TEMPLATE · THE POLICY
Pass types down the side, zones across the top.
The access matrix is the entire accreditation policy in one grid. This is that grid, empty enough to be yours and filled in enough to show the shape. Y means may enter, N means may not, and there is deliberately no third value.
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WHAT THIS IS
An access matrix maps pass types to zones: categories of person down the side, physical areas across the top, and a yes or no in every cell. It is the single artefact a gate steward is really enforcing, and every gate sheet, scanner rule and laminate design should derive from it.
THE TEMPLATE
| Pass type | Front of house | Backstage | Arena | Production compound | Dock | Pit | Campsite | Roof / rigging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CREW | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N |
| CONTRACTOR | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N |
| RIGGER | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y |
| ARTIST | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N |
| ARTIST GUEST | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N | N |
| PRESS | Y | N | Y | N | N | Y | N | N |
| SUPPLIER | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N |
| VIP | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N |
| MEDIC | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N |
The example rows are invented people. The column shapes are not.
WHY EACH COLUMN IS THERE
Every field is a field somebody has to chase.
- Pass type
- The category of person. Ten to twenty covers most events. Over forty means you have duplicates.
- Front of house
- The public areas. Almost everything opens this, which is why it is the leftmost zone.
- Backstage
- The first real boundary, and the one most arguments happen at.
- Arena
- Kept separate from backstage because the crowd risk is different once doors are open.
- Production compound
- Offices, cabins, the safe. Fewer people than you think should have this.
- Dock
- Vehicle movement and loading. A pedestrian pass here is a safety question, not an access one.
- Pit
- Time-limited for almost everybody who holds it. The notes on the gate sheet do the rest.
- Campsite
- Only relevant to multi-day sites, and the zone most often left open by accident.
- Roof / rigging
- The zone that proves AAA does not mean all areas. Competence-gated, always.
USING IT WELL
- Rename the zone headers to your site before you fill anything in. A zone whose name only exists in the spreadsheet gets called something else on the radio.
- Get it signed off by whoever carries the security responsibility, and date the sign-off. An undated matrix cannot be shown to have been agreed.
- There is no "maybe" value on purpose. A cell nobody will commit to is a decision that gets made at 2am by a steward instead.
- When it changes after print day, note which sheets are now stale before you do anything else.