APPOEMN AGM ANNOUNCEMENT

 

 

 

Events Floor Planning

Greetings to everyone, our post last week was an announcement of upcoming features on this blog. Yes we are introducing two new pages for Event News and Event People. We aim to enrich the blog content to ensure your satisfaction while you are on this blog. And should you find anything offensive, inappropriate, incorrect, interesting or have a suggestion, please send us a feedback. 

 

Today let us look at the interesting area of Event floor planning.  

A Floor Plan is the arrangement or layout of the event venue depicting the guest seating area, Open area for networking, dancing, or discussions; bar, kitchen, conveniences, stages, fire extinguishers and exits; dining or catering area; car park and any other activity that will be held during your event.  

The floor plan is important for some of the following reasons

1.    It enables the Event planner to communicate his/her ideas effectively to the team, owner, vendors and other stakeholders.

2.    To guide the planner in identifying areas of high traffic and major activity areas during the event.

3.    Gives room for  safety and security planning during the event

4.    Could serve as a guide for guest in case of emergency if relevant portion of the plan is printed as a handbill and distributed to guests

5.    It maps out the entire layout making it easy for changes to be made quickly.

6.    Based on the plan, guest can be allocated seats easily and changes can also be made easily.

7.    The floor plan provides a framework for contingency planning

 

To determine the best floor plan for your event, you may wish to consider the following

a.    The size of space available at the event venue.

b.    The number of guests or attendees that is expected at the event

c.    The type of activities that will be taking place at the event

d.    An Understanding of how people move about.

e.    The location of the conveniences

f.     Examine some common layouts that has been used in similar events (http://tweetwall.com/blog/determining-the-best-floor-plan-for-your-conference/)

 

To create a flow plan may be as simple as using a pencil and a paper to draw sketches of your proposed design. However software technology has also made it possible to use 3D design aids to generate photorealistic event floor plans. These software have even gone beyond just floor plan design to provide other things like

i.              Event menus

ii.             Event project plans

iii.            Event flyers and signs

iv.           Catering plans

v.            Exhibit plans

vi.           Guest List and Seating charts

vii.          RSVP Status, Meal Choices and Contact information

viii.         Sales Presentations

 

The event floor plan is similar to a building floor plan and is as important as the event you are hosting. An event with a terrible floor plan is extremely likely to end in disaster so paying attention to it is key to the success of the occasion.  

There are many tools out there on the internet to help you deliver that floor plan that will win that business for you. Go for the right tools and you will be glad you did. Alternatively you may engage the services of a consultant to help you get the right tool for your organisation.  

If you make very interesting findings, please be kind enough to share it with us. 

Have a good week ahead.

Event People

Dear Great Readers,

We are expanding our offering to you by providing a window to meet Event people and Celebrities.

We will interview them on topical issues, life issues, Success tips, etc. We will also welcome your questions to them. Watch Out

Kindly contact us as follows

Emeka

Email: welcome@mexxanda.com
           eachebeokosieme@gmail.com
SMS/Call: 09099980963
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Whatsapp: 09099980963

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Events News

 

ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear Great People,

We are expanding our offering to you by providing a window to Event News.

You can make use of this page to send out your events news on Technology, Health Care, Community Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sports, Entertainment, Socials, etc.

Kindly contact us as follows

Emeka

Email: welcome@mexxanda.com
           eachebeokosieme@gmail.com
SMS/Call: 09099980963
                  08137999947

Whatsapp: 09099980963

BB PIN: 2B2434E1

Twitter: @eachebeokosieme

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Eventome/

 

Security Management at Events

 

Hello everyone, hope you had an eventful weekend. This week I am concerned about security and safety and that is what I will be discussing.

 

In many events I have attended, I have often seen stern-faced looking security guards manning the entrance to the venue. One question comes to mind, what exactly is the brief of these security details? Discussing from a layman’s point of view, here is my take on what measures that can be taken to ensure a secure and safe experience for guests during an event. 

1.    Technological Approach: The environment of the event includes the halls/venue/event place where the guest will be seated or hosted, the car park, the entire compound and the surrounding facilities. Security should be proactive and as they say, it should not be discussed in the open. However I think that guests attending an event in a place should be aware of the security and safety measures that they can apply in case of emergency. Therefore before engaging physical security, I recommend that event venues should deploy technology as a first level security check. This may include but not limited to the following

a.    CCTV systems: This should be deployed to cover every ground within and around the venue. Key areas are the entrances and exits, the halls, the car park, the fence, etc. In an open area environments, mobile CCTV system can be deployed.

b.    Access Control: This could be integrated with people barrier and counter, metal detectors, scanners, RFID Systems, car barrier, etc.  

2.    Physical Approach: Physical security guards should be deployed to man the access control areas to check, guide and direct the guest properly and courteously. They can also serve to provide warm welcome as greeters while some are used to command and control traffic (see our post on traffic management). These guards could be armed with batons, stun guns or other civil weapons safely concealed for easy retrieval and not exposed to intimidate the guest. Communication is important to physical security hence a means of reaching out to other colleagues in patrol is very important. Walkie-talkies (hand held radios) are ideal for this type of operation though mobile cell phones are routinely used these days. Security patrol is also an essential ingredient of physical approach so security guards should be deployed to patrol the environment in a programmed or random sequence. Patrolling guards could be accompanied by guard dogs if the service is requested as part of the security package.

 

 

3.    Structural Approach: Perimeter fencing of the event venue is important. Perimeter fences could be fortified with barbed wires, electrified or raised high enough. The entrances and exits to the venue should be clearly marked and identified. These points should be manned by polite, friendly and strict security details. In an open arena event place, security personnel can be used to run a perimeter around the venue.

