Why is there no single answer "the technical company is responsible"?

The safety of the event consists of several independent, but interconnected areas. The company providing the sound system does not automatically become responsible for the condition of the building, the organization of security, evacuation routes, the stage structure provided by another contractor, or medical security.

At one production, the following may occur simultaneously:

• the organizer,
• the owner or operator of the venue,
• the general technical contractor,
• the stage company,
• the audio company,
• the lighting company,
• the LED operator,
• the riggers,
• the electricians,
• the workers and subcontractors.

Each of these entities may have its own obligations arising from law, contract, the scope of assigned work, or work organization.

Therefore, the question should not only be:

"who is responsible for safety?"

but also:

"who is responsible for a specific element of safety, on what basis, and at what stage?"

This is the division that needs to be established during the preparation of comprehensive technical support for the event.. 

What is the event organizer responsible for?

The organizer is primarily responsible for properly organizing the event and creating a structure in which the required elements of safety will actually be provided. However, the exact scope of their obligations depends on the type of event and the applicable regulations.

It should not be assumed that signing a contract with a technical company automatically transfers all responsibility from the organizer to them.

The organizer should, among other things, ensure that:

• select contractors suitable for the assigned tasks,
• clearly define the scopes of responsibility,
• provide the required information about the venue and the event,
• ensure coordination between the contractors,
• not impose solutions that contradict safety principles.

If, for example, a separate company provides the stage, another hangs the PA, and yet another provides the lighting, the organizer or the entity designated by them must ensure that their scopes are coordinated.

The organizer does not have to be a designer, electrician, or rigger. However, they must properly organize the process and utilize the appropriate competencies where required. 

Event vs. mass event – an important legal distinction

Not every concert, corporate event, conference, or even an event with a large audience is automatically a mass event in the sense of Polish law. "Mass event" is a legal term, so it should not be used as a simple synonym for a large event.

If the event meets the criteria of the law on mass event safety, specific obligations regarding its organization and security apply.

Article 5 of the law states that the organizer is responsible for the safety of the mass event at the location and during its duration.. The Act covers, among other things, the safety of participants, public order, medical security, and ensuring the appropriate technical condition of facilities along with installations and technical devices, in particular fire safety and sanitary measures. At the same time, the Act also indicates the tasks of other authorities and services in the scope resulting from the relevant regulations.

This is a very important distinction.

One should not automatically transfer the provisions of the Act on the safety of mass events to every event. On the other hand, the fact that a given event is not a mass event does not mean that safety ceases to be subject to other regulations concerning, among others, occupational health and safety, facilities, installations, or fire protection.

What is the technical company's responsibility in its scope?

The technical company should be responsible for the proper and safe execution of the work it has undertaken. This scope may include design, equipment supply, installation, configuration, operation during the event, and dismantling.

If the contractor is responsible for audio, their duties include, among others, safe:

• installation of the system,
• management of the infrastructure,
• setting up the devices,
• using the equipment,
• dismantling.

If they are also responsible for rigging or structures, completely different requirements and competencies apply.

Similarly, the lighting company cannot assume that the safety of all suspended devices is the organizer's problem, if it itself performs specific work related to their installation.

Responsibility for the entire event and the responsibility of the contractor for their own scope are two different issues.

Transferring general responsibility to the organizer does not relieve the contractor of the obligation to safely perform the assigned tasks.

How do the contract and division of work affect responsibility?

The contract is one of the basic tools that allows determining who is responsible for specific areas of production. However, it does not replace the obligations arising from mandatory regulations.

In the production documentation, it is worth indicating who is responsible for:

• the stage,
• structures,
• rigging,
• audio,
• light,
• multimedia,
• power,
• main connection,
• cable paths,
• safety of the work area.

Example:

Such a division does not automatically resolve all legal responsibility, but it greatly limits situations where everyone assumes that a given task was to be performed by someone else.

The larger the event, the more necessary it is matrix of responsibility, and not a general statement "company X does technology".

The role of the owner or operator of the venue

The venue is an important participant in the process because it has knowledge and documentation regarding the facility, its infrastructure, limitations, and rules of use. An external company should not assume building parameters based on the appearance of the room.

Before the event, it is necessary to establish among other things:

• available connections,
• rules for using the installations,
• acceptable methods of installation,
• suspension points,
• transport routes,
• limitations of the venue,
• fire safety rules.

