Lobbying for a Rigging Inspection

[Aerial]

I am in a situation where the employees have been trying to get the higher powers to recognize the need for a rigging/fly system inspection by a certified professional. I know it has been five years since our system was installed, and we do in-house routine inspections on everything. The employees still believe in the need for an outside professional to come in and check everything over, to have a different set of eyes on the equipment. We at least need it bumped up near the top of the budget for this next year. They seem to turn a blind eye to all the reasons we have presented including the outrageous liability and lawsuits should something disastrous happen.

Does anyone have any materials other than those listed on the rigging company/inspection websites (Such as all the wonderful information on the JR Clancy website) that I may put into a report/presentation?

the only material I have found useful on the site so far was:
http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/f...mentation.html

[Les]

I may be way off base here, but 5 years seems pretty young for a rigging system and I wouldn't think it would be due for an inspection by an outside firm just yet. Maybe that's just me -- many spaces have 40+ year old rigging systems which have never been inspected. I'm not advocating that in the least, only using it as a comparison. Of course the frequency and need of inspections heavily depend on your use model, and the nature of the rigging system.

[Sony]

As a general rule of thumb, there should be a system wide rigging inspection a MINIMUM of every year done by qualified personnel. These people could be qualified riggers on staff if your theatre has qualified riggers. If not then you should bring in an outside company, and you should bring in an outside pair of eyes every 5 years regardless, preferably from the company that installed the system originally. As people start getting used to a system from working with it, they may not notice smaller problems as they have gotten used to it being that way. An outside rigger is more likely to notice these issues. Even on a brand new system it still requires an inspection every year.

If your system is considered a system that gets heavy use, such as a system that see's a lot of touring shows or larger Broadway style scenery then the intervals should be reduced to every 6 months and 2-3 years respectively IMO.

[banjokeith]

I know that this is probably not going to apply in your situation, but for anyone else who may read this thread down the road I would really advise getting an outside firm to inspect your newly-installed system before it goes out of warranty. We had a fly system installed in 2005, and in an inspection last year found that several of the supports for our motorized electrics may have been under engineered. Our contract with the installing company guaranteed the work and workmanship for two years, and had we had this report in our hands prior to 2007 it would have been a really easy fix. We are still trying to work out something since this was under designed from the start, but like I said, it would have been rather open and shut three years ago.

I think the same could be suggested for just about any major system installation. The cost of a routine inspection is almost nothing when you look at a $200,000 item.

[BrockTucker]

I recently had an inspection done in my "probably never been inspected since instillation 17 years ago" hemp loft system. Only cost $500 and we got a very detailed report with recommendations for repairs and quotes for materials and labor for those repairs.

Since I'm the person responsible for the upkeep of the system, and would probably be held liable should anyting happen, I told my board I either wanted an inspection or a rather grimly worded resolution passed promising indemnify me of any liability and pay any and all legal fees and settlements should anything ever happen. I never really expected them to pass such a resolution, but it got the point across that $500 was a small price to pay for the safety of everyone that uses the facility.

If it had come down to it, I would rather go back to freelancing than work in a theater where I couldn't reasonably guarantee the safety of the staff and volunteers.

[derekleffew]

Aerial , I realize you're only at the funding stage and not the actual doing, but this might prove useful anyway. Go to ESTA/ETCP, Find Certified Technicians, and contact someone in your area. It's quite possible that the person you contact will not want to assume the liability of performing an inspection, but it's equally or more likely that the person will know who best to contact to do the inspection. Once you have an intended company, they will be glad to assist in preparing your proposal. OTOH, (to steal from a previous CB quote)... Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut.

Just my 2¢.

[Aerial]

Thank you all.

I'll contact some ETCP folks nearby and go from there.

Although it should get the point across, hopefully I won't have to pursue writing up legal paperwork.