Equipment Maintenance on a Tight Schedule

[LightStud]

If its broken or dirty, throw it away and buy new ones. That's the American way. But seriously, how much is the labor costing? At some point you reach a point of dimminishing returns, where it's not cost effective to repair old equipment.

[MNicolai]

Then it becomes a matter of convincing the people that hold the checkbooks that there's a problem. We've been unable to convince our accountant that it's not cost effective to keep messing with our broken collection of ~120 Strand SL's, so we're keeping track of how much it costs to keep fixing them, and then we'll present that figure to him, next to a figure that shows how much it would cost to replace our inventory with S4's

[cdub260]

Originally Posted by LightStud

If its broken or dirty, throw it away and buy new ones. That's the American way. But seriously, how much is the labor costing? At some point you reach a point of dimminishing returns, where it's not cost effective to repair old equipment.

True enough, however I have found that properly maintaining the equipment from day one can extend its useful life quite a bit.

When I first started as M.E. at the Pageant of the Masters, most of the equipment I inherited from my predecessor was in very poor repair, having rarely, if ever, been maintained. Most of that equipment was less than 10 years old. Of the 100 or so lights that were in use when I started there 9 years ago, I've had to throw out about 40 of them because they were in such bad shape that it was more cost effective to by new lights than to try to resurrect what was left of my original inventory. All but 4 of the remaining 60 or so lights have become the lighting inventory of our smaller 236 seat theatre, replacing the truly ancient lights that had been in use there for 30 years. So while no longer acceptable for use in the 2600 seat ampetheatre, these broken down old lights are still used. I just wish I hadn't had to strip so many for parts.

If this equipment had been properly maintained from the get go, the company I work for would not have had to invest tens of thousands of dollars replacing old, worn out lighting instruments over the last 9 years. That money could have been used to make other improvements to our facilities and systems.

One thing is for certain though. Whoever takes this job when I finally decide I'm done will not inherit the same type of mess that I did.

[Serendipity]

My school's inventory is far less expansive, so we can maintenance lights without too much hassle. The first couple weeks of school, the Advanced Lighting class starts moves from space, to space, to storage, and cleans and maintenances all of our inventory. Each light is given a color-coded sticker, with the date of inspection. If it passes, then it gets the color for the year, and gets to go sit on the shelf with it's fellow fixtures. If it fails, and is not within the capabilities we have for repair, it gets tagged with an explanation of the issue, and is put on aptly titled the "NFG-- Shelf Should Be Empty!" shelf.
A lot of people whine about the boring classes (hey, it's only for half the time, the other half you're not being slave labor!), but I'm honestly glad we take good enough care of our fixtures, because we're not going to be getting new ones any time soon. Plus, it's a great time to get to know new people in the class. Nothing like bonding over S4 par lenses?
We do test our cable as well, but not anywhere near as organized.



Also, I've seen theatrical lights used in permanent installation locations, and was wondering how they get taken care of... if at all? I know there's even Architectural versions of S4s, but whose job is it to stop spiders from seeking refuge in there?

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by Serendipity

Also, I've seen theatrical lights used in permanent installation locations, and was wondering how they get taken care of... if at all? I know there's even Architectural versions of S4s, but whose job is it to stop spiders from seeking refuge in there?

They generally don't ever get taken care of. I know a place that has had SourceFours in the mall ceiling since 1993. They get dusted once a year as a fire precaution, and maybe the color is changed and the exterior of the front lens is wiped with a dirty damp rag. So 24/7/265 for almost 15 years, (but never above 90% level).

Members of the Building's Facilities Dept., maintenance, and sometimes custodians/janitors. The ones who install the longest-life lamp possible, use ChannelLocks to tighten C-clamps, and wouldn't know a bench focus if it bit them in the ... . "You mean that white cellophane on the front is supposed to be blue?"

Spiders don't enjoy places with temperatures reaching up to 800°F. Outdoors, moths are an issue, and can create a fire hazard, but it's outside the building.

[quarterfront]

Then it becomes a matter of convincing the people that hold the checkbooks that there's a problem. We've been unable to convince our accountant that it's not cost effective to keep messing with our broken collection of ~120 Strand SL's, so we're keeping track of how much it costs to keep fixing them, and then we'll present that figure to him, next to a figure that shows how much it would cost to replace our inventory with S4's

Devil's advocate here...

Your accountant is probably right. Maintainance manhours are cheaper than instrument replacement. Consider this: replace all of your front lenses and reflectors at, say, $50/lens,$40/reflector, pull the shutters and hammer them flat (replace the really bad one, probably 1 in 10 overall, which would average out to about a buck a unit overal), put it all back together, bench it.... 15 minute job for 2 people at a generous $20/hr, you're up to $111 total. A new unit is on it's way to $300. Just saved $189 and your instruments are pretty much as good as new.

When you do your figures, if you're honest, you'll probably find out that replacing with S4's is actually the financial looser. Keep in mind that it won't be long before the new instruments will be needing maintainance.

Granted, I'm not familiar with Strand SL's, I live in C'tran land. Still, I have 78 C'trans @21 yrs. old that are my workhorses and still are going strong. Used to be 80. We run 8 shows a week, 42 weeks a year, plus about 6 weeks a year of tech time and in 21 years we've only had to part out two units.

