Risk and Safety Management in the Leisure, Events, Tourism and Sports Industries

1. Risk and Safety Management in the Leisure, Events, Tourism and Sports Industries Mark Piekarz, Ian Jenkins and Peter Mills

2. Conclusion

3. “A ship is always safe at the shore - but that is NOT what it is built for” Albert Einstein

4. AIMS • To explain the underpinning concepts, theories and tools of risk, safety and risk management as they relate to the adventure, event, sport and tourism industries. • For students and practitioners to develop a clear understanding of risk culture, or philosophy of risk, which can shape how they view and approach operational, project and strategic risk management. • For students and practitioners to gain an appreciation of the variations in definitions and approaches, in order to develop more effective risk management practices which can be clearly communicated to staff, customers and other key stakeholders. • To enable practitioners and students to develop and implement effective risk control measures.

5. Text for both industry and academia. Encapsulates the theories of best practice. Risk and safety are concepts not always fully understood (by public or providers). Unsafe practices = Non-viable companies.

6. NATURE AND CONCEPTS OF RISK Terms such as hazard and risk may differ between practitioners. Generic risk consensus = the term chance, likelihood or probability. Need for consistent language of risk in an organisation. Risk is often viewed as negative. Risk as part of a 4th age risk paradigm.

7. Risks relate to multi causal factors. Hazards are initiators of risk. Hazards can be as simple as ‘water’. Risk is dynamic and ever changing. Risk comparisons are difficult to make, context of hazards and time exposure. • Waterslide v Squash

8. RISK MANAGEMENT AND ASSESSMENTS ‘…being ‘risk assessed’ is a relatively simple activity, with limited risk exposure in terms of who/what is at risk, how they are at risk and the size of the stake.’ Keep it relevant and as simple as possible. Key safety tools = make better decisions. Creation of a MRE (Minimum Risk Environment).

9. Awareness of key safety legislation. Most developed countries have similar policies. Seminal policy: UK’s Health and Safety Executive and the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974. Australia, Canada & New Zealand similar structures and policies. Noticeable dearth of legislation related to the Leisure, Tourism and Sports/Events industry. Criminal Negligence is important but civil actions are far more frequent relating to negligent acts.

10. ACCIDENTS Outcomes of failures in risk management. Accident misnomer, incident a more appropriate word. Usually related to injury and death. Negligence a key element. Near-miss data has become very important to risk management. Accident sequences are complimentary to risk sequences. Injury can be more costly to society than death.

11. CONCLUDING REMARKS! Risk is a part of everyday life. The longer we live usually the better we become at managing risks. Near miss incidents can be a useful learning experience. We are all risk mangers. Applying our risk management to accepted practices improves the MRE (Minimum Risk Environment). A MRE means a successful company and better customer experiences.

12. Thank You Name: Dr Ian Jenkins, Dr Mark Piekarz & Peter Mills Email: dr.isjenkins@gmail.com, m.piekarz@worc.ac.uk & PeterMills@qlmconsulting.co.uk