Health and Safety Policy for Film Production
Keeping your cast and crew safe is an important area of consideration for any film production company to stay abreast of. In the past 12 months, more than ever before, filmmakers and business professionals worldwide learned the importance of having a distinct plan in place for the protection of workers. Establishing a health and safety policy for film production projects that take place within your studio or on-location is an important consideration for any professional filmmaker.
Don’t let it slip through the cracks.
Isn’t a Health and Safety Policy for Film Production Something that HR Should Handle?
We hear this a lot! As soon as the topic of health and safety comes up. Everyone wants to turn their head and place the task of creating a safety policy on someone else’s desk.
Human resources may handle your health and safety policy. But say you’re a big production company with an HR department that’s in charge of these types of things.
The matter of health and safety on the set really comes down to everyone who works on the set – not just HR!
Everyone Should be Involved!
Everyone should be involved in establishing, and maintaining, a health and safety policy for film production both when working on set, and when working on-location.
Additionally, a huge mistake many film producers make is in thinking that health and safety on set are a matter of common sense.
And that everyone that’s working the set will already have a core understanding of the risks, health and safety hazards. And other potential dangers which they could face during their time on set.
Unfortunately, without a health and safety policy for film production crew and talent, there’s no way to establish if everyone is on the same page or not!
Your Own Part
Furthermore, in producing a health and safety policy, you’re taking a proactive stance on ensuring the safety of the cast and crew on set. This is how you can do your own part in keeping everyone involved safe and healthy.
What Do I Need To Do?
Establishing a health and safety policy for film production isn’t hard. It’s just a task that is frequently overlooked. Primarily because when we think about actually assessing the risks and hazards of a production, we get scared!
But taking precautions and assessing risk so that everyone involved can make a rational decision about their involvement with a project is incredibly important to you, to your cast, and to your crew.
To create your health and safety policy you’re going to need to:
- Start with determining the potential risks involved in the production. These risks may change based on the project or on the location in which the production is taking place.
- Consider the potential likelihood for various risks.
- Determine the appropriate actions to be taken according to the risks and the likelihood of those risks occurring.
- Implement a safety and health plan that implements industry specific practices.
- Make sure that cast, crew, and anyone that will be on set is involved in the health and safety plan. That they are aware of the health risks, safety hazards, and risk assessments that have taken place. As well as the potential protections that have been put into place for them.
In Summation
Remember, you could do everything possible to prevent risk on your film set. You could take many actions to protect the health and safety of your cast and crew. And yet, hazards and risks will still occur.
Finally, it’s best to provide training, support, and education on health and safety policy for film production to your cast and crew. And to maintain a proactive stance on keeping everyone as healthy and safe as possible
