How Many Crew Do You Need for an Event Build?

Booking too few crew puts the schedule at risk. Booking too many wastes budget. Here is a simple way to work out the right number before you ask for a quote.

By Stage Hands UK · Practical guide

Start with the work, not the headcount

Write down every task that has to happen, in order: unloading, staging, set, rigging support, furniture, signage, show-day changeovers, and the get-out. Each task has a heavy or skilled element and a team size that makes it safe.

Then work out how long you have. A load-in window of three hours needs a different crew from a window of eight, even for the same amount of kit.

The four numbers that decide crew size

• Volume of kit: how many trucks, flight cases, staging decks or pieces of furniture.
• Time window: the load-in and get-out slots the venue gives you.
• Access: stairs, lifts, long carries, loading dock or a muddy field all change the numbers.
• Skills needed: general labour, loaders, riggers, forklift operators or production assistants.

Do not forget the get-out

Get-outs are often the tightest part of the day because the audience has left, people are tired, and the truck is waiting. Plan the get-out crew as carefully as the build, and tell your supplier the real finish time.

When to ask for a crew chief

On larger bookings, a crew chief gives your production manager one person to brief and one person to rely on. They take the call sheet, keep the team on task and report back. It is worth asking for when the crew is more than a handful of people or the site is complicated.

What to send a crew supplier

The date and times, the venue address and loading access, the tasks, the number of loads, any skills needed, and your call sheet or RAMS if you have them. The more specific you are, the more accurate the crew plan and the quote.

Common mistakes

Planning the build crew and forgetting the get-out, which often needs the same number of people in less time.

Counting people when you should be counting tasks. Two people can lift something that one cannot, but twenty people cannot unload a truck faster than the dock allows.

Not telling the supplier about stairs, long carries or no lift access until the day.

Assuming the venue will provide trolleys, ramps or a forklift without checking.

A simple worked approach

List your tasks. For each, note how many people it takes to do safely and how long it takes one team. Then check it against the time window. If the window is too short, add a second team for the tasks that can run in parallel, and keep one team free for the unexpected. Finally, add a crew chief if the team is large enough that someone needs to coordinate.

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