from the bar. Load-in is vehicles, ramps, and people who are not the crew.
Temporary electrical systems still sit under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. A stage deck with an open edge is work at height. Lifting a truss on a motor is lifting equipment. The public and other contractors are people at risk, which a crew-only note misses.
No law requires a document called a RAMS. The duty is to assess risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, regulation 3, and to plan the work safely.
What to decide before the job
- Who controls the power, and how it is isolated before anyone works in a distro or a truss.
- Edge protection on the deck, and a rule for incomplete edges during the build.
- The load-in route, vehicle movement, and a banksman where the yard is shared.
- Weather and wind if the structure is outdoors. Stop criteria belong in the RAMS.
Every hazard below is from the RAMSPack library and is marked draft – awaiting competent review. Use it as a starting list, then change it for the site. It is not HSE approved.
Worked example: Temporary stage build
Assemble a small temporary stage from a proprietary deck system in a hall or outdoor site, including handrails where the deck is high enough to need them.
Order of work
- Read the supplier's build guide for this system. Confirm height, load, and whether handrails and skirts are required.
- Check the floor is level enough for the system. Do not pack legs with scrap timber that the guide does not allow.
- Build in the order the guide sets. Fit bracing and handrails as the guide requires, not after the public arrive.
- Provide the access stairs supplied for that height. Do not jump off the deck.
- A competent person inspects the finished stage and records any limitation on load. Only then is it released for use.
Fall from the deck during build or from an unfinished edge
Who might be harmed: Crew and later users
Before controls: 12 Medium. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Fit handrails before the deck is used as a place of work at height, where the Work at Height Regulations 2005 require fall protection.
- Do not work with your back to an open edge. Keep the public out until handover.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Collapse or tipping from missing braces, wrong legs, or overload
Who might be harmed: Crew, performers and the public
Before controls: 15 High. After controls: 5 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Use only compatible parts from the system. Do not replace a leg with an offcut.
- Follow the stated maximum load and height. If the stage is outside the standard build, stop for a design.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Work at Height Regulations 2005; Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Manual handling of decks and steel legs
Who might be harmed: Crew
Before controls: 12 Medium. After controls: 4 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Lift decks in pairs. Use gloves. Do not throw decks from a van tail-lift.
- Stack on level ground, banded if they could slide.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Public entering a live build
Who might be harmed: Public
Before controls: 9 Medium. After controls: 3 Low. These scores are a prompt. Score the job yourself.
- Barrier the build. A crew member challenges anyone who enters.
- Tools are not left on a finished deck.
Regulations that fit this hazard: Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022); Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981.
Start this temporary stage build RAMS
Other event crew tasks in the library
Temporary power and lighting
Rig temporary lighting and distribute power for a small event from a supplied source, using equipment that has been selected for temporary use. The electrical work is done by a competent person.
- Electric shock from a damaged lead, a wet connection, or an overloaded distro. A competent person tests the temporary system before it is put into use.
- Fall while focusing lights or climbing truss. Prefer lights that can be focused from the ground or from a podium.
- A light or a stand falling onto a person. Use the base weight or the fixing the stand requires. Safety-bond lanterns where the manufacturer specifies a bond.
- Trips on cables in a dark venue. Route cables at the edge of walkways or fly them. Cover crossings.
Load-in and load-out
Unload event equipment from a van, move it into a venue, and reload it after the event, including use of a tail lift where the van has one.
- Manual handling of flight cases and truss. Use trucks and the tail lift. Do not carry a case that blocks your view on a stair.
- Crushing or a fall from the tail lift. Stand clear of the closing platform. Do not ride the lift unless that is specifically allowed for this lift.
- Being struck by other vehicles while unloading in a street or a yard. Hi-vis worn. A crew member watches traffic if the lift opens into a live area.
- Blocking a fire exit with cases. Keep marked exits and their routes clear. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 duties sit with the responsible person for the premises; the crew do not obstruct the measures that person has in place.