Official (Closed), Non-Sensitive

BE2601 Logistics and Site Operations

Singapore Polytechnic
School of Architecture and the Built Environment
Course: Diploma in Integrated Events and Project Management
Year: DEPM 1 FT
Module Code: BE2601
Module Name: Logistics and Site Operations

Topic 2: Infrastructure Facilities for Events

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1. Introduction

Infrastructural facilities for events refer to those facilities and services to be

made available and provided collectively for the common usage of all the event
stakeholders. They include the provision of venues, installations, facilities,
utilities or services needed to produce the work on site.

Examples are:

 Exhibition halls, conference centres, theatres, stadiums, theme parks or

vacant land suitable for events.
 Transportation facilities by air, sea, rail or land.
 Access roads, car parking/holding area.
 Accommodations, e.g. hotels, hostels.
 Freights and forwarding warehousing.
 Telecommunication, IoT. AI. VR infrastructure.
 Essential amenities and utilities, e.g. water, electricity, Wi-Fi.
 Supporting civic organisations, e.g. police, civil defence force, hospital, food
& hospitalities, environmental controls, and public or private utility services.

Infrastructural facilities are categorised into macro infrastructure facilities and

micro infrastructure facilities.

2. Macro-infrastructure Facilities

Macro infrastructure facilities are those common sharing facilities or services

owned and managed by public or private sector owners, with built-in capacity
reserved for event organisers to conduct their events.

These facilities normally require the owners to have planning, huge capital
investment and long development processes to establish. The owners offer the
use of these facilities and services for the event organisers to collect revenues.

These infrastructural facilities are offered to all businesses but have reserved
capacities to cater for events' operations.

Examples of macro infrastructure facilities are:

 Airport and seaport,

 Special event venues,
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 Public transportation system/traffic and car parking facilities provided with

event utilisations in their design concepts.
 Public utility supplies, security and civil defence services, communication
and mass media infrastructure.
 Tourism and hospitality amenities.

3. Micro-infrastructure Facilities

These may include customised facilities, which are acquired exclusively for the
use of a particular event, such as

 On-site water and electricity supplies within the event venue.

 Access and safety management system around the event site.
 Types of machinery for setting up and maintenance of sites,
 Commonly used structures such as central stages, security posts and
sanitation systems.

For permanent event venues, most micro infrastructure has already been
included in the venue design to cater for use.

However, these infrastructural facilities are unavailable for outdoor events,

which would require extra effort to provide them temporarily on-site.

The event owner will need to pay for these infrastructural facilities through per-
usage charges or cost-in into the selling price of the event space.

The logistics manager must fulfil the licensing requirements for providing them
on-site.

The organiser's business support team will liaise with the event stakeholders on
the supplies of these facilities, the rules and regulations of using them, and the
rates to be charged on their respective quantum of use.

Examples of micro-infrastructure facilities are:

 Temporary shelters/structures.
 Theme decoration on-site.
 Air-conditioning or heating.
 Electrical/water supply and drainage.
 Cranes and forklift.
 Special sound and lighting systems.
 Safety, security and emergency services.
 Car and coach parking.
 Shuttle bus services.
 Signage / Media services.
 Waste management facilities.
 Handling facility for hazardous materials.

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4. Setting Up an Event Venue

Event logistics involves managing the processes of:

 Taking over the site and facilities from the venue owner.
 Take stock of utility usage.
 Setting up and maintaining micro infrastructural facilities & services within
site.
 Facilitate the distribution, safekeeping, usage and disposal of event supplies
to respective stakeholders.

Once final procurement is done and staff and contractors have been briefed,
setting up the site will begin.

Specialist engineers are needed for certain tasks, such as installing sound and
light equipment and IoT, AR, and VR systems.

Setting up equipment can be a time-consuming process, and there is

foreseeable that equipment may break down unexpectedly; a systematic run-
through of equipment with standby sets made available on-site is essential to
ensure work without hip-up.

Prior booking would be needed for the shared use of these infrastructure
facilities.

5. Maintaining Infrastructure Facilities

The infrastructural facilities require a high level of maintenance to prevent any

catastrophic disruptions to the events.

The operation team shall confirm with the owners or maintenance agencies of
these facilities to ensure that their equipment is in perfect working condition
during their events.

The Event Manager shall monitor essential daily consumable supplies.

Inventory control could be critical to the overhead costs.

Housekeeping is essential for environmental safety, hygiene and cleanliness.

Security is of no compromise to the wealth and personal protection of the event

stakeholders and visitors.

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6. Shutting Down an Event

At the end of the event, the logistics team shall oversee the dismantling and
removing all temporary structures and equipment.

If this needs to occur immediately after the event visitors have left, deploying
sufficient standby staff is critical to avoid safety hazards.

If a shut down does not occur immediately, security staff will monitor and secure
the site until all event-related materials and equipment are removed.

