A Guide to Safety With Marquee Events

Marquee events have a multitude of benefits – regardless of whether you’re organising a wedding, conference or family party. Due to their expansive and fully customisable design, they can be transformed from simple white tents into the perfect showcase for your dream theme. With every event comes the need to manage risk and safety, and the same goes for marquee events. However, as a temporary structure, there are some unique considerations you should make when setting up and planning the big day. In this guide, we’ll cover safety with marquee events so you can check each point off your list.

What Does The Law Say?

The use of temporary structures in the UK is governed by several legislations, including guidance from the Institute of Structural Engineers and the Health and Safety Executive. There are also considerations to make following the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 which places temporary structures under the same requirements as normal structures.

When you work with an approved and experienced marquee hire company, they will ensure you stay compliant with all advice. However, it pays to have an understanding of these restrictions to ensure nothing gets missed.

The Institute of Structural Engineers Advice

The ISE sets out the responsibility for safety when erecting a temporary structure. They place it with the client who has hired the marquee itself. Therefore, the best way to ensure you have a safely erected and designed marquee is to ensure you work with a competent team you can trust. It is your responsibility to make sure that you ask the right questions and get written evidence that the company you’re working with has the experience to ensure safety.

The company you use must ensure:

• The marquee is safely erected to avoid structural failure
• Crowd behaviour has been considered when designing and erecting the temporary space
• The layout and design takes into account the hazards associated with relevant suppliers

The Health & Safety Executive

The HSE places marquees under the umbrella term, Temporary Demountable Structures’. They advise that most fatal or serious accidents in these situations are due to the collapse of the structure, lifting operations or mobile plant machinery. The recommendations include:

• Ensuring the structure is suitable for its purpose
• Use competent and adequately resourced contractors to design, supply, build, manage, and take down the structure
• Providing all relevant information about the site or allowing the contractors to undertake a site assessment
• Ensuring that any out-of-normal or novel structured undergo additional testing to ensure they meet safety requirements
• Make sure the marquee is erected on stable grounds
• Avoiding the use of flammable materials in the construction

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Fire safety should be a key consideration for any event – especially one in a temporary structure. Marquees are designed with non-flammable materials to prevent the spread of fire but it is still important that there is a clear, easy-to-use and accessible escape route. The Regulatory Reform Order 2005 states that:

• A responsible person must ensure there is safe access
• Escape routes are designed to avoid trip hazards or uneven surfaces
• All fire exits should be marked using quick-release wall flaps
• All marquee should be built with a minimum of 2 exits distributed evenly throughout the space

These measures ensure the safety of all of your guests, should a fire or similar incident occur.

Safety Considerations For Marquee Events

As we have mentioned above, working with the right marquee hire company will ensure you cover all legal grounds. Having a competent team of individuals behind you is one of the most important things you can do. But, alongside trusting the word of your hire team, we recommend having an overall understanding of common safety concerns in these temporary spaces. This will help you to address issues, should they arise, and do your risk assessment once the marquee has been erected.