Crisis Management Plan for Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC - Case Study Example

Title: Crisis management Dated: January 23, 2009 Introduction: Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club) is selected for its description for the stadium for a crisis management plan. A safety certificate has been issued by the Football Licensing Authority under the Safety at Sports Ground Act 1975 under the Club Safety Policy. The club is located at Ewood Park, Nuttal Street, and Blackburn. The stadium has a seating capacity of thirty one thousand one hundred and fifty four (31,154), consisting of three, two tears stands with the names, The Jack Walker Stand, The Blackburn End Stand and The Darwin End Stand. There is an additional fourth single tear stand called as CIS Stand. All the three main stands have corporate facilities located in the main stands with in the stadium; a Blues Café Bar is situated with in the Blackburn End Stand for the provision of light refreshment to the audience. A retail shop is located within the premises of the stadium but separate from the major stands of the stadium. The Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club) is used for the organization of Football Matches between the National as well as international teams. The club is used by the playing teams as on the basis of their demands and approved schedules by the relevant Football Associations. The Club is used by the administrators of the organization for the conduction of the matches and to accommodate the audience as per approved safety guidelines and with an advanced emergency crisis management plan to deal with any unforeseen crisis that may arise pre, during and post matches scenario. Legislative control: The Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club) has a legal coverage by the General Safety Certificate issued by the Blackburn with Darwin Borough Council which is a Certifying Authority under the License issued by the Football Licensing Authority (FLA). The stadium is protected under the Safety at Sports Ground Act 1975 (as amended) in lines with the guide to the Safety at Sports Ground and the Club Safety Policy. The protection of the stadium is guaranteed by the relevant coverage under the Safety at Sports Grounds Act 1975 and is sufficient for the administration to take relevant measures for ensuring stadium’s security with the observance of the relevant clauses of the Safety Act as per policy relating to the Club Safety. The crisis plan: The management plans are designed to tackle the emergency situations which may arise during the pre, playing and post playing periods in the stadiums with maximum safety, minimum losses and optimum utilization of the resources with the consideration of all possible variables and selection of most suitable plan as to achieve broader objectives with the implementation of the crisis management plan (1). A comprehensive crisis management plan for the Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club) has been designed; the implementation of the plan will ensure safety of all the stakeholders including the players, the spectators, the administrator and the media persons in a coordinated and orderly manner(2). The crisis management will be supervised by a central command and control authority through a nominated safety officer called Safety Officer who will be responsible for the management and control the emergency situation. The officer will have a close liaison with the Police Commander who will be over all in charge and may discharge total command for the crisis management as in accordance with the major objectives of the plan that is to maintain a secure position for all the participating parties in the club. The Football Club will be responsible for the control, monitoring and safety of the crowd entering, departing and resting in the stadium especially during the conduction of the national as well as international matches. Each major area will guided and protected as on the basis of compartmentalization. Each compartment will have a set of Lancashire Constabulary with the duties especially relating to controlling and preserving safety of the crowd. Ground Safety Officers will be deployed for each stand of the club. The crisis management plan has been designed to tackle any type of emergency ranging from postponement of the match to the forged tickets and entry of the personals without any lawful permission and holding of valid tickets for the purpose. The plan is supplemented with the medical arrangement and media management which are essential requirements for ensuring for smooth implementation of the execution of the crisis management plan for averting the emergencies with their minimum after effects(3). The crisis management plan is divided into a number of segments; each segment has its specific relevance for its execution to tackle the problem as per its pressing source. The segments are interconnected and are interrelated for their operations. These are implemented in the form of a segments or a group of segments for their collective execution, however, the major objective of all these segments remains the same that is to ensure the safety and security of all the relevant party with the specific nature of the emergency(4). It is added that CCTV System, medical arrangements and media management for each segment are essential component of the crisis management plan. There are different segments of the crisis management plan which are given below: a. The crisis management plan for the postponement of a match b. for delayed kick off and abandonment of match c. Evacuation of the stadium as to avoid human casualties d. Bomb threat and fire calls e. Failure of electricity and gas supply and radio systems All these segments of the crisis management plans are assisted with the utilization of electronic door securing system CCTV system medical arrangements and media management during the execution of the crisis management plan(5). a. The crisis management plan for the postponement of a match The crisis management plan during the postponement of the match