STAYING SAFE
The risk of litigation is often under underestimated in the world of events . With the help of agency Ten Thousand Hours , Mar § tin Fullard learns about a solution by Catenae Innovation .
or an industry which is inherently risk-averse , the events sector is , in some corners , more analogue than many would believe . Yes , we use technology for our registration , and now we can stream our events and engage a remote audience . The user experience side of things is very much in the ascendency and it ’ s something most have embraced . But , to a point , it masks the less attractive – but just as important – backroom technology .
It is often invisible , but have you wondered how you stay on top of who is building your event – not the contractor businesses , but the people themselves ? Or what about safety checks ? How are these logged and recorded ?
Life isn ’ t always glamorous , and when something goes wrong it is usually the result of a chain of events . So , perish the thought , if something fails , like a piece of equipment , do you have enough evidence to support yourself in court ?
These are scary questions , but they are very real .
To understand more about how the physical operations and health and safety of an event crew can be managed , I spoke to a company called Catenae Innovation , which through the use of blockchain technology , can effectively safeguard your reputation and people ’ s safety .
Blockchain , for the uninitiated , basically means that historical records are kept which cannot be altered , only added to . For example , if you send a technician to repair light rig 1A , the record of his repair on 1A will be kept forever . It can ’ t be changed . If he goes back to make another repair , that is added to the chain , it does not erase what went before it .
To add another dimension , Catenae Innovation can also handle Covid-status certification . So long as the NHS opens it data channel for sharing – which it must do if Covid-status certification is mandated by Government – then Catenae ’ s platform can manage it . It is a resource that is compliant and could prove invaluable as an immediate helper should we get a short-notice announcement .
Agency Q & A To get a better grasp of how such a tool could be used in practical terms , I asked Martin Richardson and Dom Garner , co-founders of Ten Thousand Hours , to join me
“ If a door fails in a blaze and someone dies as a result , you are up for corporate manslaughter ” and Catenae ’ s experts Nick Delacamp and Guy Meyer on a video call . The purpose was to present the solution to Richardson and Garner and , as a solution-orientated agency , they would ask questions to try and establish whether it would improve the way they approach events .
After all , an agency is entrusted with a brand when they run their events , so anything that goes wrong can come back to bite them . We went into the exercise with no script and no preconceptions . Richardson and Garner asked the questions , Delacamp and Meyer provided the answers .
Q : On the integrity element when you were showing us the app , who is filling out that particular data ? Is it me , or is it a recognised professional who has administered the test ?
A : It ’ s you , or someone you trust . We ran this system at Lapland UK , where 1,000 people were working . The health and safety team was testing everyone on site every three days . It was the trusted health and safety person that was conducting that test and entering the data .
Q : : If I had the app on my phone and I went to a designated place www . conference-news . co . uk