What you do instead is get in the mode of buying a new unit every show or two. Just build into the budget to buy a S4 every so often so that instead of asking for an outlay of thousands of dollars all at once to replace your whole inventory you budget about $300 every couple months. This method appeals to accountants because it's responsible, prudent and effective. You keep your equipment, get every last dollar of value out of it, keep it running forever, but also have better, newer units to use where you really need them. As you go along you can retire the real dogs, but you'll find that your old inventory isn't as bad as you thought and also you'll end up with a bigger inventory (as opposed to one that's prettier, brighter and not as heavy but still is only the same number of fixtures). Most appealing for your accountant, you avoid a situation where he has to go to the theatre's sugar daddies hat in hand begging for $45,000.

[cdub260]

Originally Posted by Serendipity

...We do test our cable as well, but not anywhere near as organized.



Also, I've seen theatrical lights used in permanent installation locations, and was wondering how they get taken care of... if at all? I know there's even Architectural versions of S4s, but whose job is it to stop spiders from seeking refuge in there?

When it comes to inspecting and testing cable, I'm not quite as meticulous with my record keeping, as my cables do not have inventory tags. However, they do get Inspected and Tested stickers on the connecters when they pass. If I reject a cable, its because it has a problem that cannot be repaired such as cracked and brittle insulation.

As for theatrical lights in permanent installations, I have 4 of those, two of which are only accessible with a boom lift. Given that lift rentals are expensive, I can't justify renting a boom lift just so I can service two Source 4 Jr.'s. Fortunately, at least once per year, the Pageant rents a boom lift for other projects around our facility. At that time I pull the lights down for regular maintenance, but with one step added. I replace the lamp, whether it needs it or not. As a preventative measure, I clean the new lamp with Isopropyl Alcohol, just in case it came out of the factory with finger prints on it. The absolute last thing I want, is to have a fixture that I can't get to blow a lamp because I was too lazy clean the lamp.

As for the spiders, they're more than welcome to make a home in my lights. Its the birds that are the real problem.

[cdub260]

Something I may have forgotten to mention is that the Pageant of the Masters takes place in the Irvine Bowl, a 2600 seat amphitheatre, 1/4 of a mile from the Pacific Ocean. Exposure to the elements and highly corrosive salt air make it even more critical that I keep up with my equipment maintenance.

[MNicolai]

Originally Posted by quarterfront

Devil's advocate here...

Your accountant is probably right. Maintainance manhours are cheaper than instrument replacement. Consider this: replace all of your front lenses and reflectors at, say, $50/lens,$40/reflector, pull the shutters and hammer them flat (replace the really bad one, probably 1 in 10 overall, which would average out to about a buck a unit overal), put it all back together, bench it.... 15 minute job for 2 people at a generous $20/hr, you're up to $111 total. A new unit is on it's way to $300. Just saved $189 and your instruments are pretty much as good as new.

When you do your figures, if you're honest, you'll probably find out that replacing with S4's is actually the financial looser. Keep in mind that it won't be long before the new instruments will be needing maintainance.

Granted, I'm not familiar with Strand SL's, I live in C'tran land. Still, I have 78 C'trans @21 yrs. old that are my workhorses and still are going strong. Used to be 80. We run 8 shows a week, 42 weeks a year, plus about 6 weeks a year of tech time and in 21 years we've only had to part out two units.

What you do instead is get in the mode of buying a new unit every show or two. Just build into the budget to buy a S4 every so often so that instead of asking for an outlay of thousands of dollars all at once to replace your whole inventory you budget about $300 every couple months. This method appeals to accountants because it's responsible, prudent and effective. You keep your equipment, get every last dollar of value out of it, keep it running forever, but also have better, newer units to use where you really need them. As you go along you can retire the real dogs, but you'll find that your old inventory isn't as bad as you thought and also you'll end up with a bigger inventory (as opposed to one that's prettier, brighter and not as heavy but still is only the same number of fixtures). Most appealing for your accountant, you avoid a situation where he has to go to the theatre's sugar daddies hat in hand begging for $45,000.

I agree and disagree. The SL's fall apart just when someone looks at them. Many of ours have broken/cracked reflectors, missing focus knobs, missing rotation knobs, missing springs and other small pieces associated with those stupid knobs, broken rotation rings, the list goes on.

The cost of materials and labor for repairs just wouldn't be worth it, and the building has only been open 6 years. S4's are far more rugged, will survive the needs of a roadhouse, and if you purchase them all at once, it's a large price tag, but because it's in bulk, you get a much better deal per-fixture. Then if we were to sell off the SL's, or work out a trade-in deal with a dealer, the price tag comes down even more. The SL is just poorly built, and with too many small, plastic pieces that can go missing. We like our Strand Fresnelites, just not the SL's.

[Serendipity]

Originally Posted by cdub260

As for theatrical lights in permanent installations, I have 4 of those, two of which are only accessible with a boom lift. Given that lift rentals are expensive, I can't justify renting a boom lift just so I can service two Source 4 Jr.'s. Fortunately, at least once per year, the Pageant rents a boom lift for other projects around our facility. At that time I pull the lights down for regular maintenance, but with one step added. I replace the lamp, whether it needs it or not. As a preventative measure, I clean the new lamp with Isopropyl Alcohol, just in case it came out of the factory with finger prints on it. The absolute last thing I want, is to have a fixture that I can't get to blow a lamp because I was too lazy clean the lamp.

Sounds completely reasonable. Yay preventative magic!
I was wondering more for places where they don't have people running organized maintenance especially and don't tend to have knowledge of theatrical lights. For example, there's ERSs in local shopping malls. I'd assume they'd send someone up to re-lamp once in a while, but I doubt they properly maintain the fixture (unless it's too gross to do the intended job, in which case they just dust it off? )...

Originally Posted by cdub260

As for the spiders, they're more than welcome to make a home in my lights.

Obviously, you have a vast family of them making homes house left focused for the turn table.