The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) has prepared a fact sheet providing crowd control guidelines for
retailers to protect workers during major sales events.

Last year in the USA a worker was trampled to death while a mob of shoppers
rushed through the doors of a large store to take advantage of an after
Thanksgiving Day "Black Friday" sales event. The store was not using the kind
of crowd control measures recommended in OSHA's fact sheet.

"Crowd-related injuries during special retail sales and promotional events have
increased during recent years," said acting Assistant Secretary for OSHA Jordan
Barab. "Many of these incidents could be prevented, and this fact sheet
provides retail employers with guidelines for avoiding injuries during the
holiday shopping season."

The fact sheet provides employers with recommended elements for crowd control
plans. Plans should include having trained security personnel or police
officers on site, setting up barricades or rope lines for pedestrians and crowd
control well in advance of customers arriving at the store, making sure that
barricades are set up so that the customers' line does not start right at the
entrance of the store, preparing an emergency plan that addresses potential
dangers, and having security personnel or customer service representatives
explain approach and entrance procedures to the arriving public.

OSHA also recommends not allowing additional customers to enter the store when
it reaches its maximum occupancy level and not blocking or locking exit doors.

More info

AplusA-online.de - Source: U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration