Stupid Front of House Lights

[lightbyfire]

Van

I completely agree. I was not very clear, I think that saftey devices should be used, but not relied on. saftey devices are there just in case, not as a better way to accomplish a task. I was under the impression that they were thinking of using a harness as a lift device (bosuns seat style) which would be incredibly dangerous without proper training. Using a harness to lift a person off the ground to access hard to reach places is what I am advising against, that is what a suspension system is designed for. But if they intend to use it as a saftey device on scafolding or lift equipment then yes even without proper knowledge it is always best to use a harnes if you are working at height.

I completely agree that training should be sought, including proper saftey devices. and most harness come with directions on proper fitting and uses. (such as compliance in a can) http://www.northernsafety.com/cart/...=Compliance+in+a+Can+Fall+Protection&ovtac=PI

 

[Van]

Ah I misunderstood. Using a harness to haul somone up on would be a bad idea, and uncomfortable to boot. Wearing a harness while in a bosuns chair = good idea, only relatively uncomfortable. Buying scaffolding with apropriate leveling hardware and wearing a harness = Very good idea, moderatly uncomfortable.
Sorry 'bout the confusion

 

[cue1go]

In our house, the front of house truss flies in and out on chain hoists. For focusing it and for doing anything on the Row Q trapeze, we have a large A-frame extension ladder. It takes some getting used to, and is not for those afraid of heights. It gets the job done though.

Look at this one:
http://www.wernerladder.com/catalog/details.php?series_id=137

Good Luck

 

[blsmn]

http://www.professionalequipment.com/xq/ASP/ProductID.2116/id.11/subID.424/qx/default.htm
If you can afford the $665 price tag, this looks perfect for you.

I second this suggestion. I have an identical situation except that the FOH instruments are not on a batten - they are on permanent pipes bolted into beams. The Little Giant straddles the seats and with the ability to set each leg at different heights easily overcomes the raked floor to keep the ladder level. Plus that the thing is sturdy as hell. Check see if there is a dealer in your area who might bring one in for you to try out.

 

[highschooltech]

Break out the little giant. Or a lift with a stradle kit or an articulating boom lift.

 

[SHARYNF]

the problem with the ladder is that there is the tendancy to try to reach just that bit further to adjust the next instrument without going down, moving the ladder, and that is where the danger lies.
Sharyn

 

[burgesg]

In our auditorium, the front of house lights are directly above audience chairs. (about the 6th row from front) There is no catwalk or anything leading to them. They are connected to a fly, and so the only way we have to focus them is to fly it in, guess on where the light will be, then fly them out. There is no way to focus and point the lights while they are hung at the right height. They used to raise a guy with a harness, but now they can't do that. We thought of maybe putting a giant flat board out, and then calculating all the angles out, but the board would have to be HUGE, and the other techs don't want to do that. It is also harder because, they don't always bring it up to the same hieght. (sometimes 17' or 18' or even 20'10")
Is there maybe some other way to fix this that we haven't thought of.
Or, should we just try to measure on the floor of the auditorium, try to ignore the seating, and calculate in the slope? (that would be REALLY retarded.)
Or, we could just continue guessing and correcting...
Any suggestions or thoughts would help...
Thanks

I havent read the other replies to this topic so other people would have probably mentioned these solutions already. At our Junior School (where i also help out) we have exactly the same problemt. However, the seats are removable. We use a genie on weekends and after school to put up and focus the lights, and scafollding. We have also bought three Macs (moving lights) so we have some variable spots whcih we can control from the bord.

 

[Chris15]

Quick question, slightly off topic. Down here, Workcover mandates that any work at a height whereby one's feet are more than 2 metres from the ground requires fall protection of some description. This means that theoretically if your feet are more than 2 metres up a lader you need a harness or the like. The question I have is what is the situation elsewhere? Does OHSA etc. have anything to say about it?

 

[soundlight]

Unfortunately, OSHA (to the best of my knowledge) does not cover kids who are in tech theater programs at middle and high schools.

 

[Chris15]

Nor does Workcover... students are not generally employees. If I recall correctly, OHSA does not apply to government organisations over there. Down here, Workcover does. Regardless of the technicalities of whether the rules are actually binding over school students, can they not and should they not be taken as good guidelines regardless?

