Are you the safety guy?

[Mike Schenck]

I've decided that I want to be that "guy", that "safety" guy. Thankfully I've never been involved in an accident at work but I'm still aware that it's probably just a matter of time. I'm choosing to be proactive and stay ahead of the hazards. This looks like a great place to look for resources and have a discussion about this topic.


So to start off, how many of you consider yourself the safety guy?

What have your experiences been like? I know some of you must have encountered some form of push back, even though it makes so much sense to do things the right way.

Is it mostly jokes? Money issues? Complacency? What is the biggest obstacle you find on your path to a safer shop, safer rig, safer show?


-Mike

 

[DaveySimps]

Welcome Mike. I moved this thread to the Safety forum so it is posted in the proper place.

~Dave

 

[MNicolai]

Is it mostly jokes? Money issues? Complacency? What is the biggest obstacle you find on your path to a safer shop, safer rig, safer show?

People who have a way of doing things the way that they've done them for a number of years who believe that because they've survived their experiences reasonably well that there is no need to fix what they don't believe is broken.

 

[jcslighting]

I would say complacency. As has already been stated lots of folks think something bad won't happen just because it hasn't. Folks get cozy doing things the wrong way especially if its easier or cheaper. Often times you even hear "we have always done things this way and have never had a problem!" - it only takes one "problem" to cost an unfortunate victim life or limb.

 

[AlecIrwin]

I think that in regards to safety in the theater it is vitally important to make a distinction between rules for "safety" and rules for more operational purposes, or preference of the director. I have seen many directors who give a list of instructions in regards to hanging lights and have a huge list of procedures that you HAVE to follow. I.E. "The clamp must face you, and the safety cable MUST go on first, and you MUST use this size wrench and you MUST be wearing this size shoe..." sort of thing. I think that when you give instructions like that you add a lot more room to forget about the things that are REALLY important. Even though it is more convenient to some technicians when the fixture is hung with the bolt facing them, it is not a rule worth being a stickler about when the important part is that the fixture is properly fastened.

TL;DR, Some rules are much more important than others, but yes.

In regards to general recklessness, I think there is absolutely no excuse, but you also can't deny the fact that "sometimes" you can get away with it. For example, in regards to a student refusing to wear safety goggles when using a saw because "you probably won't get hurt," rather than being dramatic about it, my approach would simply be, "You can do whatever you like when you work in your own shop, but if you want to work in mine, these are my rules." Rather than give a lecture on how it's unsafe, and have to deal with an argument, the message is clear, simple, and keeps your people safe.

 

[MichaelPHS]

Safety in our performance spaces is a BIG deal to me. Especially since our school's Health and Safety exec makes it up as she goes. For an example of me personally, she said I can't take a whiteboard down (no more than 3-4 kg?) incase I drop it on my toe (in steelies I might add) but EXPECTED me to move rostra units which wheigh a god deal more. Or even for a recent performance and we had to strike and re-erect our scaf tower to move it to the min hall, I quite rightly asked do we have a PASMA holder to be present so its all legal, no-one on site has a license yet, and I quote now, "I was under the impression you would be doing it). In the end, I did do it, but only after getting a friend from another venue who is a PASMA holder to come in to help out. I've now decided, with the support of the Head of Drama, to ignore her and to do things right, rather as she says they should be done.

Moaning aside, I've gone over so much of the safety issue with students in the first week that they wern't even aware of that would be an issue. With the aid of 2 of our caretakers I even demonstrated (using approriate safety equipment and mats, only from 2 foot off the ground) why you shouldn't climb the outside of a Scaf tower and showed them a video demonstrating of the dangers of tangled cable overheating. ombined with some horror stories I've heard, needless to say most of them do it correctly now

 

[What Rigger?]

Just brace yourself: you're going to be hated. Don't stop. And as the saying goes: if someone hates you, good. You stood up for something once. Might have been Churchill said that. Might have been Jay-Z. Doesn't matter. Just be ready for when it comes and don't stop.

 

[gafftaper]

Just brace yourself: you're going to be hated. Don't stop. And as the saying goes: if someone hates you, good. You stood up for something once. Might have been Churchill said that. Might have been Jay-Z. Doesn't matter. Just be ready for when it comes and don't stop.

While many will hate you for it, some will respect you for it. If you can find an employer who truly values safety, you will excel because you are the safety guy. So it can be a long battle until you find that one place that gets it.

