Blue Man Group shows cancelled in Iowa due to damage from a runaway batten

[visagegyc]

Anyone know any details about this?

[sk8rsdad]

Google knows more details, and according the articles I found it has nothing to do with a runaway. It's flooding due to burst sprinkler pipes. It's possible the pipes burst while they were raising gear.

[epimetheus]

From what I read (granted that was limited), it sounded like a runaway batten damaged the sprinkler piping when it hit the grid. Anybody know anything firm?

Edit: This article seems to have pretty detailed info.

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/art...cc4c002e0.html

[blackisthenewblack]

From what I read (granted that was limited), it sounded like a runaway batten damaged the sprinkler piping when it hit the grid. Anybody know anything firm?

Edit: This article seems to have pretty detailed info.

UPDATE: UNI reschedules Blue Man Group shows to September

Just curious, but if there is a runaway batten, shouldn't it only travel to grid height which the batten is designed to do. So why would there be a sprinkler pipe where a batten is designed to travel on a regular basis?

[Footer]

Just curious, but if there is a runaway batten, shouldn't it only travel to grid height which the batten is designed to do. So why would there be a sprinkler pipe where a batten is designed to travel on a regular basis?

When you have a runaway, you have a large amount of weight on the arbor coming crashing towards the ground while the pipe takes off towards the grid. Usually, the arbor crashes through its bottom stop on the rail until it hits the floor. This makes the pipe go higher then its usual out trim, usually slamming into the grid. If there is enough force, the lift lines on the pipe can break sending the pipe falling back to the deck. It is pretty common to see sprinkler lines ran US/DS just below the grid. Usually they have more then enough clearances from the out trim of a pipe to the grid. When this run away happened, it must have hit with enough force to break the sprinkler line. If this article was right that this was a fullstage black line that ran, it could have easily had 400# of weight on it, more then enough to break a pipe.

This sounds like a situation where the local crew does not have enough shows come through of this size that require a large amount of rigging. From the looks of things on their site, its not an IA house. Being on a campus it is probably mostly student workers. Someone must have gotten ahead of themselves and pulled the load before the loaders pulled the weight.

At least no one was injured. This could have been massively bad.

[LavaASU]

Just curious, but if there is a runaway batten, shouldn't it only travel to grid height which the batten is designed to do. So why would there be a sprinkler pipe where a batten is designed to travel on a regular basis?

This happened at a previous venue I worked at, though not quite as catastrophically. The sprinkler pipes were above normal pipe travel, but below the steel grid. When the out of control pipes got to the top of the travel they had so much inertia they kept going... through the pipes into the grid. The arbor also tore through the floor block, and bottom of the arbor guides and stops which may have contributed.

[visagegyc]

Another link:
Rigging FAIL: The most dangerous kind of runaway. | Backstage at BackstageJobs.com | Life behind the scenes…

[soundlight]

Someone with the user handle 'student' commented on the Backstage at BackstageJobs link, and they seemed to say that it was a communication issue. Who knows what that could have been, but there should have been a rail manager keeping track of the stage loads and the arbors for a large load-in like this.

Kind of off the main topic, but the first thing that I noticed in one of the pictures of the gear drying out was a PRG Commander Console. What's a Commander doing out with Blue Man? How much moving stuff do they have?
_DSC0179 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
PRG | Commander

[shiben]

Someone with the user handle 'student' commented on the Backstage at BackstageJobs link, and they seemed to say that it was a communication issue. Who knows what that could have been, but there should have been a rail manager keeping track of the stage loads and the arbors for a large load-in like this.

Kind of off the main topic, but the first thing that I noticed in one of the pictures of the gear drying out was a PRG Commander Console. What's a Commander doing out with Blue Man? How much moving stuff do they have?
_DSC0179 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
PRG | Commander

They have a lot of moving stuff. There are a couple of flying screens, as well as a three part high res screen that can move into one unit or track around into three.