Collaboration in rigging is particularly important.

If the venue indicates points for suspension, the contractor should receive appropriate information regarding their purpose and parameters, rather than treating any element in the ceiling as a potential attachment point.

That is why a site visit before the technical implementation of the event is so valuable – it allows for a comparison of the technical company's project with the actual capabilities of the venue.

Safety of the structure and rigging

Rigging requires a clear division of responsibility between design, preparation of points, installation, lifting, work during the show, and de-rigging. It should not function as an anonymous scope simply referred to as "hanging equipment".

The industry ICOPER developed for entertainment rigging emphasizes the necessity of establishing a clear organizational structure, defining the responsibilities of team members, identifying hazards, coordinating teams, and emergency procedures.

project

The project should specify, what is to be suspended, where and how.

Depending on the scale, it may include:

• positions of devices,
• structures,
• points,
• loads,
• used equipment,
• order of operations.

One should not start with a random choice of location for the motor or rigging, and only later consider whether the structure of the object can bear the load.

suspension points

The presence of an element in the ceiling does not confirm its suitability for rigging.

One must know, among other things:

• the purpose of the point,
• acceptable conditions for its use,
• information provided by the venue,
• structural limitations.

The rigging design must be tailored to approved points and actual conditions, not to points that are simply located in a convenient place.

the competencies of the individuals performing the work

Individuals performing rigging must have knowledge and skills appropriate to the tasks assigned. In international industry materials, the competencies of riggers include, among others, risk assessment, safe execution of lifting operations, working at heights, and using appropriate equipment and protective measures.

Not every technical person working at the event is automatically competent to design or conduct rigging operations.

installation control

After the installation is completed, it is necessary to verify compliance with the project and catch any changes that occurred during assembly.

If the conditions on site force the team to deviate from the original solution, it should not be done on the basis of:

"we'll do it a little differently because it will be faster."

The change may affect loads, equipment, and the safety of the entire system.

ICOPER also points to the need to monitor changing conditions and to report and respond appropriately to divergences from the rigging plan.

Electrical safety

One cannot be responsible for electrical safety on the basis of "the power comes from the object, so the rest does not concern us." It is necessary to clearly establish the boundary between the venue's infrastructure and the temporary technical distribution.

The following are important:

• main power source,
• distribution boards,
• safety devices,
• wires,
• loads,
• connection points,
• method of installation.

The technical company should know the requirements of its devices and use infrastructure appropriate for the given application.

If a separate entity performs the temporary electrical installation, its scope should also be clearly indicated.

Do not mix two questions:

1. who provides the energy,
2. who is responsible for a specific part of the installation.

The venue may provide the main connection, while the further distribution for audio, lighting, and LED is carried out by the appropriate technicians.

Working at heights and health and safety of crews

The safety of employees and other individuals performing work is a separate area from the safety of the audience. Each employer is responsible for organizing safe working conditions in accordance with health and safety regulations.

The National Labor Inspectorate indicates that the responsibility for the state of occupational safety and health lies with the employer, and delegating tasks to external health and safety specialists does not remove this responsibility. The duties also apply, within the scope defined by regulations, to individuals performing work on other bases.

In event production, this may concern:

• working at heights,
• assembly of structures,
• lifting heavy loads,
• using lifts,
• working in assembly areas,
• using personal protective equipment.

The assessment of occupational risk should take into account the hazards related to the actual work performed by the crew.

It should not be assumed that one "event safety coordinator" takes over the responsibilities of all employers towards their crews.

Emergency exits and audience infrastructure

The technology cannot be designed without considering the movement of participants and the space required for the safe operation of the facility.

The following may be problematic:

• FOH,
• tripods,
• cases,
• structures,
• wires,
• cameras,
• barriers.

Before installation, it is necessary to determine which areas:

• must remain free,
• are communication routes,
• constitute evacuation routes,
• are access for services.

This is another example of shared responsibility functionally among several parties.

The organizer and venue define the layout of the event and the requirements regarding the space, while the technical company cannot arbitrarily set up its own equipment in a place that is not allowed to be occupied.

In practice, a good production plan shows at the same time:

• the audience,
• the stage,
• FOH,
• the technology,
• communication routes.

This way, a conflict can be noticed in the drawing before it becomes an issue during installation.

