Fair checklist: the last two weeks

1–10 days

the on-site installation time left at the end of the list

Stand types

8 stand types

each type has its own freight and build list

Stand types

Freight and paperwork

A freight plan says less about how many vehicles leave than about which part comes off first. The structure goes up first on site, so it is the last thing loaded. The loading list is written with part numbers, one copy with the driver and one with the site foreman.

Paperwork is a separate file: the stand drawing approved by the organiser, the declared electrical load, the contractor list, any rigging approval and health and safety documents. If the stand is crossing a border, customs paperwork joins the list and is completed before the truck moves.

What the stand breaks down into depends on the stand type: a modular system has many parts and little volume, bespoke joinery the other way round. Keep a digital copy of the paperwork on the foreman’s phone; printed files disappear on site. Write the vehicle’s return schedule into the freight plan as well, because having no truck on tear-down night is the most expensive omission of the fortnight. The departure time from the workshop belongs on the list too; a day’s slip shortens the build window.

Graphics, power, services

1. Printed graphics. Printing finishes at least a week out and the panels are trial-fitted in the workshop. A panel that does not sit right cannot be cut on site.
2. Power order. The load declared to the organiser is calculated from the lighting and screens on the stand. Increasing it later is chargeable and limited at most venues.
3. Water, internet, cleaning. These are separate orders and their deadlines vary by venue; they are published in the technical manual.
4. Furniture and hired equipment. Get the delivery day and hour in writing; where it lands in the build sequence matters.
5. Products and samples. The weight and placement of the exhibits should be settled before the build starts.

What these five share is that each carries its own deadline, and the deadlines run independently. Put them on one sheet and you can see which order closes first; track them separately and one will be missed. Whoever holds the sheet should keep the order confirmations in the same place. Most of the arguments during show week come from orders everyone assumed had been placed but nobody had confirmed.

The people side

The site crew is named to the organiser and passes are issued in advance. Some venues will not let anyone in without one, and a crew waiting for passes on build morning loses half a day. For fairs abroad, visas and travel documents join the list.

Plan accommodation separately for the build crew and the sales team. The build crew arrives before the show and stays through tear-down night; the sales team covers the show days. Rolling both into one booking usually leaves the first day or the last night uncovered.

Finally, schedule the staff briefing and hold it inside the built stand. It also helps to share what the stand contract covers; we keep that scope written on our services page. Finally, one person should read the whole list end to end three days before the fair. That reading is not for starting new work but for spotting what is still open. Anything left open gets solved on site, and anything solved on site costs both time and money.

Can the design change in the last fortnight?

Nothing structural. Small corrections to graphic content may be possible depending on the print schedule, but they carry a surcharge.

What spares should go to site?

Spare light fittings, fixings, a touch-up paint kit and a second print of the critical graphic panels. All of it loads last.