1. Let’s Kill Murphy! Bullet-proofing
Meetings from Disasters and Other
Event Terrorists
MICECON 2013
Philippine MICE Conference
Daveo City – March 2013

2. Can we really bullet proof a meeting?

3. Contents
Preparation
Risk Assessment
Risk Analysis
Risk Planning
Risk Mitigation

4. Identifying Risks
 Recognising the possibility of injury, damage or loss
 Risks in relation to:
o People – attendees, employees, etc.
o Property – real property (hotels or venues) or
personal property (a/v equipment, computers, etc.)
o Intangibles – information or reputation
o Business – operational capability, profitability, delivery

5. What is Risk Management?
 Managing the possibilities rather than the occurrences
 Prevention and mitigation
 Four levels – Planning, mitigation, response and
recovery
 Without a plan, the response to a crisis or emergency is
almost always inadequate and uncoordinated.

6. Types of Risks for Events
 Terrorism
 Food poisoning
 Natural events
 Weather closures
 Labour unrest
 Political protest

7. Defining Terms
 Risk: Potential for loss or disruption
 Emergency: Actual or impending threat to operations,
life or property
 Crisis: an event that must be handled to minimise
negative effects
 Disaster: calamitous event causing great damage, loss
or disruption to critical business functions

8. Forming a Risk Team
 Purpose: Developing and implementing the plan
 Team Members:
o Active players and advisors and who represent
o Various functional levels (e.g. executive, meetings,
accounting, marketing and legal.)
 Management Support: Delegated authority and top-
level leadership.
 Mission Statement: Organisation wide commitment and
structure.

9. Contents
Preparation
Risk Assessment
Risk Analysis
Risk Planning
Risk Mitigation

10. Types of Risks to Assess
 Heath and safety (attendees, staff, volunteers)
 Operational continuity
 Property, facilities and infrastructure
 Delivery of services
 Environmental
 Economic and financial condition
 Regulatory and contractual obligations
 Reputation of the organiser

11. Examples of Internal Risks
 Program risk
o Late delivery at a product launch
o Political speakers likely to draw protesters
 Attendee risk
o Attendees are cost conscious and the economy is
worsening
o Most attendees are doctors and a public health crisis
occurs

12. Internal Risk Assessment
 Involving processes such as evacuation plans, fire
protection and security procedures
o Request information from the venue, which is
responsible for some of these
o Review own internal policies
 Insurance / Finance / Purchasing
 Employee manuals
 Registration policies
 Emergency contact information

13. Examples of External Risks
 Destination risk:
o Political instability
o Frequent weather related air service disruptions
 Facility risk:
o Delayed opening of venue under construction
 Economic risk:
o Exchange rate fluctuations may substantially increase
the cost of attendance for a majority of members

14. External Risk Assessment
 Travel warnings
 Threatened strikes (eg transportation)
 Get advice:
 CVB
 Community emergency preparedness
 Police and fire departments

15. Contents
Preparation
Risk Assessment
Risk Analysis
Risk Planning
Risk Mitigation

16. Vulnerability Analysis Chart
Risk Type Impact Resources
Protests 5 2 3 1 5 3 19
Economy 1 3 1 3 5 5 18
Health Crisis 1 5 1 5 5 5 22
Weather 2 5 2 5 5 3 22
Venue Delay 3 5 5 5 5 5 28
Political Crisis 1 5 1 5 5 5 22
High 5 1 Low Weak 5 1 Strong

17. Risk Priorities
High
Venue not ready
Political Upheaval
Impact
Weather
Health Crisis
Economy Protests
Low
Low Probability High

18. Contents
Preparation
Risk Assessment
Risk Analysis
Risk Planning
Risk Mitigation

19. Overview
 Plan purpose
 Contact list of members of risk team
 Contact list of response team
 The people who will take action
 Each member’s role and responsibility
 List of types of emergencies, crises and disasters
included in plan

20. Emergency Response Procedures
Examples Planned Responses
Natural disasters and emergencies Assess Situation
Typhoons / Floods / Earthquakes
Accidents
Protect staff,
Injuries / Loss of materials
attendees, records
Human caused events
and assets
Terrorism / Strikes / Assault
Technological failures Decide whether to
Utility outage / Computer crash continue, delay or
cancel event

21. Plan Contents
 Staff roles Emergency Contact
 Emergency response Lists
procedures  Staff
 Communications list  Contractors
 Facility emergency  Venue
information  Attendee emergency
 Media list contacts
 Emergency services

22. Supporting Documents
 Facility floor plans
o Emergency exits / location of emergency equipment
and personnel
 Evacuation and shelter plans
 Safety and security checklist
 Listing of attendees or staff with special needs
 Listing of staff with special skills
o CPR / paramedic / language
 Resource list

23. Contents
Preparation
Risk Assessment
Risk Analysis
Risk Planning
Risk Mitigation

24. Risk Management Tools
 “Tips for Traveling Abroad” in registration materials or in
confirmations
 Distribute map to all attendees with emergency
procedures
 Key staff emergency training
 Instructional safety signs (should be provided by the
venue)

25. Preparedness and Training
 Venue inspections
 Could include things like CPR and first aid
 Drills and exercises to allow trained people to practice
skills in a simulated emergency
 Determine ahead of time what equipment is needed
o What if there’s a power outage?
 A back up generator?

26. Contracts
 Contracts are risk management tools – they contain legal
and financial consequences
o Force majeure clauses - e.g. allowing a group to
terminate a contract without liability
o Cancellation - e.g. group may have to pay a
cancellation fee for failing to hold the meeting

27. Mitigation Strategies
 Reduce the probability that an emergency will occur
 Reduce the consequences if it does.
o Deciding not to conduct a certain activity
o Changing the location or time of a meeting
o Purchasing equipment to improve response
o Contract provisions, insurance, hiring specialists (eg
security personnel or medical staff to train and be on
call)

28. Planning a Meeting in a Foreign Country
 Take advice from the locals (embassies, NTOs, CVB,
PCO, DMC)
 Identify unique risks (e.g. food allergies)
 Review crime statistics
 Warn attendees about local traffic conventions
 Understand the variances in health and safety
regulations (e.g. kitchen hygiene, fire codes)
 Consider hiring an interpreter to assist with language
difficulties and emergency services

29. CMP Text Sources
Tyra W. Hilliard, JD, CMP
Associate Professor
Department of Tourism and Convention Administration
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Albert Kemp, FCII
Chairman
Insurex Expo-sure

30. Consulting the World’s Business Events Industry
Thank You
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