The National Outdoor Events Association (NOEA) is backing NCASS’s campaign to enhance the safety, measurement, and implementation of gas provisions at major events. The initiative, which includes a call to action at industry and government level to increase education around the subject, is one that underlines the values of both associations; the need to support event producers that execute professionally and safely and call out those that don’t.
As part of the campaign, NCASS is tackling education around the subject, producing guidance for both caterers and event directors. Much of the advice is around closer scrutiny of gas provisions though nominal risk assessments, from storage to quality checks. However, the association is also raising awareness of the importance of using accredited suppliers to mitigate the obvious dangers of provisions that do not pass basic safety standards.
The increased focus from NCASS around the issue is a result of the growing number of outdoor events and street food trading activity which bring multiple mobile traders together, alongside large numbers of the public. Equally, local authorities and communities are increasingly encouraging food festivals, markets, and public events to support local economies. This means more usage, combined with a lack of experience of universal understanding.
“This is really serious. We’ve already seen examples of cylinder explosions in gazebos and where whole trailers have been destroyed by gas leaks,” commented Nick Summers, Managing Director, NCASS. “The culmination of these issues means it is only a matter of time before we see a more serious incident arise that could endanger public safety and even result in the loss of life.”
NCASS will also be launching a gas engineer partner project, linking members with affiliated gas engineers who have verified that they understand and implement the correct setups, giving members access to safe and legal gas installation work and safety checks. The association is providing members with relevant LPG safety information in it its safety management system and in the form of safety checklists that are not available in other compliance systems.
“This is a campaign that will be well respected by our members. NCASS are quite clear that this is an issue that can be tackled with education and awareness and we know that NOEA members act when there is any compromise on safety” commented Susan Tanner, CEO, NOEA. “However, there is a continued underlying trend of some events and suppliers trying to get away with the bare minimum or looking to make financial savings and compromises that risk the public. This has to stop, and we’re totally behind NCASS’s campaign to call business owners to account.”
“We’re really appreciative of NOEA in bringing the issue to the wider events industry,” continues Nick. “It’s why we’re so keen to partner with them. They share the same values as us, that every event is built on a bedrock of safety, professionalism, and integrity.”