Health and safety
Common types of risks encountered within jobs in the music industry:
- Tripping
- Electrics
- Manual handling – lifting
- Aggressive members of the public
- Working at heights
- Fire
Reducing the risks
Manual Handling- Pick up objects by bending knees to reduce risk of back strain
Lifting objects as a pair or group will reduce the risk of muscle strain
Electrics – All wires should be well managed and tied up correctly.
This will also reduce the hazard of tripping when on stage.
- No liquid should be allowed near the electrics in order to reduce risk of electric shock.
Fire – Fire exits should be clearly labelled and easily accessible
- The venue should have multiple fire extinguishers accessible
Working at heights – If you are at any time working at heights you must always wear a secure harness
Aggressive members of the public – Make sure you have trained door staff (bouncers) preferably first aid trained in order to deal effectively with the public.
Thankfully at our gig there were no incidents regarding the safety of any members of the public or any of the performers. The venue staff were incredibly helpful and co-operative and the members of the audience were very friendly. There were no fires or problems with electronics. When setting up the gig and taking all equipment down, people were well aware of the risks associated with lifting heavy objects and therefore worked well to avoid this hazard.
Therefore as all health and safety hazards were adressed, the gig ran smoothly and safely.
This has given me the confidence and reassurance that I could put on or play at gigs in the future as I now understand the best way to avoid disaster and how to create a safe environment in order for music to be shared.