Your Health & Safety Obligations

As an exhibitor, you have a legal duty of care for the safety of anyone who may be affected by your activities. You are ultimately responsible for all aspects of safety on your stand during the build up, open period of the show and during the breakdown. If you contract out the building and finishing of your stand you are still vicariously responsible for the activities of your contractors. 

It is your responsibility to ensure you have submitted the relevant Health & Safety Documentation in the To Do List section and as described below:

• Detailed Stand Plans
• Exhibitor Health & Safety Declaration - to be completed by exhibiting company
• Risk Assessment - to be completed by the contracted stand builder
• Method Statement - to be completed by the contracted stand builder

Risk Assessment 

It is a legal requirement that each exhibitor and contractor undertakes their own risk assessment and fire risk assessment prior to the event, listing the tasks to be undertaken, identifying any significant hazards they present on site, then listing ways to minimise and control those hazards.  

Please complete:

You can upload your own Risk Assessment documentation or make a copy and download our template here.

Method Statement

Your method statement should explain in detail how you intend to build your stand from delivery to completion.

Please submit your:

You can upload your own Method Statement or make a copy and download our template here.

The Construction Design Management Regulation

There are many risks associated with the construction and deconstruction of events, there are now enforced controls to ensure that all employees, contractors and visitors are provided with a healthy and safe working environment while onsite.

Everyone on site is responsible for preventing personal injury and damage to property, and to protect everyone from foreseeable work hazards at all locations.

Co-operation and participation of all employees, exhibitors, contractors and subcontractors is essential to obtain high standards of safety practices.

ALL Exhibitors and Contractors must be wearing appropriate clothing. High visibility jackets must be worn by ALL contractors and Exhibitors as well as appropriate footwear. Please note that those who do not conform with these rules may be refused entry into the venue.

The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974

This is the legislative foundation for all workplace Health & Safety Regulations. There are a number of areas of the Act which are of particular importance to the management of contract work:

• Provision and maintenance of safe plant and safe systems of work

• Safe handling, storage, maintenance and transport of work articles and substances

• Provision of information, instruction, training and supervision

• Provision of a safe place of work with safe access and egress

• A safe working environment with adequate welfare facilities

These must be maintained for exhibitors, contractors and employees of ANY company working within any premises hired by SBC Events.

The Act places a general duty on employers to ensure the health and safety of people who may be affected by work activities but who are not employees; this includes contractors, temporary workers and visitors on site. General duties of persons concerned with premises to persons other than their employees.

The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999

These require additional action to be taken in order to ensure compliance. Namely:

• Requires suitable and sufficient risk assessments to be completed, all significant risks must be identified with suitable and sufficient control measures put in place.

• Appointment of competent persons in health and safety

• Establish and implement emergency procedures

• Co-operation and coordination in shared workplaces

• Provision and sharing of information

Working at Height

A person is considered to be working ‘at height’ if there is a possibility of being injured from falling, even if they are working at or below ground level.

The Working at Height Regulations refers to 'duty holders': employers, self-employed and employees. This includes all contractors and exhibitors (for example, when accessing areas above floor level to dress stands). 

Duty holders’ responsibilities are to ensure that:

• No work is done at height if it is safe and reasonably practicable to do it other than at height

• Ensure that the work is properly planned and organised, appropriately supervised and carried out in as safe a way as is reasonably practicable

• Plans are in place for emergencies and rescue

• A suitable and sufficient risk assessment is carried out and the significant findings recorded and acted upon

• They do all that is reasonably practicable to prevent anyone falling

• All work at height takes account of conditions that could endanger health and safety

• Those involved in work at height are trained and competent

• The place where work at height is done is safe

• Equipment for work at height is appropriately inspected

• The risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled

• The risks from falling objects are properly controlled