Module 8 : Event Management Logistics
and Troubleshooting

By the end of this chapter,
you will know about:

8:1 Introduction

The word 'logistics' may strike fear in your heart, but it's a necessary element of event management that allows
everything to run smoothly.

From the type of space you use through to how you use it, ensuring you get the logistics right will lead to a day that runs smoothly.
In addition, logistics
tie in nicely with health and safety,
which we discussed
in the last chapter.

8.2  : Managing Your Event's Space

Before you choose a space for your event, consider
whether you need to host it indoors or outdoors.

If you're hiring an outdoor space, do you have the right provisions for keeping everyone
safe and happy if the weather takes a turn for the worse?

When calculating space, look at how many people will be attending.
In addition to the attendees,
you need to factor in staff, contractors, and security guards.

How much space you need for all these people will depend on the facilities you use, including
tables, chairs, toilets, and cloakrooms.

When it comes to outdoor
events, you need to consider
whether there is space for the following:

8.3  : Electricity and Your Event

These days, very few events
are held without
electricity.

In fact, it's probably fair to assume that electricity-free events are very rare indeed. As such, part of your logistics
plan needs to involve electricity.

First of all, are there any power sources at your event? If so, do they meet your electricity needs? While many venues will offer power sources, some may require a backup generator. If you want your event to run smoothly with no problems
at all, a backup generator
is a wise investment.

If you're holding
your event outdoors,
where are you going to get your electricity from and is the source going to be safe? Are there enough generators to deal with the load of electricity you require?

Finally, you're going to need to run your electricity plan via a health and safety expert. When you're organising a particularly large event, you'll need to run it by the local fire department. Again, this ties into the health and safety necessities discussed in the previous module.

8.4  : Organising Sound
for Your Event

The majority of events are going to need some form of sound or

another.

Whether you're looking
for a way for the Best Man to make his speech at a wedding or organising a mass of amps for a musician
at a festival, sound is almost certainly
going to form part of your logistics
plan.

When looking at sound, consider
whether your event will require amplified sound. If so, when are you going to hold your sound check and will all the necessary
people be in attendance? If your event revolves around entertainment, getting the amplified
sound right is essential.

If you're holding the event outdoors, you need to consider the local community
when it comes to loud sounds. From fireworks through
to musical sets, everyone in the local vicinity won't appreciate loud sounds.

You cannot legally make excessive
volumes of sound due to noise pollution
regulations. All of this will need to be discussed
with the environmental health department of the local governing body, especially when you're organising
an outdoor event.

8.5  : Arranging Tables,
Tents and Chairs

Do you expect people to sit at your event? Or maybe
you'll provide seating for a few and not others?

Whether or not you offer seating will depend on the nature of event. At standard
indoor gigs, some seating is provided. At festivals, seating is hardly a feature at all.

When calculating seating
requirements, look at how many people are attending and whether all of them will expect to be seated. In addition, you need to look at tables, how many are needed, and whether you'll need them for food as well as people. The same goes for exhibitions; how many tables
will you need for those?

Finally, if your event is outdoors, do you want to provide an indoor tent area for your guests?

8.6  : Parking Facilities

Unless you plan on providing
dedicated transport for the event, the chances
are you're going to need some parking.

It's rarely possible
to offer parking to every guest in attendance. However,
you should offer enough to prevent the event becoming
a logistical nightmare
for those attending.

8.7  : Waste disposal

Events tend to produce large volumes of waste.

In addition to providing everyday
trash cans, you might want to consider
offering recycling facilities. Not only does this make your event more sustainable, it's less likely to incur charges from local authorities and can help you save money.

When it comes to event logistics, there's certainly a lot to consider. As with all aspects of events planning,
creating a checklist
and ticking items off as you move through the planning process
can take you a long way.

8.8  : Troubleshooting

Before we move on to the wedding planning section of the course we will take a quick look at trouble shooting.
The tips here will be applicable to all types of events
including weddings.

Ideally, you will always want your event to run smoothly without any problems
arising. However, realistically, you can expect to run into problems
as an event planner, no matter how detailed your preparations are. There will always be a chance of equipment
failing or a caterer that has an emergency. The good news is that with smart planning, you will be able to prevent many of these problems before they happen, as well as efficiently deal with problems
that do arise on the day of the event.
If done correctly without any panic, many times you will find that guests will not even notice the problem at all.

Here are a few tips that you should follow to help you prevent
and deal with any problems
that may come up during your event planning career.

8.9  : Handling Challenges During Planning

1.   Define a Clear Budget

One of the problems many clients run into is spending too much. In order for an event to be successful, you need to stick with a clear event budget.

Do not simply track spending and assess as event planning progresses. You need to have a clear budget in your mind, especially
for organisations, or else your clients will end up paying more than is reasonable for their event.

As the event planner, it is your job to educate your clients. Help your clients understand the important of having a clearly defined budget at the very beginning of planning. This will help you and your clients stay on the right path when you are planning for your event.

2.   Define the Purpose

A mistake that many people make when planning
an event is not having a clear purpose.

Every event has a purpose,
whether it is a party, 
wedding,  fundraising  campaign, 
or  convention. Think about whether
you are trying to spread the word about something, celebrating a special
event, or attracting
attention to something
meaningful.

