Safety of Wire Rope Rigging with Wood Screw Eyebolts

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding the rigging of lighting truss where I work as the production/technical director. We have two sticks of 8 ft light weight truss in our auditorium each with four LED PARs weighing about 7 lbs each. Counting cable weight and the weight of the truss itself, I would estimate it in the neighborhood of 100 lbs total. I know this is relatively light weight, but the way in which it's rigged to the beams in the attic worries me a bit. The wire rope is threaded through woodscrew style eyebolts, which are then screwed into the beams. From the images, the bolts look like about 3/16", but I can check on that to make sure, if that's helpful. Some of them are vertical, as you can see in the pictures I linked:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10C2ReUPHBYTlXybgesmXI9eJ8tTCBPof?usp=sharing

This was done at least eight years ago - before I worked here. Intuitively, I would think that using wood screw style eyebolts would not be the safe way to go, and that it should be either something that wraps around the beams, or uses some sort of strut. However, I don't have enough specific knowledge to know that for sure, so I wanted to see if I'm just worried about nothing at the relatively low weight that is hung, or if it's a legitimate safety concern. I can certainly provide any more info or images that are helpful.

Thank you!
 
I wouldn’t stand under that. There will be more people that have lots to say for sure. The short answer is no that’s not safe at all.

For the curious what does the wire rope look like on the truss.
 
I would absolutely not stand under that. Not only should that be removed, but every other piece of rigging should be inspected. A certified rigger can give you many suggestions for inexpensive ways to rig, but that isn't it.
 
Thank you for your replies. I've contacted a trusted rigging company (much better than the company who did it originally) already to come and rehang it.

Here is the rigging on the truss itself:

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Thank you for your replies. I've contacted a trusted rigging company (much better than the company who did it originally) already to come and rehang it.

Here is the rigging on the truss itself:

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In no way should this rigging be trusted. If this is rehung result get your money back and report them this is scary.
 
Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding the rigging of lighting truss where I work as the production/technical director. We have two sticks of 8 ft light weight truss in our auditorium each with four LED PARs weighing about 7 lbs each. Counting cable weight and the weight of the truss itself, I would estimate it in the neighborhood of 100 lbs total. I know this is relatively light weight, but the way in which it's rigged to the beams in the attic worries me a bit. The wire rope is threaded through woodscrew style eyebolts, which are then screwed into the beams. From the images, the bolts look like about 3/16", but I can check on that to make sure, if that's helpful. Some of them are vertical, as you can see in the pictures I linked:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10C2ReUPHBYTlXybgesmXI9eJ8tTCBPof?usp=sharing

This was done at least eight years ago - before I worked here. Intuitively, I would think that using wood screw style eyebolts would not be the safe way to go, and that it should be either something that wraps around the beams, or uses some sort of strut. However, I don't have enough specific knowledge to know that for sure, so I wanted to see if I'm just worried about nothing at the relatively low weight that is hung, or if it's a legitimate safety concern. I can certainly provide any more info or images that are helpful.

Thank you!
Run, do not walk, away from this. This is completely unsafe, and I have no problem saying: dangerous to anyone in the room at any time.

Let's make this a quick teachable moment- not at all comprehensive- before I try to nod off for tomorrows 0400 call:
Eye screws are not acceptable, ever. Wood is not acceptable for said eye screws in rigging applications. These eye screws are not forged.
* The eye screws threads have a high probablilty of pulling out of the wood. The wood is not rated for load. These style eye screws can, and will, deform and open up.
The use of wire rope is problematic for several reasons:
* Is there a safety factor considered in the spec of this wire rope? Probably not. What's it's capacity? Manufacturer?
The wire rope clips:
* Incorrect amount of turnback to make the tails, incorrect (and thus, dangerous) installation of wire rope clips, no thimbles in the eyes to protect the wire rope. The wire rope is basketed directly to the truss. Wire rope is also a saw. It will slowly begin to remove material from the truss. Wire rope almost always wins. Your truss may be unusable already.

What I suspect here is that some well meaning dad or facility person "knew what to do !" and went to the local hardware store and bought all sorts of "really strong" stuff, without any actual idea of the considerations necessary to do this safely. @jonathanmdavis, kudos to you for reaching out here, and for making the moves you're making. I would love to see any further pictures just to marvel at what you have unfortunately been saddled with.

