COLUMN: SPECIAL OPS
The whole picture
Michelle Baldwin, senior event manager at the NEC, on the operational
challenges of exhibitions and ensuring the safety and wellbeing of visitors
A
ny event manager will tell you that
one of the greatest challenges of
running any live event is taking
on the responsibility of all the venue and
safety aspects.
We oversee the whole venue operation
on the floor; not just so the event
goes ahead but is also a success. As a
gatekeeper between organisers, venue
and suppliers, we are the first point of
contact for all, so there is great pressure
to ensure that all parties are happy and
are managed well, something we must
readily accept when we first sign up for
the job.
At the NEC we are a well-oiled
machine; my fellow event managers
and I have many years’ experience in
a whole host of live event genres. We
have undertaken years of training and
shadowing to get to a level where we can
not only confidently plan multiple events
simultaneously, but also walk into an
exhibition hall – radio in hand – and
tackle what inevitably will be a deluge
of on-the-spot decision-making for the
event that’s currently in tenancy.
Organisers too need to understand their
responsibilities in running their event.
At the NEC we have great relationships
with our organisers and this starts pre-
contract as we help clients to understand
what’s possible in the halls and how they
can transform the space. This aids us in
building relationships and develops trust
at an early stage in the planning process.
We enjoy a team approach to running a
show and we are often an extension of the
organiser’s team. High ticket sales and
visitor numbers are ultimately what every
organiser wants, however there always
has to be a maximum hall capacity at
any given time. We monitor this through
implementing crowd management
systems, which meet the health and
safety requirements of every show. We
track peaks and troughs in visitor flow,
which allows us to adapt staffing etc.
throughout the duration of the event and
for future events.
One new system that some of our
organisers have started to use is
ExpoWare – designed in-house by the
NEC’s official box office The Ticket
Factory. This technology, primarily aimed
towards supporting trade shows, provides
onsite scanning with real-time counts
of visitors at the event at both entry
and exit, enabling management of hall
capacities at all times. No other system
“While visitors may
not see all operational
security activity, they
should be assured that
activity is on-going,
often behind the
scenes”
does this, and it vastly enhances crowd
flow control and peace of mind for both
event manager and organiser.
We’re lucky at the NEC to have a high
percentage of repeat custom, and thus
can take on learnings from previous years
for many of our events. The collation
of information during and post event
is so important in making sure every
single one runs as slickly as it possibly
can. It’s in the nature of live events to
be unpredictable at times, but the more
information organisers share with us on
the likes of visitor demographics, dwell
time, onsite media attendance, and vice
versa, the more control we have.
Security always has and continues to
be our biggest priority. As a venue, we
work together with local and national
authorities including West Midlands
Police, to consistently review our
security measures so they remain
effective and proportionate.
We have comprehensive and
integrated overt security in place
including; tailored venue search
operations, strategically placed security
personnel, multi-purpose dog response
teams and intelligence led CCTV
monitoring. In addition, extensive covert
security measures are also in place, so
while visitors may not see all operational
security activity, they should be assured
that activity is on-going, often behind the
scenes.
Our passion for excelling in live events
at the NEC includes ensuring that we
fully comply with the Equality Act and
we are accessible and user-friendly for all
visitors. With support from organisations
such as Attitude is Everything we offer
outstanding disability provisions.
Customer feedback is key to this and
continues to be extremely positive from
both the public, exhibitor and promoter
clients.
We should never rest on our laurels and
must always consider any feedback given.
For example, customer feedback initiated
the installation of the changing places
accessible toilet in the Hall 20 Atrium
area of the NEC. We also have mobility
assistance staff working on the NEC car
parks to assist with any disabled parking
requirements visitors may have.
Venue improvements like this support
us in attracting repeat business, especially
shows that have a higher attendance
rate for visitors with disabilities such
as Naidex, craft shows, BBC
Gardeners’ World,
BBC Good Food
Show and the
Motorhome
and Caravan
Show.
exhibitionnews.co.uk | January 2019
47