Safety certificate monitoring

The achievement of reasonable safety at a sports ground is a continuous process.

Local authorities must monitor a safety certificate holder’s compliance with the certificate’s terms and conditions.

In essence, there are two main forms of monitoring carried out by the local authority:

• Annual inspection; and
• During performance inspections (DPIs).

Guidance on monitoring and inspections is given in Home Office Circulars 72/1987 and 97/1988.

To support these activities, the local authority should put in place a Monitoring and Inspection Policy to outline the processes and procedures that will be followed.

This policy should outline the frequency of inspections and other activities.

At most grounds, it will normally be sufficient for the local authority to inspect the structures and fittings once a year while the sports ground is empty.

It might be sensible to conduct this inspection at different times each year, so that the sports ground can be observed under a variety of conditions. Further inspections are likely to be necessary only in the event of significant structural modifications.

However, the sports ground management’s performance during events will need to be checked more frequently by DPIs.

Annual inspection

The annual inspection of the sports ground by the local authority is not intended to duplicate work that should be undertaken by or on behalf of the certificate holder.

Instead, it is designed to check that the certificate holder is complying with the provisions of the Operations Manual or the safety certificate conditions for properly maintaining the sports ground and its fittings and, ideally, for noting and agreeing remedial action on problems already identified by the certificate holder.

The Home Office Circulars 72/1987 and 97/1988 prescribe in considerable detail what is to be examined by or on behalf of the local authority as part of the annual inspection.

In summary, this should encompass:

• the certificates covering structural, dynamic performance and electrical tests;
• the records maintained by the management of the sports ground, in particular, of attendances, accidents, maintenance, equipment tests, steward training and contingency plans;
• the condition of the sports ground and its fixtures and fittings; and
• the lighting, public address, fire warning and entry control equipment.

During performance inspection (DPI)

The annual inspection of the sports ground constitutes one element of the monitoring by the local authority.

It is equally important to have regard to the safety management – the (S) factor. The local authority should monitor both the certificate holder’s general compliance with the Operations Manual or safety certificate conditions and such matters as:

• the safety culture of the ground management;
• the training, assessment, qualification and competence of the safety officer;
• the training, assessment, qualification and competence of the stewards and other safety personnel; and
• whether there are effective systems for identifying and tackling problems.

The scrutiny of records may indicate whether tasks have been performed; it may also give an impression of good or poor management. However, it cannot adequately convey whether the sports ground is being operated safely.

The local authority can only monitor this effectively if it periodically observes the performance of the management immediately before, during, and after the event – in other words, conducting a during performance inspection (DPI).

When inspecting the sports ground during an event, the local authority should be sensitive to the operational responsibilities of its management. Any requests for access, in particular to the ground’s control room, must be reasonable and should not distract safety personnel from the performance of their duties.