Some event assets are of high value, and if they are lost or damaged in transit
due to mishandling, this will impact the profit margins of the event.

Class Exercise:

Discuss the significance and importance of having excellent macro

infrastructure facilities for international/world-class events in countries such as
Singapore in small groups.

Support your arguments with good examples.

7. Accommodation for Events

For many large-scale international conferences, exhibitions, shows and sports

events, air travel and accommodation are two essential services for overseas
participants.

Many organisers may appoint travel and hotel agencies to provide event travel
packages for their overseas stakeholders.

These agencies are connected to major airline ticketing systems to block

booking air tickets; they are connected to local tourism and hospitality networks
to secure accommodation and hospitality services for overseas participants.

The event participants can conveniently secure good discount rates for their
travel and accommodation through advance block bookings.

It is also worth considering alternative accommodation to hotel rooms. Most

tourism offices maintain a list of licensed guest houses or hostels for those
happy with self-catering capacity.

If the events are held during the holiday seasons, the owners of such
accommodations are more than pleased to let out their spare capacities for
event-goers.

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For special events such as Olympic Games, the organiser will have to provide
official residents, offices, and hostels for all participating teams' staff and
athletes and cater to their hospitalities and training needs.

It is common to foresee that a sudden influx of more than 500,000 visitors will
overload the hosting city's accommodation capacity if no alternative
accommodation planning is planned.

With special liberation of legislation, private residential apartments can be

refurbished to cater for the event-triggered visitors during the event sessions to
alleviate the accommodation pressure.

Event participants can also look for the use of tents, boats, caravans and motor
homes if the situation permits. Such ad-hoc accommodations are common
sights of mega-events held in remote locations to lower operating costs.

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8. Event Catering

Food safety is of major concern for event participants.

Compared with well-equipped convention centres, outdoor venues are seldom

ideal nor conducive for food catering. Food spoilage, mishandling, pests and
dust contamination are the major concerns of the caterers.

When the food needs to be served hot to thousands of people within a very
short dining period, the serving processes could be chaotic if poorly managed.

Most catering for large events is outsourced.

9. Types of Catering

For most large events, the types of catering may include:

 VIP catering with exquisite crockery and attendance services.

 Sponsor catering with variable budgets.
 Performer/athlete catering with special dietary and prescribed menus.
 Staff catering with access controls.
 Fixed concessions of fast food and beverages for public visitors.
 Mobile vendors of snacks and refreshments, e.g. coffee, nuts, ice cream,
and hot dogs to seated spectators.

10. Styles of Catering Service

 Plate meals - seated

 Buffet - standing or seated.
 Grazing station – standing.
 Food stalls - standing or seated.
 Packaged meals – distributed and consumed casually.

11. Types of Meals

 Breakfast
 Lunch
 Dinner
 Refreshment/snacks
 Cocktail party
 Dietary types by race, religion or special needs
 Timing for the delivery

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12. Logistics of Catering

A. The responsibilities of the contracted caterers:

 The caterer must have the relevant NEA licence and food certificates for
outdoor catering.

 Culinary preparation and serving of the contracted menu, according to the

client’s prescription.

 If applicable, the caterer shall have a relevant alcohol license and control
and serving of alcoholic drinks on-site as per current legislation and
according to the client's preference.

 Provide a mobile kitchen with cooking equipment for a seated banquet.

 Provide storage/safekeeping facilities for transport-in foods. (Temperature

for freezer < 5oC and food warmer > 60o C)

 Supply of banquet crockery, dining utensils, table cloths, skirting and

consumables, including tabletop decoration.

 Chefs, kitchen hands, waiters and waitresses on the serving sequences per
the production schedule.

 Cleaning of residual foods, washing of the linens, crockery and utensils.

Comply with food hygiene requirements on site.

 Comply with WSH requirements for staff and work sequence on site.

 Provide time-stamping signs for all foods to be consumed within 4 hours

after they are cooked.

B. The responsibilities of the event logistics manager:

 Set up the site for the catering before the caterer and guests arrived.

 Carry out housekeeping before, during and after the meals.

 Provide adequate queuing or holding space and utilities.

 Layout tables and chairs in the prescribed manner, and the protocol of
seating to be in order.

 Segregate seating for different categories of dietary dinners.

 Decorate the site with theme decoration.

 Set up the stage with backdrop, props and AV systems if entertainment is

provided.
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 Arrange registration and reception counters.

 Signage for directions if guests are not familiar with the site layouts.

 Ensure timely delivery and serving of foods and the correct type of foods.

 Site cleaning and waste disposal during and after the meals.

 Ensure sanitary facilities are clean and adequate for the guests.

 Briefing the catering staff if special arrangements are needed. E.g. hold the
serving of food during the interval if an important speech is to be delivered
from the GOH.

 Arrange necessary security on site for dinners.

Revised Mar 2023

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