Problems on site and how fast they are solved

1–10 days

the build window every problem has to fit inside

Stand types

Istanbul and Germany

the two bases spares and crew support come from

About us

The five that repeat

Most of what feels like a surprise is one of five recurring headings. Each has a known cause and a known precaution.

Pinning the list somewhere the crew can see it helps too. If the first thing to do is written down, nobody stands waiting by a phone. That does not remove the problem, but it shortens the response; most of the time lost during a build goes on waiting for a decision rather than on finding a solution.

1. The delivery slot slips. The queue at the hall door grows and the window is lost. Fix: load in build order, with floor and structure on the first vehicle.
2. Power arrives late. The mains are energised on the hall’s programme, not yours. Fix: carry cordless tools and independent lighting, and schedule power-dependent work last.
3. The neighbour crosses the line. A few centimetres on a shared wall affects both stands. Fix: mark the line on day one and speak to their crew.
4. The column is not as drawn. Base widths are routinely understated. Fix: measure on site and cut panels if needed.
5. A surface is damaged. One panel scuffed in transit. Fix: spare panels and touch-up materials.

What all five share is that the remedy was decided before the show, not during it.

The spares box that travels

The same box travels to every build: offcuts of panel, matching paint and a touch-up pen, spare LED fittings and drivers, sockets, extension leads, trunking, carpet tape, double-sided tape, spare hinges and magnetic catches, assorted screws, silicone and masking tape.

A second bag travels beside the box: measuring and safety kit. Laser measure, spirit level, gloves, glasses, helmets and a first aid kit. Some venues will not let a crew onto the floor without personal protective equipment, so forgetting it means standing at the hall door instead of working.

Its contents are shaped by experience. After each show we note what got used; anything untouched for two fairs comes out, anything we could not find on site goes in. The box does not grow, it gets more accurate.

Abroad the box matters more. A light fitting sourced in half an hour in Istanbul can take half a day in an unfamiliar city, and a day is not enough if the shops are shut. On fairs abroad, carrying the spare is always cheaper than hunting for it.

Who makes the call

What costs time is rarely the problem itself; it is waiting for a decision. If a panel is to be cut, a colour changed or an element dropped, who approves that should be in writing before the show.

How that decision travels matters as much as who makes it. When phones do not work in the hall, an approval sent as a message with a photograph attached beats a call every time. A written approval is both faster and argument-proof; verbal permissions are the things everyone remembers differently afterwards.

A workable rule: the site manager decides anything below an agreed value that does not change the visible face of the design. Anything that does change it goes to one named person at the exhibitor. With two named people the answer arrives late; with three it does not arrive at all.

Settle this at quotation stage. In our exhibition stand services the site authority and the contact chain are part of the contract; build-up night is a poor time to start looking for someone who can approve a change.

How many hours does a problem cost?

Minutes if the spare is in the box, half a day if it is not. The difference is preparation, not materials.

Who settles a dispute with a neighbour?

The hall manager. Shared walls and boundaries fall to the organiser, and anything the crews cannot settle goes there.