Having a purpose will be important for you, your clients, and the guests. This will make sure that the event accomplishes something by its conclusion, instead of being a waste of effort. With a purpose in mind, you will understand better what you need to do. Clients
can continue working with you, knowing that their goals are being met. Guests will also be  more 
inclined  to  attend 
if  they understand the purpose.
Make sure that they know why their attendance is important, and you will see more people accepting
their invitations.

3.   Have an Easy Way of Inviting Guests

All
event planning is useless if you cannot spread the word about your event.

Without guests, an event becomes
obsolete. Make sure that you identify the guests that you want to attend
no matter what before you send out events. You might want to invite them personally with a customised invitation. With a little bit of extra effort, you may be able to secure the guests that you want the most.

As you continue
to contact potential
guests, make sure you have a RSVP date. This will allow you to see how you are doing on attendance as time progresses. However, this will only work if you make it simple to RSVP. You can use online tools to collect
RSVPs as well as make sure that someone is handling phone calls for the event. You want to make sure that the guest is able to feel as welcome as possible.

4.   Having a Reasonable Schedule

Another problem that many people have
while planning events is running out of time. You always need to plan as soon as possible. Think about both your short
and long term goals. As long as you have a clear schedule,
you will never run into the issue of running
out of time.

In order to start establishing a schedule, think of everything that needs to be done. This includes
reserving venues, finding entertainment, and hiring other venues. In order to have a full picture of exactly
what you are looking at, you will need to answer crucial questions so that you make the right choices during planning.

Think about the following questions:

Consider the complexity of the event that you have in mind, and start setting aside time on your calendar on a weekly and monthly basis. Have milestones that you will need to reach. This will make sure that you stay on task.

Here are some of the tasks that you will need to schedule on your calendar,
as well as a potential
schedule that you can follow. Bear in mind that this is only a sample and much of this is subject to change depending
on the exact nature of the event that you are hosting.

8.10 
: Handle Difficult Conversations with Your Client

It can be difficult to work with a client. Your client could be trying to change their mind about
the event constantly, or even expect you to be available
at all hours of the day.

You want your clients to be happy with your services, but you also do not want to succumb to their every whim.

When such cases arise, you want to make sure to have that difficult
but crucial conversation with your client.
When done correctly, you will be able to keep a healthy relationship between you and your client, with both of you having reasonable
expectations for the rest of your event planning. Here are some tips about how you can handle difficult conversations.

1.   Have Firm Goals

Understand clearly about what you wish to accomplish with the conversations. Consider writing down some notes in advance if it will help you.

2.   Talk with Your Client in Person

Although having the conversation over the phone or email can be much simpler, it is important to do it face to face. This way, both you and your client will have a clear understanding of each other's
intentions from facial expressions and body language.

3.   Ask Questions

When you are planning a client's
events, remember that it will not always be able your views. Ask questions and understand from your
client's perspective as well. Even if both of you disagree on a certain topic, you might be able to find answers that will allow compromise.

4.   Always Stay Professional

Do not let yourself get caught up in the hat of the moment. No matter how your client reacts, stay calm and professional throughout the entire conversation. This will help you preserve your relationship with your client.

5.   Be Honest

Honesty is always the best policy.

8.11 
: Dealing
with Problems that Arise During the Event

Even with the best of planning,
problems will inevitably
arise during the event itself.

Hopefully, with the steps that you have already taken, they will not be major. When they do arise during your event, here are the steps that you can take to make sure that your event continues without
problems.

1.   Always Stay Calm

As the event planner, you will be the first person that people turn to when something unexpected happens. During this time, you need to stay calm and focused.
Otherwise, it will be difficult
for you to resolve any issues. Make sure that you are able to stay calm and collected
and address the problem without any emotions.
Do not focus on attributing blame, but instead focus on fixing the problem at hand.

By keeping a calm demeanour, you will be able to make sure that your guests stay relaxed, and that the staff stays collected as well. In addition, if you remain calm throughout the whole issue, you may be able to deal with the problem without the guests ever noticing.

2.   Investigate Thoroughly

Do not try to solve the problem without all of the facts. You need to find out exactly what the problem is and why and how it happened. Again, do not blame anyone during this process, even if it is tempting.
You want to solve the problem as quickly as possible without the event being disrupted.

Ideally, you should have a few assistants
that will be helping you at the events. These assistants should be able to provide you with status reports, giving you a better picture of rising problems.
You can also rely on them to implement the solution that you decide upon and clear up any problems.

Because these assistants
will have most likely accompanied you from event to event, you can make good use of the experience that they have gained throughout your time of working together.
Do not be afraid to pull them aside and brainstorm with them for a quick solution to the problem at hand.

3.   Always Have a Plan B

As an event planner, you should always remember Murphy's
Law – if something can go wrong, it will. In order to have a smooth event, you should always have a plan B in place for everything.

Extremely early in your planning,
you need to think about everything that can go wrong. Think about every scenario that could happen,
and come up with contingency plans to deal with each potential problem.

For the guest speaker, you should always have a back-up waiting nearby, in case the person does not show up. For vendors such as a caterer or an entertainer, make sure you already have a full list of back-up vendors
that you can rely on. This is incredibly important
as the vendor that you are depending
on might have run into an emergency
of their own.

At any event, you will probably need a
decent amount of equipment. You should always have back-up equipment
when possible. If you cannot realistically have back-up equipment
because of the