 

[TheaterEd]

When I took the job at this school one year ago and took over as Auditorium Manager I got a pretty decent amount of kick back from the seniors and their current 'TD' (art teacher with no prior theatrical experience) with regards to safety. They were used to having little to no adult supervision and the teacher who was supervising was more of a friend to them than a person in charge. The seniors are gone, he lost is job and now I am the now Tech Director (aka I take care of everything other than the actors and the costumes) The underclassmen from last year got used to the safety procedures I put in place, and with last year's seniors not hanging around and complaining about having to wear shoes, things have turned around for the program. We bought proper safety glasses so they have no reason to complain about wearing them, and it is getting to the point that my students are more safety conscious than I am.

Set the rules, explain why they exist, and enforce them. The hardest part for me is following my own rules and setting a good example

I should add that since I started, our crew has almost doubled and the kids are producing better sets than most of them have ever seen before.

Goal for next year, MANDATORY field trips to see professional theater. These kids don't know what they've been missing!

 

[Lextech]

Yep people here have problems with me because I enforce the rules. The Gallery manager really got upset when I made her and the student with her come down in the Genie lift. "We are under the weight limit" she said. One person lift, two in it. Should have seen the thing swing when one of them reacted to the other one moving. The worst part of my situation is that the only death on campus in the line of work was in the theater here. I occasionally have to remind people of that, but sometimes its the only way they listen.

 

[TheaterEd]

The day I take the orchestra pit cover off this year I plan to sit the cast and crew down and read them five or six news stories about people dying from falling into pits. Last year my senior run lead decided to 'test' the safety net the Friday before tech week. I had to remove her from the show and she was kicked out of drama club. It killed me to do it, but If I let it slide even once I would very quickly have a HUGE problem on my hands. Made me quite unpopular with the other seniors, but for the most part the kids understood. She actually has come back several times this year to say hi to me and she still attends our shows when she can.

TL;DR Kicked a kid out for being unsafe. She got over it and doesn't hate me anymore.

 

[JonasA]

I'm completely the safety guy when working with high school students at my old school (where I frequently end up as none of the kids really knows what they're doing). At least with kids, I think a lot of it comes from not being aware of just how dangerous some stuff can be. I mean, you look at their reference points: You're not very likely to get killed sitting on the school bus, plugging in your laptop or heating up dinner in the microwave, so why would you be likely to get killed/maimed/harmed at all in a theatre?

Frequently lack of use of safety chains means that I'm looking at making a fake head, filling it with something slightly gruesome and letting them watch as a Source 4 falls onto it from the grid. No lecture (they've heard it all before), no explanation, just the sight of a 9kg fixture destroying what could easily be theirs, or their best mate's head. Messy? Yes. Memorable? I damn well hope so.

 

[josh88]

Maybe just something of an approximate weight, rather than something that would damage a fixture. That's probably a less expensive example.


Via tapatalk

 

[teqniqal]

Leading by example is important. Getting buy-in from everyone else is difficult, so making them part of the process is key. Don't just tell them 'don't do this', 'do this' - involve them in the analysis if the hazard and the development of a 'safer way' to achieve the goal. There shouldn't be a 'safety guy (or gal)', safety is everybody's responsibility. One way to achieve this is to see that all aspects of your curriculum and operations involve a discussion of safety as it pertains to the subject matter (this includes all of the instructors and administrators, too). A question on a test, a side bar about costumes, a discussion of actor orientation for a fight scene, the selection of construction materials, house management, stage management, shop management, directing, etc. - each and every step we take in the theatre process has safety implications, so discuss them openly and give credit for knowing it and using it. Does a student need some bonus points? Have them write a report about some safety element and present it to the class. Don't add safety on to everything, integrate it into everything.

 

[themuzicman]

Just brace yourself: you're going to be hated. Don't stop. And as the saying goes: if someone hates you, good. You stood up for something once. Might have been Churchill said that. Might have been Jay-Z. Doesn't matter. Just be ready for when it comes and don't stop.

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Jay-Z!

But seriously, 5 years ago if someone told me to be safer or called me out on working unsafe I laughed at them. A year of rough touring and 5 workers comp claims later and now I'm the guy who's all about safety, but luckily I now work in a theater where everyone's first priority is safety.

Call out what you think is unsafe, whenever you see it, and be able to back up why it is unsafe and then be able to figure out how to fix it. You may not be able to fix it on the spot, but next time you're in the same scenario know how to go about doing it safer and better. The safe way take longer, but that time is worth a life!