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

[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.