Genie Safety?

[thebikingtechie]

This summer I had a lighting internship in a local theater. Whenever we hung lights in large quantities we would get out the Genie lift. To save time the would have someone go up in the genie and then once they were up to the right height someone on the ground would remove the outriggers and push them around to different spots to hang lights. When a light was needed someone on the ground would clip it on to a rope that would be pulled up by the person in the basket. I am wondering if this is common procedure or if it was just this one theater. I was thinkng that if you left the out riggers in but not screw them down it might be a little safer. This would definitley save time and in my school's theater.
Thanks

[soundlight]

I usually leave the outriggers almost screwed down, and then I am able to move it without cranking the outriggers every time. I would never go up in the genie without the legs in. But I do leave them only almost screwed down so that it is easier to move. But about the lights, I just clamp a few to the safety bars of the genie (and safety cable them), and then take them up. I come back down when I need more to hang.

[RiffRaff54]

at my theatre i go up in the genie then someone on the ground unscrews the outriggers enough to push me around. the genie at my college doesn't even have outriggers.

while on the subject of genie safty, who wears a harness when they go up in one?

[sound_nerd]

It's a requirement to wear a harness when you're in a Genie (or any manlift/scissor lift) here in Canada.

[Peter]

That would never even be considered at either of my schools. To move it you always have to come down, take the outriggers off and move it, put them back in, screw them down and go back up. We used to just come down, unscrew the outriggers abit and slide it (while on the ground) but the little pins inside the outriggers got distroyed from the forces of being bounced arround across the floor and required expensive repairs. I do belive it is completely against the genie maual to move the genie at all while it is extended, let alone without outrigers out. If you must move while up, get something like a sicisor lift that is designed to move while up.

[tenor_singer]

Personally... I am unwilling to risk injury to save myself 2 minutes of time unscrewing outriggers. I think people should rethink bypassing safety features. It simply isn't worth it.

[Footer]

About the harness thing... I look at it in two different ways... if i fall out of the basket I want that harness there to keep me from falling 30', but on the other side.. if for some reason the lift were to fall over I am now stuck in that basket. I know that in scisors lifts and boom lifts that you have to wear a harness, but I have heard and read two different things about vertical lifts. As far as moving the lift while I am up in it, every theatre I have worked in moves the lift with the lift up. The genie in one of the spaces has 4 12" casters attached to it and small outrigers that make it very easy to move. In newer lifts with safetys that keep the lift from moving without outrigers in I usuall do the get to trim and pull the riggers routine. I am a huge fan of scisor lifts at focus. A few words of safety is that I prefer to have the people moving the lift to have hard hats on incase a stray gel frame comes down.

[BillESC]

As a Genie dealer I will tell you the outriggers must be in place and under weight for safe operation.

As a lighting guy we came up with a great "get-a-round" You can buy 3 wheeled casters for pianos, they are the perfect size for the outrigger pads to land on. This way your outriggers can be in place and under weight and still roll.

[soundlight]

Aha! That is a great idea. I'll have to remember that one.

[fosstech]

We have three Genies here, two use outriggers, and the third one (bigger than the other two) has a really heavy base that drops down a few inches so the foot pads on each corner contact the ground. When you want to move it, just pump the foot pedal a few times which will hydraulically lift the weight/feet and transfer the entire load to the wheels. It's a lot easier and quicker to move around when somebody's on it.

For the Genies with the outriggers, we just loosen the outriggers a little, and push it around. We always make sure that the person on the lift knows when we're pushing them and where.

We don't use safety harnesses, at least when working in our black box. It's not really high enough to warrant using them, and the Genies aren't extended enough to risk a tip over.