4.    Safety Approach: Messages and information clearly marking fire exits, First aid boxes, fire extinguishers, Fire Assembly points, venue map, emergency numbers, etc. should be at the easy disposal of the guests during the events. It could be printed on a small pamphlet, handbill or flyer.

5.    Security and Health Stewards approach: Trained civil stewards, bearing no arms, primed for health and security responses should be strategically located within the halls   to watch out for accidents such as broken glasses, spills and splashes, guest tripping or any other incident that will bring discomfort to the guest. These personnel should have enough knowledge to apply first aid treatment.

6.    Management Approach: A command and control centre should be established. From this centre, all the various approaches will be monitored and controlled. Ideally if there is a CCTV control room, the management centre may be housed there however, the key requirement is to have a central place or person from which all security directives are issued and verified. 

By and large many security agencies have different packages offered for customers to choose. There are packages that cover location and venue risk assessment, VIP and Close personal protection like in body guards, route security assessment, debugging, etc. Event owners, planners and managers should work closely with security companies and personnel to ensure a pleasurable experience for guests. Ultimately, everybody should be security aware by understanding what security expectations are demanded of you in any environment you find yourself. 

I hope you have found our post this week exciting. If you have the time send us a feedback

Have a good week ahead.

 

 

Anambra Easter Fiesta

Courtsey: Ifeadinmesi

DIY Event Planning

 

Greetings for the week to you all. Thank you for staying with our blog. This week, I will be discussing the Do It Yourself (DIY) Concept.

 

DIY is a very popular terminology in various professions and there are so many reasons why people would want to DIY. In the medical profession, people try DIY things in the form of self-medication. It is supposed to be risky but people do it.  In technology, there are a lot of DIY practices in graphic designs, website design, Software programming, etc. Even in home repairs such as electronics, electricals, plumbing, cleaning, etc. we have DIY practices. I do DIY too and have learnt my own lessons about DIY. In event planning DIY is not a strange practice also. Today, we are going to look at DIY practice and its attendant issues. 

Reason for DIY

The following are a few reasons why people engage in DIY practice.

a.    Tight Budget: Sometimes you may not have enough budget to hire the services of a professional to help you achieve a task.  In this circumstance you look for a way of achieving the task by identifying what you can do by yourself to reduce cost.

b.    Short Notice: Some task may come up at short notice making it difficult to get a professional quickly or most professionals around you are already booked. When this type of situation arises, one way of getting round it is to do the task by yourself.

c.    Learning: Practice makes perfect goes a popular saying. Somehow applying DIY concept could lead you to learn, gain experience, exposure and knowledge of how to do the task professionally. So DIY is a learning technique.

d.    Chance: Providence may sometimes give you the opportunity to perform a task or job that you have never done before. It is your determination at this point that will decide if you should accept the responsibility or not.

e.    Time: Sometimes you really lack the time to take a problem to a professional for attention. If that problem is reoccurring, you might be tempted to go at it. I had a very ugly experience some time ago because of this factor. My laptop was always very slow but I still managed to use it to finish my tasks. Sometimes it will hang or reboot on its own. It kept trying virus scanning, reclaiming disk space, creating swap memory and many other things. All this while I was procrastinating to take it to a technician for proper check. One day I was ready to work and it took it almost one (1) hour to boot up, I got frustrated and opened up the back to check for loose fittings, cables, hard drive, etc. And that was it. When I fixed it back, it never started up again. My DIY ended in disaster.

f.     Adventure: Some people are purely adventurous. They set out to do DIY to discover something new.

 

Guide to DIY

If you must engage in DIY, please note that because you are doing it by yourself does not mean you should be a novice. To effectively perform DIY, you must seek expert guidance. Go online and search for knowledge on how to do it yourself. Ask friends, colleagues or known professionals available to you. Armed with the information you gathered, performing DIY would be a lot easier and straight forward. Taking a blind dive into DIY event planning can have disastrous consequences. The basic process starts with creating a checklist of activities that will grace the occasion. Here is a short guide

i.              Theme: Create a theme for the event you are planning. Theming could mean looking at colours, decorations, flowers, fragrances, table arrangements, location, etc. Brainstorm with friends, neighbours, etc. You can also search online. (https://www.pinterest.com/perfectcoversl/diy-and-event-planning/ )

ii.             Food: What type of dishes will be served on that day? Continental, traditional, other foreign dishes? This will help you to identify a suitable caterer to prepare the dishes. Sometimes you may event prepare some of the dishes yourself or a friend could do that at no extra cost.

iii.            Entertainment: They type of event will help you choose the drinks and entertainers. It could be clowns, comedians, live bands, cultural troupes, magicians, etc. or a mixture of these acts. Will alcohol be served?

iv.           Venue: In choosing a venue, many things come to play, Floor plan, Seats, Hall, marquee, car park, air conditioning, security, location, etc.

The list is culled from http://www.slideshare.net/jenbarns73/diy-event-planning-process . A professional checklist could be more complicated than this however it is a good starting point for a DIY.

 

 

 

Merits of DIY

Here are some benefits of DIY.

ü  It could help you reduce planning cost

ü  It will enable you gain exposure, experience enrich your CV.

ü  Learning a new skill or knowledge.

ü  Expand your vendor network

 

Demerits of DIY

And a few disadvantages of DIY are

ü  You could also end up increasing vendor cost because of economies of scale

ü  Quality may be compromised

ü  Key requirement might be omitted. Can you imagine a tape cutting event and there will be no scissors to cut the tape?

ü  Embarrassing mix up may occur

Check out http://portlandspirit.com/blog/diy-event-planning-vs-asking-for-help/ it has some good readings. 

In rounding off, DIY is an acceptable practice however you must look out for the right information or training to guide you away from disaster. Ultimately though hiring a professional gives you peace of mind. 

That’s it for this week. See you