SACIA has a collaboration agreement with ESTA, the Entertainment Services & Technology Association in the USA. ESTA’s technical standards programme currently has 15 standards in public review, including standards relating to event safety, lighting control and event rigging. Click Here for a full list, deadlines, and commenting instructions.

Whilst these are registered as ANSI standards (American National Standards Institute) it is very likely that some will be incorporated into a future iteration of SANS10366 so please take time to read and comment, and if you think they’re relevant to the SA industry, please let me know so that I can raise your input at the next meeting of the TC264 committee responsible for the ongoing development of the SANS10366 standard.

https://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php

You’ll also be interested to learn that SACIA has submitted an application to SAQA for the recognition of two professional designations: CERTIFIED EVENT SAFETY OFFICER and CERTIFIED EVENT SAFETY PROFESSIONAL.

Once approved by SAQA’s Qualifications & Standards committee, it will be submitted to the SAQA Board who will likely authorise for the proposed designations to be advertised in the Government Gazette for public comment. This process generally takes a few months, and following steps are dependent on the feedback received from the public (if any).

Both SACIA and SAQA are committed to engaging with all stakeholders to ensure that designations are aligned with the highest professional standards, and I’d appreciate it if you’d review our application once it is published. (I’ll do my best to let you know when it is open for public review.)

In simple terms, an individual applying for recognition as an Event Safety Officer should be able to demonstrate a:

  • Broad understanding of mediation, arbitration and dispute resolution techniques applicable to both public and private spaces
  • Broad understanding of standards, regulations and laws relating to event safety (including but not limited to the Occupational Health & Safety Act, SANS10366, Safety at Sports & Recreational Events Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Employment Equity Act (Section 6), Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, and the Disaster Management Act)
  • Broad understanding of the role and responsibility of agencies involved in the inspection and approval of event power and temporary demountable structures.
  • Comprehensive understanding of event safety practices across multiple event formats
  • Practical experience in the implementation of guidelines, processes and procedures required for planning, organising and running events.
  • Proven ability to conduct a comprehensive risk analysis on events across multiple formats
  • Broad understanding of gender-based violence, discrimination, victimisation, sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation in the workplace

During Q1-2020 we’ll conduct several workshops to discuss these designations with the event safety community around the country.

For any Inquiries, please contact Kevan Jones 0825555556