[Footer]

That picture from the above album pretty much explains it all. Looks like a house electric. It was probably stripped before the call. Odds are it was loaded before the load was put on the batten. Looks like around 500# of weight hanging on that arbor. Yes, it was a communication issue, one that should have never occurred. Also, there is a good old broom stick in that picture... who knows maybe that thing was holding the load and snapped. There is nothing in this whole collection that spells "accident". Instead, everything is points to the guys on the rail and the guys on the loading rail. I wonder how slacked the purchase line was on the rail before the lock let go. Never should have happened. The venue is going to lose a ton of money on this. I would be surprised if the show does not have to cancel its next stop.

[MPowers]

Discussed this briefly today with a colleague of mine who is the Technical Director/Designer in the theatre department there. To comment on several things that have been asked or put forth.
First, in most places code requires the stage sprinkler heads to be below all permanent obstructions, that is, below the walking grid. These places usually require a second set of heads above the grid. Local codes can vary greatly. In this case, like several that I have investigated over the years, the run-a-way batten strikes one of the sprinkler heads, the weakest part, and snaps it off or open. In many systems the sudden release of pressure will open up the other heads in the same zone. As mentioned earlier, the batten is moving very fast by the time it reaches the top, 30 to 40 mph at least, depending on the height of the grid and the amount of overweight. Also as mentioned and as the picture shows, the arbor blows through the wooden stop strip and the angle iron supporting it, allowing an extra 18" - 24" of travel.

Now the real failure here was human error. An error in method, training and supervision. First, the batten in question was an electric, lots of weight. Second, the standard method in that house to change out a batten was to drop the batten to the floor working height and have the floor hands start stripping the pipe while the gallery crew starts stripping the weight, or, and here's a biggie, if the batten is to be reloaded, as in today's case, the weight is not stripped, several stage hands hang or lean on the pipe until enough equipment is rehung to balance out the pipe. While this is a fast and time saving technique, it is very unsafe and against all good rigging practice and common sense. It should not be taught, used or allowed. In today's accident, either the floor hands did not put body weight on the pipe or the gallery crew didn't know they were to unload that arbor. The result is obvious, once the batten has moved as little as a foot, it is too late. The weight and inertia have already taken over and it can not be stopped. The good news is the batten did not break and the batten attachments held, the arbor had spreader plates ( I can count at least two in the photo) and did not spill the weights which would have made things much worse. I have investigated accidents where the weights did spill and then the pipe is the heavy thing and comes crashing back down, just like Paddy and the barrel of bricks.

If I find out any additional info that is not general knowledge, I'll update.

[mstaylor]

Excellent information Mike. I am an arena guy so I have little experience with fly systems. I always with interest any discussion pertaining to flys and how to use them. I know some good fly guys in DC and want to learn more when possible.

[visagegyc]

Important lessons here for all of us. Very fortunate no one was injured.

Interesting to read the spin of some of the various media; a few of the articles really downplay the amount of water that must have been gushing from those heads. I had a similar experience at my last facility when the lobby system was set off by a plumber who caught his vest on one sprinkler head and popped it; there were thousands of gallons of rusty water in the brand new lobby in about 2 minutes. Fun fact: firemen carry wet-vacs on the pump truck!

[MPowers]

One point I failed to mention in my earlier post. There are ways to help secure a line set that you know is going to be out of balance for a short time as the floor crew and the gallery crew work to stay even. Due to TOS I will name but not spell out or explain methods that are possibly questionable. Methods range from the "broomstick" trick, to the "Uncle Buddy" that is accepted in some but not all circles, to the one standard that seems acceptable by everyone and that is the "Stopper Hitch". There are a number of knots that are used, the "Prussic Knot" being the most widespread acceptable one. Basically a stopper hitch is a small diameter rope, 1/4" or 3/8" usually (but up to 1/2") diameter, tied to the locking rail then to the purchase line in one of several types of rolling hitches, timber hitches, Prussic knots, etc. effectively preventing the purchase line from moving, even if the out of balance condition exceeds the roughly 50# out of balance condition that most rope locks are designed to handle. In spite of the broom handle visible in the photo, it would appear obvious that none of these methods of "locking off" was being used in this case. I still do not condone the loading technique described to me, but the simple application of a stopper hitch at the rail might have prevented this accident.

