Fire, melted plastic, and other everyday occurences

[dcollins]

So we've wrapped up our latest production and realized that, after the first show where we had a separate Master Electrician and Safety Officer position (the former usually being the lighting designer and the latter usually simply being the manager on duty) my department has managed to destroy a record high amount of equipment.

During tech week, we found a stage pin outlet that had burnt gaff tape on the business end, that must have been touching the hot and been burned.

Probably 2-3 twofers with a not-properly-attached end, resulting in bad connections and in one case a head that simply pulled off the twofer.

Striplights attached to an electric with the C-clamp upside down...and safetied in not the right way...

Color scrollers with blackwrap covering the vents...

Anyways, worst of all, about 10 outlets, all on the same electric, where corners of the outlet had been visibly melted. As in, more outlets than we had instruments on that electric...

We also learned some chemistry...our set designer learned (the unpleasant fumes-in-the-shop way) that mineral spirits eats through solo cups. That was a fun 15 minutes outside in the cold.

So yeah. Carelessness, mostly. This is a college production, not professional, mind you, but still I'd certainly expect more vigilance from the crew (myself absolutely included). Apart from banging safety concerns into everyone's head, what do you find that you need to do to enforce safety in your productions? Does it happen on its own, do you need to inspect every piece of work, or something in between?

 

[JackMVHS]

wow. I find this surprising for a college level production.

I am in a high school where the crew is basically all student run, but everyone knows how to treat the equipment and keep it maintained and used correctly. I don't see how this could happen at a college.

It seems as if you need to give the crew a few proper lessons in safety and procedures and then have someone make sure it is followed!

good luck in the future, hopefully you can make some changes!

EDIT: I am in charge of the crew at my school and I try to teach the basics to all the tech and light crews and then check the work myself to make sure it has been done correctly.

 

[mstaylor]

I'm not sure what your position in the college is but the tech instructors need to go through your theatre and identify problems and solutions before another production. Once you have your two lists, then you can either fix them or enlists some of the students to help. It will teach them the proper way to do things and what it should look like. On your next production you need to have a come together with your techs so they know what is expected at that level.

 

[JChenault]

I am a firm believer in having a culture where every worker tries to make things safe instead of some official person checking for safety.

However I am not sure I would classify all of your items as unsafe. Some of them might be hard on equipment ( covering vent holes with black wrap) - some of them might be messy ( letting a pin plug with a piece of gaff tape on it get too close to a heat source) and some of them might pose a safety hazard ( problem with safety cable).

I would first suggest that you consider your crew. Did they do these things out of ignorance ( I did not know that covering the vent hole would be a problem) or carelessness ( I did not know that I had covered up the vent hole ) or purposefully ( I had to cover up the vent hole to stop the light leak - and I could not get the ladder back to fix it).

For whatever reason the error, I would suggest that a regular post mortem after each production where you discuss all of the issues that anyone has seen in a non-judgmental way would be a good way to proceed. Illuminate what was bad, and share the mistake with everyone in a non judgmental way. Celebrate what was done well. If an error was purposeful - be ready to talk about trade offs and have an alternative way to get what needed to be done accomplished (IE it might not have been an error ). Visual aids ( like the broken two-fers are good). Pose the question 'Is this something we need to worry about - and if so what will we do about it).

Good luck.

 

[mstaylor]

Danderous is dangerous. Sme of the things listed in the OP was just hard on equipment but improper rigging or broken electrical connections need to be adddressed. I agree that a post mortem is a great thing to do, even if everything went well. If there are problems then you need to look at things and find solutions. Whether the instructor tells the kids or gives them the chance to give suggestions, solutions need to be found. Sometimes teachers need to teach, other times it is better to let the students find their way.