AGENDA
Build-up and breakdown times
– does the industry have a problem?
It’s a contentious issue. Some in the industry feel tighter and tighter build-up and breakdown times
are making sites unsafe, while others think the problem might be exaggerated, so what’s the truth?
Andrew Reed,
managing director –
events & exhibitions,
William Reed
14
This is an interesting
subject, which is being slightly
taken out of context as the only venue that
has changed its build times is Olympia. This
is only due to the capacity that we have in
West London. The equation is ‘amount of time
available X the size of the task; divided by
the number of skilled people’ The real issue is
around the quality of the part-time staff that
are available to the contractors. They have to
be part-time, as all of the basic infrastructure
has become commoditised so there is little
opportunity to make any money on, say,
installing shell scheme.
From an electrical point of view, these
people have to have basic qualifications but for
other tasks you don’t need any qualification.
The real question should be: “is there a
sufficiently qualified pool of competent staff
for
all of the contractors to draw
down on so we do not have a
serious incident?”
We need to be asking
the right questions
as opposed to
focusing on
sound bites.
January 2019 | exhibitionnews.co.uk
Miriam Sigler, director,
Ways & Means Events
Ask any operations
manager working a short
breakdown what the first
thing they think when the hall
has emptied and it’s time to go home, and I
would bet you it’s some version of, “Phew! We
made it!”
A short breakdown is absolutely doable
for some shows, and often preferable for all
involved. It’s less cost for the organiser, more
bookings for venues and quicker turnaround
of kit for contractors (plus an opportunity to
actually make it home every once in a while
for the ops manager!) – until something goes
wrong.
As with everything in event planning, any
good ops manager will have planned the get in
and get out in detail, trying to anticipate where
the problem areas are likely to be and ensuring
everything happens in good time. However,
there is always that one element that is out
of your control; a crash on the motorway; a
forklift breaking down; a lift not working – all
of which can have a dire effect on getting out
of the halls on time. There are of course ways
around this, as always team work, goodwill,
favours and problem solving are key, but on a
short breakdown there is very little room for
leeway, especially in a venue with back-to-back
bookings.
There are certainly times when a short
breakdown is just not suitable. It can put huge
amounts of pressure on the contractors and
endanger exhibitors who are rushing to pack
up while stands are being ripped down around
them. Something or someone ends up being
compromised. Contractors being told to put
more people on the job at their expense, ops
teams begging for favours and venue staff
staying on just that bit longer – again – to
help out. This isn’t a long term or sustainable
solution.
Breakdown times need to be considered with
just as much importance as build. It may be the
least glamorous part of the show cycle, but it’s
just as valuable as build or open.
Andrew Abbotts,
operations director,
Teem Services
With ever-increasing
commercial pressures and
lack of available London
space, tenancies are becoming shorter and
shorter and turnarounds tighter. The knock-on
effect is longer working days, night shifts, early
starts and very late finishes. Unfortunately,
many stand designers, still searching for ‘the
wow factor’ for their clients, do not always
embrace the time limitations and will try and
create stands designed for one extra day’s build.
It is not uncommon for a contractor’s first
question to be how many hours late working
they can have.
You would assume that tighter build and
breakdown times would lead to an increase
in accidents. Our records do not reflect that,
but what they do show is a significant rise
in near misses, poor working standards and
working at height infringements. The laws of
probability dictate it is only a matter of time
before a serious accident does occur.
For all the complaints about tighter tenancy
times I fear they are here to stay. It is far from
ideal, but we are in a competitive, commercial
world where money talks more than ever.
However, there are improvements everyone can
make. Organisers can draw floorplans better
and design out where pinch points will occur.
They can schedule builds so work is spread out
and people are not fighting for space. Venues
also suffer operationally. There is barely any
time for essential maintenance. Mark outs
are often done a month in advance and are
out of date come show time. Mains men and
plumbers are often still pulling through into
tenancy start, putting themselves at higher risk
of being struck by vehicles.
It only needs a motorway closure, serious
accident or terrorist threat to mean a show will
not be out in time. Logistics contractors are
having to take away more uncollected items
than they ever have before. With such tight
turnaround times there is no margin for error.
What will happen when you come in for your
show to be met by a mass of stands from the
previous event? One for the lawyers I suppose?