Yes, the liability issues of having students up on a
scissor lift is definitely the biggest problem. There would probably have to be multiple levels of consent before students would be allowed to formally participate in lift-access in the theater program.
- parent or guardian consent
- maintenance staff consent
- district administrator consent
- school board consent
If lift-platform access privileges were to be a formal part of the theater program, some sort of rules and policies would need to be written for the student handbook. I would expect that there would have to be extremely strict behavior rules for students on or near the lift
platform:
- No goofing off - no pushing, shoving, or intentional destabilizing of a raised lift with someone on it "as a joke".
- No intetional pushing or fighting with other students near the base of the lift.
- No showing off - no "look at me" acrobatic stunts such as standing on or balancing on the handrails, or doing handstands on the rails
- No leaning over the handrails for any reason. If the lift must be moved to reach something then that is what will be done. (Many scissor lifts can be safely moved in the raised position anyway.)
- No intentional dropping or throwing of objects from the lift platform, such as pens, pencils, coins, books, basketballs
- No intentional swaying/rocking of lift
- No eating or drinking while on lift
- Must have adult supervision present at all times. If a lone adult supervisor must leave the area for any reason, students must disembark and stay off the lift.
- Must receive safety training, explanation of rules, and must pass a graded essay-format test before being permitted to work on the lift platform.
Due to the risk for lawsuits from injuries and the potential for damage to lift equipment and the building itself, I think that it would have to be made very
clear to the students that we are making a special exception by permitting them to work on or near the lift
platform.
Any intentional unsafe activities could result in immediate suspension of height-access privileges and probably also school disciplinary action, if the situation is severe enough.
Irony, rebellion, and doing stuff against the rules behind the backs of adults is very popular amongst high school students, but "I was only joking" can never be an excuse for doing something risky on a lift
platform. The liability and risk of injury from unsafe behaviors is too high to joke about it.
,
In this discussion of allowing students to be way up high on lifts, I would assume that there are similar issues with students working on lighting catwalks and balconies that just have an open tubular
handrail.
So how do high schools with auditoriums handle that? What kind of
safety and disciplinary policies do they have to deal with the issues of students working on catwalks?
Are there any existing student "working at heights"
safety policies that anyone can link to as examples?
,
For me, this is very much a theoretical discussion. I doubt permission for this could get off the
ground without a very formal
safety plan, with example rules and regulations written up in
advance, to present to the school board. Discussion of potentially permitting this activity would most likely end up printed in the local newspaper in the board minutes.
In light of all the formalities of needing to win community and board support for even allowing this, the remote-control ground-steerable
followspot seems to me to be a heck of a lot simpler option.
- Dale Mahalko