Derbyshire Firm Secures International Safety Award

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 29 July 2016

UPDATED: 29 July 2016

Derbyshire-based event safety experts Harrier UK have had their outstanding work at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, recognised with a prestigious British Safety Council Award.

Working in partnership with Somerset-based RDHS Management Consultants, Harrier UK took responsibility for overseeing health and safety at the 68,000 capacity Baku Olympic Stadium, ensuring the smooth operation of both the opening and closing ceremonies at the games. In addition to the 6,000 or so athletes from as far afield as Russia and Israel taking part in the ceremonies, the athletic events also saw regular crowds in excess of 25,000 attending throughout the 16-day duration of the games.

Harrier UK Managing Director Andy Smith explained:

“The project was particularly challenging as instead of the usual planning time for an event of this type and size – around five years – Harrier was given a minimal six months before the gates opened to visitors. Added to the tiny timescale, the firms were also working within a country and a culture that was, in many ways, still developing its health and safety standards.

“Practically, this meant that we found there were many areas where there was no overarching health and safety legislation in place. To combat this we introduced European standards and employed Health and Safety Executive (HSE) best practice to put new processes in place – and to add extra depth to our work, since the stadium was built specifically for the games, we had to develop many procedures from scratch.”

With responsibility for a variety of areas, including crowd management, food and water hygiene and fire safety, the team also had to monitor weather conditions carefully- Baku often has very high winds to contend with so temporary structures and banners were a concern, and it can also be extremely hot, requiring adequate protection and water for games workforce.

Although primarily using staff from the UK, Harrier UK and its partners also hand-picked, with the help of the US company, Broadstone, sub-contracted staff and a further four Azeri local health and safety advisers.

The award will be presented at a gala ceremony in London this May. Speaking after announcing the winners, British Safety Council Chairman, Mike Robinson, said:

“All of the winning organisations are examples of dedication and hard work to ensure the risk of injury and ill health is prevented.”

Concluding, Managing Director of Harrier UK, Andy Smith, praised the skills of his team, and that of partners RDHS:

“We hope that, thanks to the hard work of our team, we have left a legacy which will benefit Azerbaijan long-term.”

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