Take 5 for Safety is a monthly article designed to give equipment and event rental stores the information they need to conduct a five-minute safety meeting on a particular topic. Below are talking points for this month’s meeting. At the bottom of this article, you’ll find a sign-up sheet where attendance of the meeting can be recorded.
Introduction: There are numerous potential hazards that exist around a tent site. It is important to be aware of these, not only for safety of the rental crew but also to keep other vendors and event attendees safe.
Slip, trip and fall hazards
It is important to ensure that the tent top and sidewalls are properly secured. The sidewalls should be secured on the top and the sides. This can help prevent people from falling out of the tent if they happen to lean on it.
Often, flooring is installed under a tent. All flooring should be fully installed and secured before vendors or attendees enter the area. All step-ups and ramps must be fully installed and clearly marked as well.
Tent ballasting and staking should be secure.
To reduce the risk of trip and fall hazards, all wires — for equipment such as generators and HVAC systems — should be bundled and kept out of the way as much as possible.
Overhead hazards
Anything hanging from the tent, such as lighting, decoration, etc., should be high enough to ensure people do not collide with it. All overhead rigging of equipment should be completed before additional work is done below it.
Emergency situations
- All safety signs are in place.
- The proper number of exits are installed in the tent and clearly marked. The number of exits needed will be determined by the size of the tent and local safety codes.
- The proper fire extinguishers are placed throughout the tent. Make sure they are up to code and check the expiration date.
- It is recommended that a tent evacuation plan is clearly posted and available in case of an emergency.
Rental store example:
Terry Turner, CERP, president of All Occasions Party Rentals, Knoxville, Tenn., says the goal of conducting a final inspection is to make sure the surroundings are safe and to ensure any leftover install equipment is picked up and the tent is properly installed and ready for occupancy.
“When conducting the final inspection, safety is on top of our list. We prefer to have the client in attendance to make sure we are all on the same page. We are obviously looking for staking or ballasting issues, egress or ingress problems or any issues related to the guests,” he says.
“Also, this is the final opportunity to check power, lighting, flooring, guttering, etc., prior to guests or vendors arriving. Our goal is to walk away from this inspection with the customer’s stamp of approval. That makes us all sleep better at night,” Turner says.