Doing a structured walk through is a concept that comes naturally to me when I wear my risk management hat, but your reaction as an event planner might be "I'm doing enough already and don't need one more thing to do". Hopefully I can convince you of the difference that this one extra step can make in the success of your event.
This strategy was shared with me by the IT staff that I worked near and is an important strategy that they use in bringing a successful conclusion to those big IT projects. A structured walk through is simply where you carve out the time to sit down, close your eyes and envision your event from beginning to end. See I told you that it wouldn't be so painful.
As you go through your event in your mind, think about the setup. For example, if vendors will be using tables at your event - are you providing the tables and do you have them already? If not, are the vendors bringing their own tables and do they know this? In your visioning can you see that if vendors bring their own tables they will be all different sizes and using all different table coverings. What if a vendor's table is not sturdy and collapses on someone? While this simple envisioning may not present a risk exposure for your event, it could present an aesthetic view that you hadn't considered.
Now let's envision a segment of your event which could pose a significant risk exposure. Your organization is sponsoring an outside street fair and carnival in your community and you are the event planner. There will be vendors at tables selling food that they have brought in, other vendors will be entertaining kids with balloons and face painting, and the focal point of your event will be those 'bouncy rides' in the adjoining field.
Here are some things that should come to you as you envision this event. How will vendors maintain the proper temperature for food that needs to be kept cold or hot? Are you providing access to electricity? Or are they cooking foods on-site using some alternative fuel such as propane? Are they keeping foods cold through use of ice chests? How are you ensuring that your expectations are shared by the food vendors? If this is your first time planning this kind of event you may have overlooked the obvious, but the risk can be great if fair attendees eat food that is not kept at a proper temperature. Envisioning ahead of time can prevent scrambling at the last minute.
When planning an event there seems to be a natural assumption that the sun will shine down and all will be well. Have you envisioned different weather scenarios and how you will react? It is almost a blessing if it is far too rainy and windy ahead of your event so that you can just cancel or postpone it. But what if an unexpected weather front comes through in the middle of your outdoor event? Have all event organizers discussed ahead of time what should happen? Where will event participants be directed if a thunderstorm comes through? Have the 'bouncy rides' been properly secured to withstand gusts of winds? Will someone be responsible for monitoring the weather during the event to know if alternative measures should be taken? Strong winds can have devastating effects throughout your event so make sure everything is secured or stowed.
When you envision from the very beginning to the ending of your event, there should be a lot fewer instances of 'Oh no, how are we going to handle that' during the event. Hopefully you are convinced that conducting a structured walk through is not too difficult and definitely worth the effort.
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