Features
IAVM Gets Trigger Happy
The International Association of Venue Managers held its annual venue safety school March 5-6 – in itself not an unusual situation but a few things grabbed attention.
One, it doesn’t hurt to have a writer from the Associated Press attend – which can cause news outlets to run the copy.
And, two, after the tragic events of the 2011 Indiana State Fair where seven people died prior to a
The IAVM’s Academy for Venue Safety and Security has held a severe weather preparedness course for five years, and the last two have been held at the National Weather Center on the campus of University of Oklahoma in Norman. This year there were about 40 attendees, up from about a dozen participants when it began. Delegates included officials from the NFL and the Country Music Association, as well as operations managers, fair officials and production managers.
Clearly, event managers are taking safety more seriously, but the increased attention to the class is also because of its evolving curriculum.
“People in this business need to develop a trigger chart,” Harold Hansen, the life, safety and security director for IAVM, told Pollstar. “It is the decisions and actions you’re going to take when a severe weather situation presents itself.”
The trigger chart starts with a template and would ideally be modified over a nice cup of coffee and a donut during the calm morning hours prior to the event. It would dictate the protocol for a severe weather situation – and none of it includes “amateur weathermen” or an iPhone app that shows a drawing of a fluffy cloud.
“We really advise that any event that’s likely to be threatened by weather retain the services of a private meteorological service,” Hansen said. “The National Weather Service can’t provide that kind of detail to a private enterprise.”
The trigger chart also lays out who makes the call – which was one of the factors that thwarted the cancellation of the Indiana event. The IAVM strongly suggests the venue manager be that person.
“We don’t tell them who it is, technically,” Hansen said. “What really matters is somebody is designated. It will vary by jurisdiction, by who owns the property, if the mayor is involved, if it’s on the street or on the fairgrounds. There are too many variables, but somebody needs to have the authority.”
The course set aside a few hours where participants filled out a trigger chart.
“We actually found a weather service office in Tulsa that did a prototype and fell in love with the concept,” he said. “We turned it into a form that we could use to teach and train.”
For those who did not attend the course, the IAVM provides a Severe Weather and Preparedness Plan Guideline on its website.
“It takes them through the planning process – how to organize, what resources are available, helps them develop a severe weather emergency team, takes them through the trigger chart, and shows what kind of meteorological services they should consider,” Hansen said.