Benefits of Crowd Management

Any event that expects the attendance of big crowds requires crowd management to keep everyone safe and secured. With massive events such as concerts and festivals, a stampede is more likely to happen, and crowd management is one of the safest ways to prevent it. To find out more about the advantages of managing crowds, read more below:

Importance of Managing the Crowd

When we talk about crowds, we also talk about hundreds or thousands of people, which is directly proportional to a hundred different kinds of behaviour.

This scenario is the very reason why crowd management is essential. However, crowd management may seem smooth-sailing as we think it is, but it is not. But one thing can help in making it easy: planning.

Having an excellent plan about handling the crowd well does not just end from having a spacious events place. Excellent planning also involves all aspects of a large masses, including the parking spaces, the traffic and of course, the people.

With this, you can take a different kind of approach. You could deploy efficient barriers in appropriate places to maintain safety and prohibit people from going places they are not supposed to go.

To avoid horrible things such as stampedes and riots during mass gathering events, crowd control barriers (also see our barriers for crowd control) are ideal for utilising crowd management.

Chapter 8 Barriers

Plastic Crowd Control barriers like Chapter 8 Barrier are efficient to use in the daytime and even at night because of their vivid colours and bright markings that are reflective once light reflects them.

Using these kinds of barriers eases the need for deploying many security guards. Additionally, during the pandemic where social distancing is strictly implemented, safety is still ensured because Chapter 8 Barriers can also help remind people to keep a safe distance.

They are mostly recommended because they are hassle-free to use. Thanks to their hook-and-eye function that requires straightforward installation, these barriers are ready to go without any bothersome installation fiascos.

Benefits of Managing the Crowd

The primary goal of proper crowd management is to guarantee that none of the crowd, including the attendees, the staff, and the performers, will be hurt and put in a dangerous situation.

To take a closer look at the good things proper crowd management can give, read more as we detail them below:

Managing the Crowd with Barriers

Barriers help the security ensure that the crowd will remain at their designated area and keep off places where they are not supposed to go.

Because of this, security guards won't have to work double-time and can focus on more important things such as keeping an eye on the most crowded places and being alert when signs of stampedes are showing.

Barriers also help direct a smooth flow of the crowd, creating a guided path where they are supposed to walk through, preventing a tendency of jamming towards one another.

Read about event checklist for crowd control.

Planning Crowd Management

Planning crowd management is one thing, but more important is how well you plan it. As we have mentioned earlier, meticulously planning the crowd management involves the approach you could use in handling thousands of crowd and assessing the possible risks to adjust to them when they occur during the event.

There are various aspects to look at while plotting a crowd management plan, and take a look at them closely as we discuss them one by one.

1. Identifying

The Identifying stage is one of the most crucial stages because hazards and risks are assessed here. With the help of identifying, you can spot where to focus during the main event and how you can combat them without panicking.

Hazards arising from the crowd:

• Multiple people swaying

Creates maximum forces that could hurt other people and damage structures.

• Crowd climbing on equipment and structures

Sometimes, many people climb on equipment, hoping that they could better view the performers. 

• People bringing hazardous objects

When things go out of hand, many events manager have learned their lesson to strictly check each crowd first because they might have brought hazardous objects such as knives, a lighter, and other weapons that could harm other people.

Hazards arising from the event:

• Shared space of Pedestrians and Vehicles

This hazard poses a danger of hitting pedestrians, primarily if the event is being held at nighttime. To avoid this unfortunate scenario, you could use reflective barriers to separate the lanes of the pedestrians from the moving vehicles.

• Poor lighting 

Another problem is that when the event is held at nighttime, it will be dark, and it's hard to spot each crowd's safety. Fixing this problem is easy. Make sure that the place will be appropriately lit to avoid further problems.

• Lack of Proper Entrance and Exit

Without proper and guided entrance and exit, it will become challenging for security guards to manage the smooth flow of the crowd. Proper signages and crowd control barriers are very helpful to address this situation because they will provide a visual guide for the masses without shouting at them.

2. Determine the number of attendees

Determining the estimated number of attendees can help you know what to do with them precisely because you know what to anticipate during the day.

Forecasting the crowd you will handle will be easier for you once they have arrived at the venue. You can determine the forecast by:

• The number of ticket sales
• Prior attendance figures
• Variable factors like Weather, holidays, etc.

3. Assessing the suitability of the venue

Properly assessing the site must include ensuring that the venue must be spacious enough to handle the number of attendees you forecasted a while ago.

In this manner, you can guarantee the safety of every attendee, and the venue won't have to be compromised because it is jampacked. 

Additionally, visiting the venue will help you a lot in planning because you can also deal with the following issues that may arise during the event:

• Cars are parked illegally so that they can get away quickly.
• Crowds block the entrance and exit because they are waiting for someone.

These are only some of the head-scratching issues you may encounter and while you still have time, plan carefully about the actions you can do with them to maintain safety and smooth event flow.

4. Review your plan

Go back on your plan from top to bottom to ensure that you did not miss anything important. If you have realised that you have missed something, it would be now easy for you to go back and re-write everything down.

Final Thoughts

The most beneficial thing that crowd management could give you is a well-thought plan, going through every hazard that may arise during the event itself and how you can deal with them appropriately.

Carefully managing the crowd will do your job easy, but it could also save lives as it prioritises the safety of attendees in the highest regard.