[chausman]

Important lessons here for all of us. Very fortunate no one was injured.

Interesting to read the spin of some of the various media; a few of the articles really downplay the amount of water that must have been gushing from those heads. I had a similar experience at my last facility when the lobby system was set off by a plumber who caught his vest on one sprinkler head and popped it; there were thousands of gallons of rusty water in the brand new lobby in about 2 minutes. Fun fact: firemen carry wet-vacs on the pump truck!

I find it rather ironic that it was a PLUMBER who set it off. Of all people!

This whole incident should say a lot of things. If it really was communication error, then people need to really pay more attention. If it was that they used "human Ballast" after removing lights, then that is not a good method, no matter how many people you have on it. And, to me it doesn't seem like a good ideal in the first place, to many things can go wrong. If it was that a person tried to fly it out and didn't know that the weight wasn't removed, then that says that you need to VERY clearly mark (And possibly guard) which linesets can't be used at that time.

[gafftaper]

One point I failed to mention in my earlier post. There are ways to help secure a line set that you know is going to be out of balance for a short time as the floor crew and the gallery crew work to stay even. Due to TOS I will name but not spell out or explain methods that are possibly questionable. Methods range from the "broomstick" trick, to the "Uncle Buddy" that is accepted in some but not all circles, to the one standard that seems acceptable by everyone and that is the "Stopper Hitch". There are a number of knots that are used, the "Prussic Knot" being the most widespread acceptable one. Basically a stopper hitch is a small diameter rope, 1/4" or 3/8" usually (but up to 1/2") diameter, tied to the locking rail then to the purchase line in one of several types of rolling hitches, timber hitches, Prussic knots, etc. effectively preventing the purchase line from moving, even if the out of balance condition exceeds the roughly 50# out of balance condition that most rope locks are designed to handle. In spite of the broom handle visible in the photo, it would appear obvious that none of these methods of "locking off" was being used in this case. I still do not condone the loading technique described to me, but the simple application of a stopper hitch at the rail might have prevented this accident.

I want to point out that EVERYONE should be using one of these techniques during loading. However, NONE OF THEM offer a 100% guarantee against a runaway. The simple fact is when you get more than about 50 pounds out of weight the danger level goes way up. You get several hundred pounds out of weight like this story and all bets are off for safety. Even an uncle buddy or a stopper hitch can fail.

Students, yes professional rigging crews in pro houses take short cuts and you may learn those tricks someday too, but those tricks come with years of knowledge and experience of what can go wrong and how to avoid it. You are not a pro rigger yet, you are still learning. Learn to do the job safe and stay alive. For now your rule should be never take more than two instruments off without removing bricks or adding instruments back. Always keep it under 50lbs out of weight. Yes this means more work, and you'll have to think about your job a bit. But a little extra work is much less of a hassle than going to funerals and paying thousands of dollars in repair bills.

Back to the building itself, I don't know anything about the building so I'm purely speculating here, but water is a killer on theaters. Repairs can get VERY expensive, really fast. Repairs could include replacing part or all of the floor, repairing the structure under the stage, repairs to the rigging system, repairs to the pit/trap room or other rooms possibly located below the stage, of course wet drywall has to go, electronic equipment is probably toast, fire retardant in curtains is gone as soon as it gets wet so the curtains will need replacing or retreating. This little mistake could easily total $500,000 or more really quick and shut down the theater form months while things are repaired.

[museav]

Just an example of the problems sprinkler heads going off can cause, on a church project in which I was involved the painters were touching up the ceiling in the room off stage where all the electronics of the Yamaha PM1D mixer, the Aviom system, the wireless in-ear transmitters and the monitor amps were located when they apparently 'bumped' the sprinkler head over the racks and set it off. From what those there at the time tell me there was about 4" of standing water in the room before they could get it shut off.

