Event management the Iventis way



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Joe Cusdin on Coliseum US Image: Iventis

United Kingdom-based software company Iventis facilitates collaborative working. Its dynamic platform harnesses the power of layering complex Building Information Modeling (BIM), Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Geographic Information System (GIS), and other data, bringing them together in one format. It is a collaborative, visual planning platform designed specifically for major events. It aims to bring the power of visual, geographic planning to the whole team.

Planning an event can be a stressful process leaving organizers overwhelmed. However, Iventis is transforming the way complex operations are planned and managed. Joe Cusdin, CEO & Founder, Iventis, UK, shares exclusive details with ‘Coliseum’ as to how the Iventis platform allows the event management team to plan every aspect in one place and makes the cumbersome task of organizing an event a hitch-free affair.
 

Iventis modus operandi

Joe Cusdin pointed out that in every major event, he has seen people developing their plans, using the marks of the venues and sites and, “Typically they would put them into things like PowerPoint slides and then draw operational plans in details. Iventis is a platform which enables teams to do the same exercise in a more controlled way so that every member of the team can see each other’s plans and each other’s information.”

He further explained, “Basically, it is like using Google Map and we pull together the contouring, the models of the venues, the mapping data and then the organizers whether they are planning transport, security, crowd management, can go into the system. Everything can be planned with precision – whether its transport operations around the venue, and even down to things like furniture and equipment within the venue. So, every single aspect of the event can be managed and planned in a systematic manner, and the tool also allows full visibility for the whole team to see how that’s evolving and how that’s changing.”
 

Why is mapping so important for events?

  • Complex operations covering entire Cities and regions;
  • The best way to share such plans is via maps, diagrams and drawings;
  • Huge, sometimes distributed teams that need to align their plans with other stakeholders; and
  • Constant cycle of change with tight deadlines.

 
Cusdin pointed out that the best way to convey information is through maps and diagrams as well as drawings but he also stated that a lot of the information is constantly changing so actually keeping people up to date is a huge challenge and writing operational plans reports is a lengthy process. The Iventis platform is making the whole job much easier with a system that “everybody can work in and update in real time”.
 

Iventis clients

Informed Cusdin, “Some of the clients that we work with are Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, World Cups, European Championships, and then individual venues as well and we have tasted success with Dubai Expo 2020.”

Expo 2020 is a World Expo, currently hosted by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from October 1st, 2021 to March 31st, 2022. Originally scheduled for October 20th, 2020 to April 10th, 2021, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which still continues to clobber the world.
 

Case study Dubai Expo 2020

  • 7 km2 venue;
  • Using the Iventis platform for over three years; and
  • 1,500+ users, growing over time.

 
Stated Cusdin, “There is a purpose-built venue on seven square kilometers inside the desert here in the UAE and the planning has been happening for the past five years or so. For the past four years, Iventis has been supporting it. And the way the site works is that there is a series of pavilions by different countries around the world coming to showcase the country and what they do. There have been over 1,500 users using our platform to help develop this plan covering the whole range of multifunctional areas and different stakeholders. So, the scale of this is really quite phenomenal and a big-scale event in Dubai.”
 

Challenges

  • Large and complex event;
  • Large and growing, multifunctional team;
  • No single platform to develop plans;
  • Constant changes;
  • Multiple stakeholders;
  • Remote working;
  • No platform in place because the organization has started from a scratch;
  • Teams face constant changes and everybody is constantly updating what they are doing;
  • Too many external stakeholders – transport authorities, police – having to share information with them and gather information in return; and
  • Remote working challenges.

 
He further pointed out that pulling off an event like the Dubai Expo 2020 is no mean task and it is a “Hugely complex task covering a wide range of operations that requires large, multifunctional teams that is constantly growing and is really difficult to manage.”
 

Why change?

  • Difficult to coordinate/integrate plans offline;
  • Teams are not kept up-to-date;
  • Important information is hidden; and
  • Increase in remote working requires a digital forum for planners.

 
The Iventis platform has helped in streamlining affairs of Dubai Expo 2020 as it helps keep all information in “one place”. Iventis brings together data which would usually be held in spreadsheets, presentations, emails, and documents.

Added Cusdin, “The usual exercise is that the details are captured in PowerPoint slides. So, people take those drawings, drop them in PowerPoint and draw plans based on it – crowd management plans, transport operations, security, and equally sometimes they are printed off and people are sticking stickers on. This means all of those details, all the useful information is always in different formats, in many different places. So, one team is not able to see what the other team is doing in real time and in this way information can be lost. Managers cannot get a full picture of the entire operation. So, a lot of time is spent presenting, sharing and writing documents and this time could be spent doing something concrete elsewhere and opportunities that actually help improve the way an event works are often lost and gaps and risks are not easily identified. Plus all the information that could be useful for the next event organizer is often lost. Iventis helps bring all of that together in a streamlined and neat manner.”
 

Iventis mantras

 

Prepare:

  • Bid documents;
  • Route planning and design;
  • Stakeholder engagement;
  • Public engagement;
  • Staff onboarding and training; and
  • Block planning.

 

Plan:

  • Detailed operational planning;
  • Infrastructure planning and design;
  • Timing and schedules; and
  • Financial planning and budgeting.

 

Readiness:

  • Workforce planning;
  • Communication;
  • Refinement of plans;
  • Readiness and testing;
  • Training;
  • Asset planning; and
  • Procurement.

 

Operations:

  • Workforce scheduling; and
  • Risk management

 

Precision planning

Right from the planning stage to the operational stage, Iventis makes everything a cakewalk. Location is the unifier across all planning phases up to and including the live event.

He further informed, “If we are planning security, we can drop in 3D models and various 3D models of equipment and infrastructure that we need. We can plan the actual routes and can capture details. Quantities, things like staffing to be captured, what the security team is doing. Iventis helps to measure, explore, quantify, draw the area, use calculations and maybe bring that to life and illustrate what it looks like.”

Cusdin stated that the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be held “Not just in several Cities but in several countries and so you can imagine that the Iventis tool can be used not just in an individual venue but across multiple venues and we can enable them to drill down to a particular City or venue.”

The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member-associations of FIFA. It will be jointly hosted by United States, Mexico and Canada and will be held from June 8th, 2026 to July 3rd, 2026.
 

Iventis tool

Zoom into the Iventis tool and one can see the operational plans plus things around a City like transport links, accommodation as well as get right into the stadium or each venue itself and plan all of the details.
 

Sum-up

Cusdin summed up by stating that Iventis allows people to plan every scale and capture everything in one place and keep the same up-to-date. The Dubai Expo 2020 has been a much “manageable” affair with Iventis ensuring that the planning is smooth and without any stumbling blocks.

Joe Cusdin and his able team allow plans to be created geographically at all scales and save organizers all the headaches. Iventis has no room for hotchpotch planning. For them, precision is the name of the game.

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