@What Rigger?, Devil's advocate. Technically no one has to adhere to this standard. It's non-binding and not likely to be adopted as law by any governing bodies. The only cases where it's binding are if your work falls under the umbrella of a contract specifically referencing this standard, or if you have a
broad interpretation of a contract clause in
effect stating something along the lines of "industry-accepted standards for safe methods and practices".
Fixed that for you.
@BillConnerASTC, not sure if you meant the consequence of this standard is more flying, or if more flying is generally inevitable. Like putting a man on the moon, so now we need to put one on Mars, aerial performances by qualified and unqualified people will only grow more frequent and the existence of this or any other non-binding standard is unlikely to sway that trend in any manner for better or for worse.
For those saying that this will be a great guidebook for unqualified people to learn not to try it themselves, I wouldn't give this or any other
TSP standard that kind of credit. This is a technical standard that gets qualified, industry veterans speaking the same language and setting the same bar for
safety and methodology. It will not be on the radar at all for any amateurs. If they want to try to learn how to do performer flying, they're going to watch YouTube and think "
That doesn't look too hard!". And if you happen to put this standard in front of them, they'll
send you a link to that video and say "
Seriously, now, this isn't rocket science it's not like we're reinventing Cirque."
This is why when I want to tell someone to hire a pro, I
send them
a link to YouTube and
a link to NPR. Especially the link to NPR.
Devil's advocate? Aw man, c'mon...they kicked me outta h3ll 'cause they were afraid I'd take over. So anyhoo...
Technically nobody is required to hire
ETCP electricians and riggers, so we might as well
throw that out, right?
Technically, you don't have to use carabiners that meet
ANSI Z359.1-2007 in the workplace. But good luck with that in a lot of places. Maybe even most places.
And if a
ton of people that are WAY smarter than you or I took over a decade to write this document, surely the whole time they must have been saying "this is all for poops and grins, it isn't going to actually
do anything to improve things". They probably didn't have anything better to do than write this useless stack of fun (the 3
current and/or former bosses of mine that helped write this document might disagree, though. Not to mention the half dozen friends/acquaintances/colleagues that contributed as well).
Here's where I see your
point of view falling
flat: this kind of pro
level stuff
does filter down. Why and how does
ControlBooth exist? For this very reason. You and I know there's all kinds of
gnarly individuals on this board who know their stuff backwards and forwards, and it gets shared with guys like you and me and every other person who ever came here and asked a question and got a solid answer, including but not limited to "hire the pros when you fly". It will take time, but eventually everyone
ups their game because of stuff like this, it will up mine and I hope it
ups yours.
Here's an example for you: in the 70's and 80's, BMX was raced on
flat pedals and everyone wore Vans or something similar. In the 90's some pros started using clipless pedals and the dork shoes that go with them. Use of clipless pedals spread. Nowadays, even kids in 5 year old Novice class races are clipped in, looking for that advantage that guys racing Nationals and the Olympics are using. Guys racing on flats in Vans are anachronisms, holdouts from a past era. (AKA, "me"). However, I'm a sucker for tabletops off driveways, but I digress...
Yes, we in the industry will adopt all of this first, and quickest. And this will drive change throughout the industry. Everybody wants to be the fly guys, and I can't tell you how many people have aped my style and work approach over the years. If my loud, obnoxious self can influence people like that, you bet your hair
gel budget that this standard will do the same thing. It's not a fix all, because idiots reproduce at an alarming rate, but this is absolutely something the entertainment industry has needed for a long time. I'd suggest everyone get used to it, 'cause here we go!
Okay, I gotta go lie down and have some tea or something.