This occurred just a couple of days before first use of the renovated Sanctuary, but since someone was smart enough to reach in with a wood pole and hit the main power switch and the racks were on top of a 2x4 riser base, with some careful drying out everything actually worked for the first service. However, it could not be warrantied so it was all replaced under the painter's insurance, which also had to be for the labor to reinstall it as well as to reconfigure and test everything. The insurance aspect and who was paying for what apparently dragged on for months. And that was just a single sprinkler head going off, not multiple heads or a head broken off.

[derekleffew]

More at UPDATED: Rigging FAIL: The most dangerous kind of runaway. | Backstage at BackstageJobs.com | Life behind the scenes…, including this first-hand account.

(If the student doesn't know how to spell "batten" correctly, can he be trusted to run the fly system? Or give an accurate account of events that transpired?)

[shiben]

(If the student doesn't know how to spell "batten" correctly, can he be trusted to run the fly system? Or give an accurate account of events that transpired?)

I dont know, that is probably one of the most common spelling mistakes with this kind of stuff, especially if you have not seen it written a lot, or if your in a hurry and writing a lot.

[MNicolai]

For anyone interested, the venue tech specs can be found here. It's a single-purchase system.

I dont know, that is probably one of the most common spelling mistakes with this kind of stuff, especially if you have not seen it written a lot, or if your in a hurry and writing a lot.

He also referred to the sprinkler pipe location (directly below the grid) as an inherent design flaw and made the following comments regarding the people in charge:

The reason for loading the line-set before having weight on the batton is because we were told that the set piece that was going on that batton is too large to put on while on the ground. The intention was to load the arbor, fly the batton out some and then put the piece on. So, when 24 of the 29 bricks were on the line-set and the dowel broke, the arbor came down and the batton went up.

[...]

Since we were told to load the weight without weight on the batton, I feel that negates the issue of whether or not the stage could be seen from the Mid Rail. Yes, perhaps someone should have questioned the choice that was being made. However, please keep in mind that if every choice that was made was called into question then load in would take twice as long. The people in charge are in charge for a reason.

Safety is the responsibility of everyone on site, operators and employers. Operators who are qualified enough for the task at hand should have seen the clear tactical error in putting 29 bricks above pipe weight on an empty line set, and any member of the venue staff who sees an error like that should not hesitate to tell the people in charge (even if it includes the person who signs their paychecks) that something is a bad idea. That said, the people at the mid-rail probably didn't know what was (or was not) attached to the batten they were loading.

The call from a member of the BMG tour to load that amount of weight onto an empty line set never should have been made. Anyone working the in that thought to themselves, "Why are we putting 29 bricks on an empty batten?" is also partially responsible for this incident, but I wouldn't count on the average deck hand to be paying attention to the calls for weight that are being made or to be thinking of the effects of those calls. However, I'm surprised there was not a go-between between the BMG staff and the loaders on the rail. At larger venues, this may not be the case, but for the one-semi-truck tours that have come through the local roadhouses, there's usually a very capable member of the venue staff who makes the calls to the rail. Anyone on the tour has to talk to that person to get a call made to the rail. A person in that position would've been in charge of preventing the tour from damaging the facilities or performing unsafe operations with the rigging.

As was pointed out in the comments of that article, even had the rope lock not failed after the dowel snapped that was twisted into the purchase line, the next step was for someone to remove that dowel, open the rope lock, and start muscling around a seriously out-of-weight arbor. A couple guys hopping on that purchase line would've either had the flesh burned off the palms of their hands or they would have been sent sailing into the air.

[MNBallet]

As was pointed out in the comments of that article, even had the rope lock not failed after the dowel snapped that was twisted into the purchase line, the next step was for someone to remove that dowel, open the rope lock, and start muscling around a seriously out-of-weight arbor. A couple guys hopping on that purchase line would've either had the flesh burned off the palms of their hands or they would have been sent sailing into the air.

