How to write a risk assessment for an event

A risk assessment is not just paperwork for the council. Done well, it forces you to look at your event the way a visitor, a vendor and an emergency responder will experience it. The best ones are short, specific and actionable — not long documents nobody reads.

Start with the hazards, not the template

Walk the site and imagine each phase of the event: bump-in, trading, peak crowd, bump-out and overnight if relevant. List hazards at each stage: trips, fire, electrical faults, weather, crowd crushing, vehicle movement, medical incidents, missing children and equipment failure.

Score each risk simply

Use a basic likelihood-by-consequence matrix. A hazard that is likely and could cause serious injury needs controls before the event. A hazard that is unlikely and minor can be noted but doesn't need the same resource allocation. The scoring keeps prioritisation honest when many people are adding concerns.

Write controls that are specific and owned

'Be careful' is not a control. 'Gazebo legs taped and weighted with 20kg per corner' is. Every control should have an owner and a check time — for example, 'Site manager checks all weights during bump-in, 8am.'

Include crowd and traffic management

For any event expecting more than a few hundred people, sketch expected flow, identify pinch points, and note how stewards or barriers will guide people. Vehicle routes for vendor load-in should be separated from pedestrian zones wherever possible.

Plan for medical and emergency response

Know the nearest hospital, the response time for local ambulance services, and whether you need first aiders on site. Larger events should have a designated first-aid point and a clear evacuation assembly area communicated to staff.

Review after the event

Update the risk assessment with anything that happened or nearly happened. A near-miss is often more valuable than an actual incident because it shows you where your controls are thin.

Keep it digital and shareable

A risk assessment locked on one person's laptop is useless in an emergency. Store it where key staff and volunteers can access it from their phones, and keep a printed copy at the control point for redundancy.

How CartFlow helps

CartFlow lets organisers attach risk assessments, site plans and emergency contacts directly to each event, so staff and vendors see the same documents from the same place — not scattered across email threads and group chats.