is consisting of three sub parts depending on the timings of the postponement of the match. The after effects are also covered under the plan. These sub parts are as under i. Postponement of the match prior to the initiation of the match The crisis management plan under the situation is mainly focusing on the communication network through the utilization of print and electronic media. Football matches are involving a set of spectators relating to the game. Senior manager of the media management is the central figure to communicate with all the stakeholders (6). The issue of return of tickets is handled with the exercise of options either to claim their funds through the deposition of the tickets at the booths from where the tickets were issued or through the acceptance of any future match as on the basis of the same ticket. ii. Postponement of the match during the initial period of the match The crisis management plan will consist of communication of the decision from the top management to the Safety Officer, Police Commander and the Senior Media Manager. The announcements are communicated through the utilization of the digital screens, radio systems and the use of electronic media for conveying the decision. All the tears of the strands are constructed to vacate the stadium in a calm and quite manner as to avoid any injury or manhandling of the spectators. A suitable refund mechanism is attached with the postponement of the match which may range from twenty five percentages to fifty percentage of the ticket’s cost (7). The medical team with all its medical and emergency equipment is available to assist the spectators in their evacuation process. iii. Postponement of match during late hours of the match No claim or refund is associated with this category of postponement, all the emergency staff works in a coordinated mechanism with the assistance of media and medical team with the utilization of all the equipment available for making effective communications and evacuations of the team by all the occupants including the players. b. for delayed kick off and abandonment of match Delayed kick off and similarly abandonment of match are two critical stages during the execution of the crisis management plan as designed for the club. Delayed kick offs are reported to all the participants with the active involvement of the media team. Similarly, abandonment of match as associated with any type of emergency involves close cooperation and coordination among all the members of executing team (8). All the three stands of the club are instructed as to vacate in the order of (a) The Jack Walker Stand, (b) The Blackburn End Stand and (c) The Darwin End Stand. c. Evacuation of the stadium as to avoid human casualties The evacuation of the stadium as to avoid human casualties is the major target of the crisis management plan. The plan is implemented in response to any potential threat ranging from leakage of gas, spread of rumor regarding implantation of an electronic device or bomb and initiation of fire in any part of the club. The spectators of the Football Match are instructed to vacate the stadium for avoiding any human loss. Safety Officer along with Police Commander is the central authorities for the execution of the plan with the assistance of all other segments of the execution team. Medical team remains vigilant throughout the process and any injury or human physiological misery is addressed as on priority basis by the medical experts (9). d. Bomb threat and fire calls The Football Matches are often met with the situation like a bomb threat and fire calls from the external environment. The administration of the club deals with such type of threats with extra care and relevant precautionary measures. Such type of calls are processed through the adoption of procedure consisting of (a) verification of the call through a third party confirmation, (b) activation of emergency response center through the administration of the club, safety officer, police commander, media team and medical personals, (c) the communication of the potential threat to all the stakeholders and (d) evacuation of the stadium swiftly and systematically avoiding any type of human casualties. The bomb threats in real terms are handled with the disposal of the bomb by the bomb disposal squad. In case of eruption of the fire in any part of the club is handled through the evacuation of that part of the stadium and shifting the spectators to other safer places within the club (10). Safety Officer along with Police Commander remain available for tackling the position as through the demonstration of their leadership and managerial skills for handling the crowd in these types of the emergencies. e. Failure of electricity and gas supply and radio systems Electricity, gas and radio systems are essential requirements for smooth conduction of the proceedings of the Football Matches. Failure in these essential inputs and devises may lead to the execution of the emergency for maintaining a normal mechanism for smooth flow and continuity of the matches. The electricity failure is handled through the utilization of the alternative sources of energy like gas generators, emergency lights and batteries. Similarly, any interruption in the gas supply is also handled with the use of alternative sources of energy. The radio system failure leads to the initiation of an emergency plan. Radio systems are used for making an effective communication mechanism between the inside and outside environment of the club. The situation is handled through the use of alternative signals mechanisms like FM Radios for making the radio systems functional during the execution of the matches. The components of the crisis management plan are executed with the involvement of human and physical equipment in a coordinated mechanism. Electronic door securing system, medical team and media personals are the key elements for the successful implementation of the crisis management plan as available for its execution in the Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club). Conclusion and recommendations: (a) Conclusion: