In the event of run away

[hillbillyfunk]

recent events caused me to write this, it does not apply to every situation but is a basic guide.

#1 Set down any material you may be holding, do not drop it as you may injure your crew members, yell “down on 3, one two three”.

#2 Get to a safe location, off stage, in the house or in the pit are usually safe places.

#3 Once in a safe area duck and cover, wait until all crashing has ceased. At this time the Technical Director or Lead Carpenter should call emergency personnel, local personnel first, then 911. If you are not a first responder immediately exit the theater via marked emergency exits and rendezvous outside at the loading dock.

#4 If you are a first responder take precautions to avoid fall hazards when administering first aid, if the victim(s) are mobile and no spinal or neck injury is evident clear them from the stage even if there is not the possibility of chain reaction falls.

#6 Do not move spinal or neck injury victims, crush victims may require a crew to lift weight off of them, discretion should be used in rescue attempts and trained rescue personnel should be utilized if available.

#7 As soon as medical personnel have evacuated the injured the Lead Carpenter should oversee the evacuation of any remaining personnel and chain lock all stage doors in accordance with OSHA's lock out tag out procedures

#7 Equip the rigging crew with hard hats and have Lead Rigger lead a safety inspection starting from the attic/grid and progressing down, ensure all damaged equipment is secure, look for damage in corresponding line sets. Document all damage and do not allow the crew to return to stage until all equipment has been secured.

#8 Once the Lead Rigger has declared that all fall hazards have been secured then the Lead Carpenter may unlock the doors and call “all clear”

[Footer]

Run like hell?

[Clifford]

Not to distract from the seriousness of this situation, but it's pretty simple at our school.

Step #1: Don't install a fly system.

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by Clifford

...Step #1: Don't install a fly system.

That practice may be wiser than you think, Cliff. As technology progresses, counterweight fly systems are SLOWLY being phased out in favor of 1) all dead hung, or 2) a limited number of automated battens. ALL have various safety concerns, but I could argue that the traditional counterweight system, particularly a double purchase system, is less safe than the others with high school personnel.

[Clifford]

We have motorized battens, but we don't really use them. The lift is easier, and a lot safer. Something happened with the panel that controls the battens, so I you want to operate them you have to stick a pencil into the resets on the fuses (apparently someone used a paperclip once). That isn't cool, and I'm not an electrician, so I'm not going to try to fix it.

[hillbillyfunk]

Originally Posted by Clifford

Step #1: Don't install a fly system.

As much as I disagree with that statement I have to lend a lot of merit to it for safety's sake, perhaps it should read "Don't install a traditional fly system."
It seems to me that a much safer fly system could be built, especially for educational environments. They recently built a 1200 seat HS theater near me that has an 18" gap between the loading bridge and the arbor (73').

Instead of balancing the arbor with blocks of iron a water reservoir on the roof coupled with an automatic balance sensor and some basic plumbing could make a very efficient and safe fly line. Water is heavy and cheap, a 250 gal container is not that big, make the arbor clearance deeper and one could build 500 gal tanks for a ton of arbor weight.

I like electric arbors for hoisting the deck electrics, but on the Main Rag as well as the other assorted pipes the electrics aren't flexible enough in their speed control. I'm sure in 5 years they'll be better.

[photoatdv]

I'm confused. Did they do the thing with the water, or is that your idea. If it's your idea and it hasn't been done you should patent that. I like that idea... no more lugging weights upstairs then trying to balence them on an arbor that is too low through various bars.

[hillbillyfunk]

don't know that anyone is doing it, but it can't be my idea, it's too simple and the theater profession is too old.

the only reason I imagine Broadway didn't do it is that water does take up more space than steel.

[Footer]

Originally Posted by hillbillyfunk

don't know that anyone is doing it, but it can't be my idea, it's too simple and the theater profession is too old.

the only reason I imagine Broadway didn't do it is that water does take up more space than steel.

I believe they have tried it in the past, water is simply not dense enough.... now mercury... thats the ticket....

Counterweight systems are starting to be phased out. With new products such as the vortek system out there, we are going to start seeing these things go away.

Also, you don't hear about rigging accidents that often in high school environments because frankly, they don't put the systems through their paces as much. Its the larger houses that run 30-70 lineset shows with every lineset filled that pose the biggest risk. These are the places that it simply becomes to expensive to install winches.

The big seller of winches to me though, besides safety, is labor. The amount of time that is saved by not have to attach bull lines, through weight at the mid rail, and haveing to marry linesets is HUGE to me. Not to mention cable pick weight.

I will be walking into a TD position at a performing arts high school this fall (more on that as it progresses), and they perform in 3 spaces, one blackbox on campus, one proscenium on campus that is dead hung, and a nearby civic center theatre that has a full fly. I am very happy that I don't have to deal with a fly system with students, (though I am looking for a way to get the electrics flown on motors). I am happy that the students will get to deal with a fly system, but I am glad that all the maintenance will not fall on me.

[jwl868]

Originally Posted by hillbillyfunk

#7 As soon as medical personnel have evacuated the injured the Lead Carpenter should oversee the evacuation of any remaining personnel and chain lock all stage doors in accordance with OSHA's lock out tag out procedures

Someone pointed out the above on another thread: Which "lock out tag out" regulations are you referring to? My understanding of "lockout/tagout" applies electrical work, valves, and specific pieces of equipment, and is typically part of maintenance. "Lockout" positively disables a device until the lock is removed; "tagout" posts a warning not to activate the device at the control point. (From 29 CFR 1910.147 - The control of hazardous energy [lockout/tagout]).

A door that normally opens as an exit must not be chained or blocked. If you want to prevent entry, you'll need a guard. A sign (Do Not Enter, for example) will deter entrance.

Joe