Event venue security and inbound logistics scheduling

Here at ISL we have been learning lots about event venues, #eventtech, and #MartynsLaw. Fellow RouteSmart partner Bestrane in Australia are the developers of a software platform called #Mobiledock which manages the dual challenges of inbound logistics and security.

Convention, exhibition and conference centres are like pop-up destinations where a community of companies work together to move in, set up and run an event for a short period of time. Then dismantle and move out. And next week it happens again.

Convention, conference and exhibition venues have fixed space and capacity, but every week they transform the space and reconfigure to accommodate the needs of each event. 1 hall, 2 halls, with a theatre, without. Every event has its own unique requirements, and the venue must adjust space to suit.

For each event, teams of contractors are engaged by the event organizer to prepare and build the event. The move in and assemble time period is very short as is the turn round time between events. Sometimes this can happen overnight, where exhibitors move in, quickly followed by attendees. And then again after the event everyone and everything needs to be dismantled and moved out.

Event venues have experienced teams to manage the process as well as, very importantly, a range of event technology to support them, including Mobiledock.

Mobiledock enables the logistics element of the process to be clearly defined, communicated, and executed. Events may be planned many months in advance. The schedule for move in and out can be configured as these plans evolve, and allow the different contractors to book their arrival slots within the tight constraints of staged activities. Events can be created, cloned, activated, and reactivated when the same event comes back.

Due to terrorism, the management of events at venues has been under much scrutiny and has culminated in Martyn’s Law – The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. When the Bill passes into law it will compel UK venues (dependent on capacity) to have plans to combat and mitigate terrorist activities. Event technology and software has a role to play along with physical security measures. There is one area in which event tech can play a significant part and that is to do with security. Software solutions ensure that venue managers know who is on site, when, for how long and why. With online platforms like Mobiledock venue managers have full visibility of who is entering their premises together with an audit trail of ID, entry and exit times and vehicles registrations.

Another aspect we have learnt about here at ISL is the concern over public safety that extends to the venue perimeter and surrounding areas. Due to the physical location of some event venues access roads as well as public roads in the immediate vicinity can often get clogged with trucks and vans waiting to enter to unload. This potentially causes public safety concerns for other road users, especially cyclists. Through improved scheduling, event venue managers can reduce the number of vehicles waiting on the public highway, access roads and holding yards.

So why is ISL interested in venue #logistics and #security? Well, it turns out that hundreds of conference, exhibition and convention venues are owned by local authorities via commercial limited companies. As ISL is a leading supplier of software solutions to the local authority market it makes sense to support our Australian business partner by providing their Mobiledock platform, and help venues become more efficient and secure. Furthermore, the ISL team visit event venues either for pleasure and/or business so we have a vested interest in them being safe and secure.