The crisis management plan for the Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club) is designed as to meet the requirements of the club. The club is consisting of three, two tears stands with the names, The Jack Walker Stand, The Blackburn End Stand and The Darwin End Stand with a seating capacity of thirty one thousand one hundred and fifty four (31,154). The club is specially designed for Football Matches between the national as well as international teams. The emergencies are unavoidable negative factors associated with the execution of the matches. The administration of the club has designed an emergency plan as to mitigate and neutralize the impacts of the emergencies to their minimum levels. The emergency plan or crisis management plan is consisting of a number of components and sub components to deal with the emergencies in befitting manner with an objective to ensure safety and security of all the stakeholders including the players, the spectators, the administrators and the executing teams. These components of the emergency plan are self sufficient and are working in a coordinated fashion. Each component can be implemented in isolation or in combination with other components for achieving a synergetic impact. The selection of a specific component is based upon the nature of the emergency. For example, a component of the crisis management dealing with the threat of a bomb or fire calls will include a different strategy than that of the stoppage of the match due to bad weather conditions. However, all these components are requiring the use of electronic doors for checking the inward traffic into the club, CCTV system for ensuring a central coordinated mechanism, media management and well equipped medical team or the necessary supplementary requirements for the meaningful execution of the crisis management plan. The plans and the club are having lawful authority as these are developed, designed and executed as in accordance with the provisions of the Safety Act 1975. The Crisis Management Plan as formulated for the Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club) is comprehensive in nature and has the ability for its adoption by any International Football Stadium through certain changes and modifications as per their requirements. However, for successful implementation of the crisis management plan needs a coordinated administrative mechanism among all the major executing team members including the administrators, the Safety Officers, Police Commanders, National or International Football Association and the Marketing Managers. (b) Recommendations: The crisis management plan as designed as for the Blackburn Rovers Football and Athletic PLC (the Club) is comprehensive in nature, flexible in its structure and heterogeneous in its administrative and executing model. The plan has the ability to tackle any potential threat for ensuring safety and security of all the stakeholders especially those of the spectators, however, following recommendations will make the crisis management plan more effective for conversion the same into a dynamic format. These recommendations are arranged in the order of preference and their inclusion in the main frame crisis management plan will supplement the objectives of the plan. These recommendations are as under: (a) Each ticket as issued to the spectators may include an outline of the club and the emergency plan. The step will help in sensitizing the spectators to cooperate with the administration during the emergency period. This major component of the overall game plan will help in educating them in about the execution emergency plan, if required. (b) At specific points outside the club posters may be displayed to communicate the emergency plan among all the stakeholders. (c) An alternative arrangement may be designed for the establishment of a central command and control mechanism with an inclusion of are representative of the safety officer and the Police Commander for receiving and decoding the messages for making the crisis management plan of a meaningful arrangement for handling the emergencies. (d) Additional ambulance may be arranged for the evacuation of the injuries or the casualties in a swift and quick manner as to minimize any fear that may result from the emergence of any type of emergency relating to the Football Matches. The observance of all the recommendations will help in making the document as a meaningful instrument for handling the emergencies with optimum utilization of resources for maximum output in the form of safety and security of all the stakeholders. Bibliography 1. Haddow, George D.; Jane A. Bullock (2004). Introduction to Emergency Management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-7689-2.  2. Wisner, Ben; P. Blaikie, T. Cannon, and I. Davis (2004). At Risk - Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability and disasters. Wiltshire: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25216-4.  3. Cuny, Fred C. (1983). Disasters and Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  4. Walker, Peter (1991). International Search and Rescue Teams, A League Discussion Paper. Geneva: League of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.  5. Alexander, David (2002). Principles of Emergency planning and Management. Harpenden: Terra Publishing. ISBN 1-903544-10-6.  6. www.fema.gov Federal Emergency Management Agency Website 7. Jaffin, Bob (September 17, 2008). "Emergency Management Training: How to Find the Right Program". Emergency Management Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-11-15. 8. Buchanan, Sally. "Emergency preparedness." from Paul Banks and Roberta Pilette. Preservation Issues and Planning. Chicago: American Library Association, 2000. 159-165. ISBN 978-0-8389-0776-4 9. National Civil Defence Emergency Plan Order 2005, available from http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2005/0295/latest/DLM356569.html 10. http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/memwebsite.NSF/wpg_URL/For-the-CDEM-Sector-Publications-The-Guide?OpenDocument. ISBN 0-478-25470-0 Read More