There were supposed to be hand lines on the batten for other deck hands to help with the weight. Something I've done before and hate doing it every time. To me it is a bad design flaw in the set when you have to do things like that to get it in the air. I have some large sets that fly and really wish more theaters had a mid rail where you can load some of the weight when it's lying on the ground and more when it stands up but it's not enough to fly out yet. With a large full stage set peice it can easily be #600 or so and that is WAY TOO MUCH weight for a counter balance system to be out of balance. Even half that is still too much but at least the line won't be wanting to get in balance so quickly, compared to full weight. For touring shows that have set peices that are too large to put on until the pipe is in the air, then use a chain hoist from the grid.

I have toured through that theater several times and know all the crew there very well. Good space, great people.

Kenneth Pogin
Production / Tour Manager
Minnesota Ballet

[DuckJordan]

One of the largest issues I have with this whole situation, Is that they chose to run in the upwards of 800# without loading weight on the batten, Also "Design Flaw" of sprinkler pipes under grid? Pretty sure if your going to have a fire suppression system in place sprinklers to be effective need a clear line to cover the fire in water. His statement of run away battens being a common occurrence to me seems like he shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a fly rail which I'm sure the faculty has realized as he was on the truck unloading crew. This was a very very large misjudgment, on not only the Touring crew but the Faculty at the University.

I know in our area if something like that happened, there would be at least a few professors in the possible state of joblessness.

To clarify a few things that I think should be stressed is when loading Weight SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON FLOOR, Meaning if you are loading lights, its should be hang, then you should load weight. I would never pre-load a batten. We have had scenery that is difficult to get up in the air without pre-weight but that's why we use a walk up technique. Attach the scenery then add weight. There is no reason why you should ever have to pre-load weight.

Honestly unless the administration at this University changes something, I will stay clear of this place as long as i can.

[MNicolai]

Some factual updates. The weight call was made in half-bricks. It was supposed to be 725# out-of-weight but failed at 600#.

At the GB:PAC the locks on the lockrail are rated for 50 lbs. The individuals on the load rail and midrail were both told that bow-lines were going to be placed on the pipe to assist with flying the pipe. They were not put on.

I agree that the tech doesn't seem to fully understand the gravity of the situation.

[derekleffew]

Follow-up story: Gallagher-Bluedorn back in shape after water pipe mishap .

[gafftaper]

Jim O'Connor, a spokesman for the University of Northern Iowa... said both parties were held blameless in the incident and neither were required to pay for the canceled shows.

Well there you go kids. From this story we have learned that if you get an arbor 29 bricks out of weight and the broom handle holding it all in the air snaps, the only one to blame is gravity. I'm surprised they aren't suing the broom manufacturer for the cleaning bill. Sounds like some massive CYA on the part of both the Blue crew and the University staff.

...and don't get me started on this being a "water pipe mishap".

[MNicolai]

Well there you go kids. From this story we have learned that if you get an arbor 29 bricks out of weight and the broom handle holding it all in the air snaps, the only one to blame is gravity. I'm surprised they aren't suing the broom manufacturer for the cleaning bill. Sounds like some massive CYA on the part of both the Blue crew and the University staff.

...and don't get me started on this being a "water pipe mishap".

They say "no one is to blame", but I think they mean "no party is at any greater fault than another".

[Footer]

They say "no one is to blame", but I think they mean "no party is at any greater fault than another".

Or more importantly they convinced the insurance company that it was no ones fault... therefore they don't have to find someone at fault and the insurance company ate the bill.

[gafftaper]

They say "no one is to blame", but I think they mean "no party is at any greater fault than another".

So as long as everyone in the room is equally responsible (irresponsible?) for the disaster no one get's in trouble.
Somehow, "But Mom, everybody was doing it!" Never worked for me.

[chausman]

So as long as everyone in the room is equally responsible (irresponsible?) for the disaster no one get's in trouble.
Somehow, "But Mom, everybody was doing it!" Never worked for me.

