Ok, this is something that is well, starting to get on my nerves. I work in many theaters and venues in the New York area under the direction of older TDs, stagehands, LDs, etc. At these venues, we are commonly rigging or working at height. Being typically the younger and more agile once of the bunch, I typically offer and am happy to be the one to strap up, throw on my harness and work, whether it be climbing truss, rigging, working on the grid, going up in the lift, typical dangerous stuff that you SHOULD have a harness on for.
Now OSHA standards regulate working at height very carefully and stipulates very exactingly when a harness should and shouldn't be used. Personally, I always wear my harness when applicable. Here is the issue: many older technicians and supervisors, and even some younger ones don't, and will criticize you for wearing a harness. I can distinctly recall two occasions when I was about to climb truss and start a focus when an LD or TD said, half jokingly "oh, you don't need one of those [harness], just get up there". Now, I know that they were kidding around, to an extent, but it allows insight into what they think of as safe and necessary.
No I understand that when many of them started out, OSHA regs were not as strict and that OSHA didn't regulate theater heavily, however one would sort of expect and hope that as many of them have seen their friends and co-workers fall and become injured or die when they have not been clipped in properly or flat out not been wearing their harness, they would wise up and adjust to the new OSHA standards.
Moreover, all of the venues are checked yearly to make sure that they are complying with OSHA standards. I know venues who will only put their harnesses up in the grid or lower their retracting lanyards for ladders when OSHA comes for their inspection, as opposed to having it available for technicians to use at any time. I find this irresponsible, lazy, and extremely unsafe. YES, there are situations when your up on a truss and you've got to do some crazy maneuver to fix that instrument, and you know if you didn't have the stupid lanyard on, or you weren't fighting with webbing and biners at your waist, you could get the job done faster. However, isn't your life more important than getting it done faster?
What do you all think about this?
Now OSHA standards regulate working at height very carefully and stipulates very exactingly when a harness should and shouldn't be used. Personally, I always wear my harness when applicable. Here is the issue: many older technicians and supervisors, and even some younger ones don't, and will criticize you for wearing a harness. I can distinctly recall two occasions when I was about to climb truss and start a focus when an LD or TD said, half jokingly "oh, you don't need one of those [harness], just get up there". Now, I know that they were kidding around, to an extent, but it allows insight into what they think of as safe and necessary.
No I understand that when many of them started out, OSHA regs were not as strict and that OSHA didn't regulate theater heavily, however one would sort of expect and hope that as many of them have seen their friends and co-workers fall and become injured or die when they have not been clipped in properly or flat out not been wearing their harness, they would wise up and adjust to the new OSHA standards.
Moreover, all of the venues are checked yearly to make sure that they are complying with OSHA standards. I know venues who will only put their harnesses up in the grid or lower their retracting lanyards for ladders when OSHA comes for their inspection, as opposed to having it available for technicians to use at any time. I find this irresponsible, lazy, and extremely unsafe. YES, there are situations when your up on a truss and you've got to do some crazy maneuver to fix that instrument, and you know if you didn't have the stupid lanyard on, or you weren't fighting with webbing and biners at your waist, you could get the job done faster. However, isn't your life more important than getting it done faster?
What do you all think about this?