Get it taken down, throw it all out and until that happens- lock that room out so nobody goes in and exposes themselves to the risk and hazard this presents. I say this to you sincerely.

Good luck, and keep us updated.
 
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I’m one of those dads that likes to help but does actually know better. I’ve never hung anything as I’ve not been trained. All of my stuff sits on the stage and is probably over built since it’s children’s theater and the thought of making a kid cry…

I find The Chicago Flyhouse videos instructive. This one is about eye bolts.

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Michael
 
I've made arrangements to take down the truss tomorrow, and thankfully we have no events before then.

I totally get all the concerns that everyone has voiced, and from my level of knowledge, I certainly agree as to the various parts of it that weren't done correctly. One thing I did just want to make sure was clear is that the current load is only about 100 pounds. At that light of a load, is it still critical that it be taken down as soon as possible? I would definitely have it rehung anyway as soon as possible, but that may not be possible for several weeks. I am in favor of doing what's right, I just wanted to make sure that it was clear as to what the current weight was.

Regarding the well-meaning dad thing, it was actually a local AV integrator that installed it. I've been displeased with the quality of their work in other areas too.
 
100lb 10lb 1lb doesn’t matter. It’s incorrect. That’s like driving 30 on the highway eventually you will crash as it’s not the correct speed. Take it down.
 
I've made arrangements to take down the truss tomorrow, and thankfully we have no events before then.

I totally get all the concerns that everyone has voiced, and from my level of knowledge, I certainly agree as to the various parts of it that weren't done correctly. One thing I did just want to make sure was clear is that the current load is only about 100 pounds. At that light of a load, is it still critical that it be taken down as soon as possible? I would definitely have it rehung anyway as soon as possible, but that may not be possible for several weeks. I am in favor of doing what's right, I just wanted to make sure that it was clear as to what the current weight was.

Regarding the well-meaning dad thing, it was actually a local AV integrator that installed it. I've been displeased with the quality of their work in other areas too.

Based on your pictures here is what they probably used from Home Depot:

Thread Screw Eye.jpg


According to the supplier there is no weight rating for it
Question.jpg


And according to this review someone used it to hang a circle swing for their kids and it snapped under load.
Review.jpg


Granted your truss isn't a dynamic load like the circle swing is, but with 6 of those eyes holding 100lbs in the air with what looks like incorrectly terminated wire rope it is really just a matter of time. Two strong techs in a scissor lift could probably rip that truss out of the ceiling with their bare hands.
 
I've made arrangements to take down the truss tomorrow, and thankfully we have no events before then.

I totally get all the concerns that everyone has voiced, and from my level of knowledge, I certainly agree as to the various parts of it that weren't done correctly. One thing I did just want to make sure was clear is that the current load is only about 100 pounds. At that light of a load, is it still critical that it be taken down as soon as possible? I would definitely have it rehung anyway as soon as possible, but that may not be possible for several weeks. I am in favor of doing what's right, I just wanted to make sure that it was clear as to what the current weight was.

Regarding the well-meaning dad thing, it was actually a local AV integrator that installed it. I've been displeased with the quality of their work in other areas too.
Hey @jonathanmdavis, to address your thoughts here:
Yes, take it down now. The load on it right now does not matter. There is no way to know what, if any, load factors were taken into consideration when putting this up. The entire thing is a guess, and a poor guess at that. Your asking if immediate removal is really necessary seems benign- but this sort of justification is what exposes yourself and others to risk. You're literally pre-making excuses for why something that you yourself find to be hazardous could still be used. This is the sort of fallacious thinking that causes injuries. Don't fall for it.

Or, as I tell people frequently: do you feel you would be comfortable standing up in front of an OSHA inquiry, or worse, a jury of your peers and defending your line of thinking and actions?

You know you want to take this thing down, and now. Listen to that voice in the back of your head- it is telling you the right thing to do. And if you are also thinking: "Ugh. Making this safe is inconvenient and a real pain.", congratulations! You-are-SO-correct. We all live with that, at all levels. But we're not going to risk the life cost , (or the financial cost), just to make our day easier, right? Right!

Go get 'em!
 
Jonathan,

This reminds me a little of the brown M&Ms in the rider; the bigger problem is with what it tells you. And this tells me that whoever hung this didn't know what they were doing. If they didn't know what they were doing, what other problems might there be that aren't obvious in a photo on the web?
 

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