Puts a whole new twist to "So, if everyone was jumping off a cliff would you?"

[gafftaper]

Yes Mom I would jump off that bridge, because as long as everyone does it I'm not at fault.

[mstaylor]

Blameless, WTF? Somebody made the call to go that far out of weight, the bricks didn't jump on by themselves.

[MPowers]

My only comment is .... I'm speechless...! It's like a police report that says, the victim died of natural causes...when a bunch of bullets hit you, naturally you die!

[ruinexplorer]

My only comment is .... I'm speechless...! It's like a police report that says, the victim died of natural causes...when a bunch of bullets hit you, naturally you die!

. . .blood loss is a natural cause of death.

[65535]

At the Community College I'm attending and work at the theatre in, if we know we're out of weight more than 1-2 weights, we tie a sunday, or alternatively we twist it off with a bar, we use one of the steel lockout pipes from the rail to keep it twisted, not a wooden dowel.

[chausman]

Blameless, WTF? Somebody made the call to go that far out of weight, the bricks didn't jump on by themselves.

I agree. [sarcastic] And NO the brinks don't jump on by themselves...they jump on when all the other bricks jump on..then no one is to blame!!![/sarcastic]

[cpf]

We should actually be investigating the weight manufacturer for producing bricks without enough independence so they would have known that, just because everyone else is getting moved onto the arbor, it shouldn't follow too.

[gafftaper]

At the Community College I'm attending and work at the theatre in, if we know we're out of weight more than 1-2 weights, we tie a sunday, or alternatively we twist it off with a bar, we use one of the steel lockout pipes from the rail to keep it twisted, not a wooden dowel.

What's the matter with your school? It's as if someone is being taught to think about safety before doing something dangerous.

Kids these days with their fancy learnin'

EDIT: By the way I am not saying with this post that if you were planing to get 600lbs out of weight all you need is use a steel pipe instead of a broom handle and all your problems are gone. Keeping the bricks safely up there is only half the problem. How you lower a 600lb arbor slowly and gently down as you apply weight to the batten on the other end is an entirely different problem.

[65535]

What's the matter with your school? It's as if someone is being taught to think about safety before doing something dangerous.

Kids these days with their fancy learnin'

EDIT: By the way I am not saying with this post that if you were planing to get 600lbs out of weight all you need is use a steel pipe instead of a broom handle and all your problems are gone. Keeping the bricks safely up there is only half the problem. How you lower a 600lb arbor slowly and gently down as you apply weight to the batten on the other end is an entirely different problem.

I guess I should mention we never go more than about 4-5 weights out of balance without having the winch on the arbor.

[derekleffew]

I guess I should mention we never go more than about 4-5 weights out of balance without having the winch on the arbor.

Well, if the Iowa venue had owned (and properly used) a mobile helper winch or chain hoist, they wouldn't have had this mess in the first place. See also http://www.jrclancy.com/Downloads/load_arbor.pdf , as sometimes the methods described are necessary even in a facility that HAS a loading bridge.

What kind of capstan winch do you have, 65535?

[65535]

Well, if the Iowa venue had owned (and properly used) a mobile helper winch or chain hoist, they wouldn't have had this mess in the first place. See also http://www.jrclancy.com/Downloads/load_arbor.pdf , as sometimes the methods described are necessary even in a facility that HAS a loading bridge.

What kind of capstan winch do you have, 65535?

It's the JR Clancy found here admittedly, we have never hung anything that heavy in our theatre, all our electrics are on a 2:1 reduction and the faculty TD keeps it pretty close to a standard set of instruments on it, pulling and swapping them 1-2 at a time. We do have a proper loading bridge, but the path to get up there is almost a 10 minute walk around half the building.

(I did have to look up the winch model, it doesn't see use that much.)

I'll see if next time I go in (shop is closed for a week by the foreman) I'll hop on the main stage and take some pics. It's about a 3 year old, very nice JR Clancy setup.