Corporate Events Plus

Apart from helping crew on site with cut fingers / blisters / or fainting I have been lucky not to have to use my St John’s Ambulance first aid at work training until this month while travelling back from a site visit in Vienna airport.

Strolling through the terminal a young lady fell heavily in front of me and started to have a seizure, I was surprised that there were so many bystanders looking on but not actually helping.

I recognised the signals of the seizure, arching back, unresponsive, body shaking, I protected her head from the ground with my hand and made sure her airway was clear, for what seemed like an age but only a minute or so until she started to relax.

Luckily an airport staff worker called medical help while I placed the casualty into the recovery position and more airport workers brought a screen to give the young lady some privacy. A young man arrived who knew the lady and as she started to come to he took control and I left.

I am glad I was able to help, it would have been better if more people knew what to do – a day of your time to learn about some basic first aid can make a real difference to someone in need.

Seizure triggers

For many people with epilepsy, seizures seem to happen randomly.

But sometimes they can have a trigger, such as:

• stress
• a lack of sleep
• waking up
• drinking alcohol
• some medicines and illegal drugs
• in women, monthly

8 Months, where did that time go? – 7 weeks of initial build to technically deliver an Exhibition in Madrid earlier this year saw us return this month to derig – stillage and move the exhibition onto the next country.

Crew safely accessing cabling and audiovisual equipment from the truss using mobile work platforms.

There is always a great satisfaction in handing back a venue as good if not better than you found it. Mission accomplished.

The importance of team building throughout a project, this could be a meal together after meetings, a well deserved pint in a pub or a team activity linked to the subject you are working on or just something for fun. We went team building last week at a Formula 1 experience where we split into teams and raced cars on different tracks against each other on simulators that moved and vibrated. Although some drivers were just out of control, there were ‘dark horses’ who found an inner competitive streak. Always something to learn new about who you are working with or trying to build a working relationship with when you make the effort to attend and take part. For me, I really enjoyed being part of the overall team, we work hard together on the project so why not have some fun together, team building gets my vote.

Quick route to creating a sustainable and environmentally considered event is to choose your suppliers wisely.

Exhibitions are notorious for waste, waste of building materials, waste of power used, carbon footprint for travel.

Choosing the correct suppliers to work with you on a project can go a long way to helping with the sustainability of a project. Even if the end client is not asking – in the future shareholders may quiz a project or even question decisions made during the construction and build process.

It is something I think about when deciding on suppliers. Are materials sourced ethically? is there a robust re-use or recycle plan in place? is the supplier ISO 14001 accredited?

It seems a long way off but the next live days on site are going to be August and September – but before then we are working on planning the derig of the F1 Exhibition in Madrid. The industry is recovering, there is work, there are projects returning since the Covid 19 setbacks.

Wow – where did that time go? Nose to the grindstone – bouncing from one project to another -travelling across the globe by planes, trains and automobiles.

Late nights and early mornings a plenty.

Financial banking Crisis / the death of Lady Diana, Bomb scares by terrorists preventing delegates travelling, ash clouds from volcanos in the sky preventing travel, a global pandemic that briefly closed the industry, Brexit and I think 2 recessions from memory. It has been some ride.

Clients have come and gone and come back again – new clients met – new teams of suppliers added to the faithful list of go to merchants.

Some of our suppliers have been retiring over the past few years – I think because I have surrounded myself with people at the top of their game many have tended to be older – as the company ages, so has the supplier network.

Events are continually evolving, methods of work change, technology changes and suppliers either update or are bypassed.

Could I do it all again now? – errrr the immediate answer is no. That was some effort, risk and commitment.

Would I want to do it all again now? again…………no, I don’t think I do, one benefit of this industry is that I have been able to see first hand what a marvellous world it is out there.

But all that knowledge, all those shows and exhibitions completed, mistakes made and problems solved ensuring success for future projects, what happens to that back catalogue of knowledge if you just stop?

Being middle aged life impacts from both ends – parents pass on and grand children arrive – without spending your time wisely you could miss out on what time you have left with one group and adding your own value to the other.

What of the future? What is that 3 year or 5 year plan now? – I am working on it – the thoughts are there in the back of my head – I think the delay in a decision is that when you are on site with a good team, working for a client who values you, or you are interested in the subject matter of what you are involved with it is difficult to stop doing what you enjoy doing.

The last project group shot after giving a Health and Safety briefing

49 consecutive days on site

IFEMA Madrid working for Round Room Studios for Formula 1

We have been tasked with Technically Directing the first official Worldwide exhibition for Formula 1.

We are so proud of working on this exhibition. Starting from a completely empty exhibition hall we have rigged over 2 kilometres of truss, installed 13 kilometres of data cable and used 22,000 cable ties. 10’s of video projectors and monitors, Dali lighting controlled led and spotlights, bespoke audio public address and infra red audio guide systems.

Organising teams of Carpenters, Electricians, Data and AV specialists, logistics, security and cleaning teams – the project has been all consuming but very rewarding.

We are planning the next venue works now – but first a short break to recharge the batteries

An empty Hall 1 at IFEMA – The markout begins, teams rig truss and install cabling

I am looking forward to sharing some cups of tea and coffee with these guys and girls on the latest project to go into build, 6 weeks ahead in Madrid before rehearsals and a launch of a new exhibition.

Lots of linking in with different departments ahead, Scenery, AV, Local services, Lighting, Curation and Retail.

I am hoping that a team feeling of sharing a warm drink in a cold exhibition hall will help continue a warm feeling while we work together.

It is no surprise that material costs have increased across the world, another impact since the pandemic has been skilled labour. Difficult to find and especially at short notice. It has been estimated that 25% of our resource for labour have found other ways to earn a living and have not returned to the industry.

Interestingly in the search for a mix of our own experienced crew and using local crew it was pointed out to me that although skilled crew locally can be the desired wish it could also be beneficial to have a mix of experienced and younger crew who are training which can offer other benefits such as enthusiasm, strength and a willingness to perform – worth thinking about when selecting a mix of labour within teams on site on larger projects.

I have been enjoying reviewing some test builds this month before installation on a project next year – the value of seeing something built in the flesh before arriving on site is fantastic. The scale, the look and feel, the estimation of installation time all sense checked in advance, this certainly gives everyone more confidence in what we are looking to achieve on site in the time scale we are working to.

We have also been getting involved with some of the objects and artefacts, even assisting with transporting an engine to be used for display.

Flat out – up to our eyeballs – no sleep for the wicked

All expressions heard this week