Venue Survey and Load-in

Part 1. Planning and Procurement Lead

"Assumptions are the greatest risk. Align all suppliers around documented conditions."

• Separate audience and system routes completely: Start with the venue plan and secure audience entrances and emergency evacuation routes as the first priority. Then overlay the system layout so camera control positions, cable runs and other equipment do not intrude on audience routes.
• Avoid verbal agreements and set reply deadlines: Do not estimate dimensions by eye or rely on a venue representative's verbal assurance that something "seems possible." Formally ask the facilities team about unconfirmed items, set a clear reply deadline, and document the response.
• Manage versions of the common conditions sheet: Share changes made after the survey and replies from the facilities team with all suppliers through the same conditions sheet. This prevents suppliers from submitting quotations based on different assumptions.

Part 2. Facilities and Technical Director

"A visible socket is not the end of the power plan. Obtain formal approval for capacity and structural limits."

• Inspect power capacity and wiring plans: Do not assume power is sufficient simply because the venue has wall sockets. Calculate the power consumption of all equipment to be brought in, review the available supply capacity and permitted additional wiring work for each system with the venue, and obtain approval.
• Obtain formal approval for rigging loads and structures: If speakers, lighting or truss must be suspended from a ceiling or wall, ask the venue for official load data and the approval procedure confirming that the structure can bear the weight.
• Check environmental factors on the event timeline: Along with sightline checks, including seats obstructed by columns, record environmental factors such as daylight and external noise at the actual event time in the technical inspection report.

Part 3. Floor Operations and Logistics Lead

"A site survey really starts at the loading bay, not the stage."

• Simulate load-in and establish the basis for labor costs: Carefully measure the loading area where freight vehicles will park, the dimensions of available freight elevators, and the permitted load-in time limits. These directly affect suppliers' calculations of additional labor costs.
• Confirm temporary staging and floor protection rules: Check whether protective coverings are required to protect marble or carpeted floors when heavy carts move across them, and whether temporary space is available to stage equipment, to prevent logistics bottlenecks.
• Share a location-referenced site report: Instead of sending different photographs to different suppliers, combine site photographs matched to numbered locations on the plan into a single report so all staff understand the space in the same way.

Final check before use: Before staff and systems from each team are brought into the venue, compile the checks identified in this manual and conduct a final cross-check.