Event Safety Insights Issue One | Fall 2016 | Page 16
The Hazards We Face
Putting the Pieces Together
During the second half of day one, meteorologist
from the National Weather Service and private
sector forecasting firms walked the class through
a suite of weather phenomena, selected for their
relevance to those planning live events. These
“Big 4” conditions included lighting (present-ed
by Weather Decision Technologies’ Chris Kerr and
J.R. Henley), wind (Dr. Patrick Marsh), rain/flooding (John Zietler), and heat/cold (Steve Piltz). These
sessions explored the magnitude and predictability
of each threat, as well as the forecast and warning
lead times -- crucial information when developing
weather decision triggers.
Day two of the Severe Weather Summit focused
on decision making and the practical application
of concepts learned during the previous day’s
sessions. Lambda Productions President Hadden
Hippsley joined Event Safety Alliance Chairman Jim
Digby for a primer on building severe weather action plans, sharing numerous insights he’s gleaned
from his experience as Production Manager for
Bonnaroo, Firefly, Electric Forest, and countless
other music and arts festivals around the country.
Closing out day one was National Weather Service
Warning Coordination Meteorologist Andy Bailey,
who provided an overview of how the proceeding information can be used to develop tools such
as weather monitoring, communications plans,
and decision making triggers. Bailey’s closing session served as a bridge between the fundamental
learning and the practical application that would be
discussed in day two.
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Hippsley spoke of the need to involve as many
internal stakeholders as possible in the planning
process, both as a means to build rapport and to
identify weaknesses in your plans. He discussed the
importance of employee training and rehearsal to
ensure all stakeholders understand their role in any
response and are confident in their ability to execute it. Hippsley also stressed that your plans should
be as simple and flexible as possible. “Emergencies
don’t follow a script,” he said. “Your plan should not
force you to, either.”