Fire protection

Fire protection is not solely the responsibility of the venue or solely the organizer. Individual entities must adhere to the rules regarding their own work and the equipment used, while the entire event must function under conditions compliant with the applicable requirements.

In the case of mass events, the law explicitly states that ensuring the appropriate technical condition of the facilities along with the technical equipment, particularly fire protection, is one of the elements of safety for which the organizer is responsible.

In terms of technology, the following may be significant:

• not obstructing fire protection equipment,
• maintaining required passages,
• properly managing infrastructure,
• not introducing unapproved sources of danger.

If the scenery, special effects, or unusual elements of the production affect fire protection, they should be analyzed as a separate scope, and not treated as a regular decorative element.

Who can stop dangerous work?

A dangerous operation should not be continued just because the schedule is tight or the opening of the gates is approaching in just a few minutes. The production should establish a way to respond to threats and a decision-making structure in advance.

In rigging, ICOPER requires a clear organizational structure and procedures that also include stopping work, evacuation, and rescue operations. The document also emphasizes the need for supervision to respond to changing working conditions.

In practice, this means the need to answer the questions:

• who is leading the operation,
• who is supervising it,
• to whom the threat is reported,
• what happens after work is stopped,
• who can approve the resumption.

It is not worth building a work culture where a technician has to choose between following orders and reporting a real threat.

If there is an immediate risk, the priority should be to eliminate the threat, and only then to recover the schedule.

Risk assessment and procedures

Risk assessment serves to identify hazards before starting work and to determine how to mitigate them. It should not be a document prepared solely because "someone requires paperwork."

In event technology, the analysis may include, among others:

• working at heights,
• lifting elements,
• transport,
• power supply,
• assembly,
• movement of vehicles,
• work on the stage.

State materials regarding occupational health and safety indicate the obligation of identifying hazards, assessing risks, and implementing measures to eliminate or reduce them.

In international rigging practice, similar roles are played by:

• planning,
• crew briefings,
• hazard identification,
• established procedures,
• clear division of tasks.

ICOPER also requires that before a work change, hazards, work order, crew coordination, communication, and emergency procedures be discussed.

This is a good model for other complex technical operations as well.

Technical documentation

Documentation should correspond to the actual level of complexity of the production. The greater the risk and the more dependencies, the fewer elements should remain solely in verbal agreements.

Depending on the project, documentation may include:

• technical plans,
• designs of structures,
• rigging plot,
• information about points,
• manufacturer's instructions,
• schedule,
• responsibility matrix,
• risk assessment,
• protocols or confirmations required for a given scope.

Timeliness is important.

If the design project has been changed, there should not be multiple drawings functioning in parallel on site without information on which is binding.

The documentation should allow answering:

• what has been designed,
• who prepared it,
• what version is current,
• who is responsible for execution,
• whether the installation matches the design.

A particularly large amount of such information can be gathered already during site visit before the technical execution of the event.

What should a clear division of responsibilities look like before the event?

The best solution is to create a simple matrix of responsibilities before the load-in begins. It does not have to be a comprehensive legal document – it should primarily eliminate areas where the responsibilities of contractors overlap.

Example model:

The table is an example of a structure, not a universal assignment of legal responsibility.

In actual production, roles need to be established according to:

• contracts,
• regulations,
• the venue,
• contractors.

Before the event, it is therefore worth going through the final arrangements of the organizer with the technical company and separately marking all issues related to safety, infrastructure, and boundaries of responsibility.

In the case of technical execution by Art-Live, the natural scope is the preparation and safe execution of entrusted technical systems and clearly defining points requiring cooperation with the organizer, venue, or other contractors – not declaring the assumption of responsibility for the entire safety of the event.

Summary

Technical safety during the event is not the responsibility of one company "from the technical side." The organizer, venue, execution company, construction contractors, employers, and specialists have different responsibilities arising from the type of event, law, contracts, and work performed.

In the case of a mass event, regulations directly assign the responsibility for safety to the organizer, but this does not remove the obligations of other entities within their own scopes.

The most important practical tool is therefore a clear structure: for each critical element, it is necessary to know who designs, supplies, executes, controls, and who makes decisions in case of threat.. Safety starts with design and division of responsibility, not with reacting to a problem during the event.

Frequently asked questions