Key focus is to provide guidelines by the industry, for the industry in compliance with DHS.
The International Association of Exhibitions and Events and the Exhibition Services & Contractors Association announce their full support to provide industry guidelines and standards created by the industry, for the industry, to the Safety Act Office of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The individual security efforts currently employed around the country have supported exhibitions and meetings for years. Our industry has always focused on improving safety and security preparedness for our events. There is now a need for the industry to outline national standards that are in compliance with the Department of Homeland Security’s Safety Act Office. This initiative will be facilitated by Keyway, who has assembled a strong team of career law enforcement officials.
“The reason we are coming together now is to enhance what is already in place and to be proactive, instead of reactive, in the new reality of the world we live in today,” said IAEE President and CEO David DuBois, CMP, CAE, FASAE, CTA. “This initiative is unique and we are fully supporting it because a strategic alignment of industry guidelines with the federal government, specifically the Safety Act Office within the Department of Homeland Security, is needed to protect the industry in the event of a terror act.”
“ESCA implemented the Worker Identification System badge security system several years ago and is just one example of the multiple layers of security at trade shows,” said Larry Arnaudet, Executive Director of Exhibition Services & Contractors Association (ESCA). “There are many players in the culmination of an exhibition or event and this initiative will need the support from the entire ecosystem,” added Arnaudet.
Members of the exhibitions and meetings industry employ a variety of measures to provide safety and security to all event attendees. With this initiative, these parties can align their best practices to establish a national standard for convention centers of all sizes as a united effort to further mitigate risks through safety, security and preparedness measures.
According to Kevin Olsen, founding partner of Keyway, “The current threat environment necessitates identifying industry best practices and developing a security standard for all venues that protects our human and economic resources, while providing the liability protections afforded by the federal government.”
For detailed information on the initiative, please visit https://www.esca.org/public/Exhibition%20Industry%20Security%20Initiative.
