Supplier, venue and technical handover problems
When the client asks the project lead to approve technical safety work
The client wants a signature on technical safety documents before the event, and the project lead is not the right person to give it.
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The short answer
A project lead can collect, track and chase technical safety documents, but cannot approve them. Say so early and in writing, and ask the client who the competent person or body is for each item, including whether the venue requires one.
Then arrange for the right qualified party to review each item, and record who reviewed what and when. The project lead's role is coordination and a clear record, not the technical judgement.
What is known and what is not
List each document the client wants approved and what is behind it. The last column says who can settle each point.
| Known | Not yet known | Who can answer |
|---|---|---|
| The documents the client wants signed, who prepared them and their dates | What each document actually covers and what it assumes | The supplier who prepared it; a qualified reviewer |
| What the client means by approve: accept, sign off, or take responsibility | Whether any contract or insurer requires a named sign-off | Client; contract signatory; insurer if relevant |
| What the venue requires for rigging, power, structures or effects | Whether the venue needs its own reviewer or documents | Venue technical or operations contact, in writing |
| The project lead's own scope as written in the engagement | Whether this task falls inside or outside that scope | Project lead and client, from the written scope |
Who has authority to decide
Technical and safety approval belongs to the qualified supplier and, where required, an independent competent person, together with the venue and any authority concerned. The client decides which suppliers and reviewers to appoint and whether to proceed or reduce the element.
What your organisation or the project lead may be liable for if they sign is a legal and insurance question. Raise it with the client's adviser and the project lead's own adviser rather than answering it in the meeting.
- Technical and safety sign-off: the qualified supplier, any independent competent person, and the venue.
- Choice of reviewer and whether to proceed: client.
- Scope of the project lead's role: written engagement, agreed by both sides.
- Liability and insurance questions: legal and insurance advisers.
The realistic options, including stopping or scaling down
Compare the options. Include reducing or removing the element, and postponing it.
| Option | What it involves | Consequence to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Appoint a qualified reviewer | The client names a competent person or firm to review the documents and confirm in writing. | Right party signs; may cost time and money. |
| Ask the supplier to certify its own work | Request a written statement from the supplier of what it has checked and under what standards. | Fast; may not be independent, and the venue may want more. |
| Scale down the element | Choose a simpler set-up that the venue and suppliers can confirm more easily. | Lower complexity; the design changes. |
| Remove the element | Run the event without it. | Removes the issue; the client loses a feature. |
| Postpone the element | Keep it for a later event, with time for proper review. | Allows full review; the current event changes. |
Communications: who says what to whom
Reply to the client in writing and early, with the scope of the project lead's role and a list of the documents each qualified party must review. Share the question pack with the supplier and venue at the same time. Delegates need no message unless an element is changed or removed.
Adjust the drafts to your own facts.
- To the client: thank you for sending [documents]. Technical safety approval is outside my role and should come from a qualified party. I can collect the documents, track reviews and keep a record. Please confirm who will review each item.
- To the supplier: please send the documents, the standards you worked to, who checked them and when, and what you need from the venue. Please confirm that the person who prepared them is competent for this type of work.
- To the venue: please confirm what you require for [element] and who at the venue reviews it. Please confirm any document you need and by when.
Follow-up and preventing a repeat
- Log each document, reviewer, date and written confirmation in the evidence log, and mark any item without written confirmation as unverified.
- Record the client's decision on reviewer, scale and timing in a decision log.
- Add a one-page statement of the project lead's scope and boundaries to the engagement and the next brief.
- Ask the supplier and venue for their requirements at the planning stage, not in the final week.
- See a sponsor booth blocking a delegate route and conflicting instructions on the day for related cases.
Worked example · Fictional example
A request to sign off stage rigging and power
Fictional organisation and figures, written to show the level of detail that is useful.
A fictional corporate client plans a launch with a suspended stage backdrop and a temporary power set-up. Two days before the event, the client's communications director asks the project lead to sign a form confirming the set-up is safe.
The project lead replies that safety approval belongs to qualified parties. The supplier is asked for its documents and who checked them, the venue is asked what it requires, and the client appoints a qualified reviewer. The project lead tracks the confirmations and records that the backdrop will not be used unless the review is complete.
Use this yourself
Question pack for the qualified party
Send these to the supplier, the venue and any reviewer the client appoints. Record each answer in writing.
- What exactly is being installed or operated, and where in the venue?
- Who designed and who checked this work, and what are their qualifications for it?
- Which standards or guidance did you use, and how do you evidence compliance?
- What does the venue require, and has the venue accepted your documents in writing?
- What conditions or limits apply, such as use, loading or supervision, and who is responsible for them on the day?
- What would make you stop or change the set-up on site, and who has the authority to do so?
- What documents must we keep, and for how long?
- What do you need from the organiser, and by when?
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- The request is a routine document collection and the suppliers are experienced and responsive.
- The client already has a competent reviewer or the venue handles it.
- The project lead's scope is clear and nobody expects technical sign-off.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- The client expects the project lead to sign technical approvals.
- Several suppliers and the venue disagree about who reviews what.
- The element is complex, novel or carries visible risk for people on site.
Need the roles and reviews set up properly?
A conference project lead can set out the project lead's scope in writing, collect the documents, manage the question pack with suppliers and the venue, and keep a clear record of who has reviewed and confirmed what. Technical and safety decisions stay with the qualified suppliers, reviewers and the venue, and liability questions with your advisers. A planning diagnostic can review the handover and approval chain.
Questions organisers ask
Can the project lead sign if the supplier says it is fine?
The project lead can record the supplier's statement, but should not sign as approving technical safety. Ask the client who the competent party is and ask the venue what it requires.
What if the client insists?
Restate the scope in writing, offer to coordinate the review, and suggest the client take the question to their adviser. Do not sign something outside your competence.
Who decides if an element is safe to use?
The qualified supplier and any independent competent person, with the venue and relevant authorities where required. The organiser decides whether to proceed.
Is a written statement from the supplier enough?
That depends on what the venue, the client's contract and insurer require. Ask them in writing.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.