 

[soundlight]

I agree that they should be taken as guidelines regardless, but some schools don't enforce the guidelines.

I have to go in and re-focus all of my high school's front of house position in early January, and I will be borrowing scaffolding that I can roll between the seats. I will also try to get a hold of a harness for the job. Actually, the general idea is to take all of the lights down, clean them, steel wool the shutters to get some of the rust off of them, replace some bulbs, and all that fun stuff.

 

[burgesg]

Quick question, slightly off topic. Down here, Workcover mandates that any work at a height whereby one's feet are more than 2 metres from the ground requires fall protection of some description. This means that theoretically if your feet are more than 2 metres up a lader you need a harness or the like. The question I have is what is the situation elsewhere? Does OHSA etc. have anything to say about it?

Well, at my school here in England as long as we are supervised we can work at hights - but our parents have to have a permission slip.

 

[Chris15]

Just to clarify, the 2 metre rule is legally binding on employees, and not on students, but you will find most schools here will apply the same rule to students for the sake of reducing liability, else they will just outright ban students from climbing ladders.

 

[PhantomD]

else they will just outright ban students from climbing ladders.

And we are in the same position with our Front of House FOH lighting bar!

 

[Pie4Weebl]

dumb question, but if you are in a genie, 24' in the air and it tips over with you in it, what good is the harness going to do?

 

[SHARYNF]

same as with the ladder, all it does is make it easier for the EMT's to find you ;-)
Sharyn

 

[Thranduil]

A couple of comments.

1) we have a similar situation in our little theater where all three of our FOH pipes are bolted to the cealing, 25-30 feet up. However, we have a aframe, so its not a problem.

2) On the liability factor. In the state of califroina OSHA says its illegal to be more than 7 feet of the ground on a ladder with out a harness unless you are going to a location, such as a catwalk.

3) On the liability factor, part 2: In the state of california OSHA says its illegal to use an A-Frame on wheels in a theater(i think they also would prefer you didnt use a normal aframe), you have to use a genie and the outriggers must be on.

4) Theres a grandfather clause or something, but I know UC berkeley recently had an A Frame tip and OSHA came and walked out the stage door with their aframes and told them to get genies.

5) Alot of school districts dont know about theater laws and regulations. Hence, they may not know any of the above things. THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE OR REASON TO USE AN AFRAME. THEY CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS, ESP IF YOU ARE INEXPIERNCED WITH USING THEM.

I would say scaffolding is a idea, and stick a spike on the arbors guide so you know what trim should be. In addition, play around for a day with it and you will be able to figuer out what corrosponds to what when your at ground level to trim.

 

[Van]

dumb question, but if you are in a genie, 24' in the air and it tips over with you in it, what good is the harness going to do?

I agree with Sharyn it makes it easier to find the body. Interestingly enough, When they were re-modeling the Portland airport a few years ago, a floor of the parking garage collapsed and I beleive it was 3-5 workers that were killed. They were all obeying OSHA regs and were harnessed onto the steel they were working on. 3 guys that were working on the same piece of steel but who were not tied off to the steel were able to jump off the collapsing i-beam and lived with only minor injuries. The case actually prompted a short lived review by OSHA of the harness requirements.

 

[Radman]

Quick question, slightly off topic. Down here, Workcover mandates that any work at a height whereby one's feet are more than 2 metres from the ground requires fall protection of some description. This means that theoretically if your feet are more than 2 metres up a lader you need a harness or the like. The question I have is what is the situation elsewhere? Does OHSA etc. have anything to say about it?

"Unprotected sides and edges." Each employee on a walking/working surface (horizontal and vertical surface) with an unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level shall be protected from falling by the use of guardrail systems, safety net systems, or personal fall arrest systems."

More Information

 

[dvlasak]

It is true that OSHA regs do not apply to other government agencies. (It seems that they don't care about us.) However, the school district's insurance company surely does care!! The insurance company should be coming in once or twice a year to do a thorough inspection of the facility and ask questions about how things are done. I get "grilled" by the inspector for the insurance carrier for my school district twice a year.
Again, I am going to make a plug for Dr. Randall Davidson's (known in the industry as Dr. Doom) book, Practical Health and Safety Guidelines for School Theater Operations. Practical Health and Safety Guidelines for School Theater Operations is a brand new text book with several eye-opening safeguards and recommendations and when used can help prevent liability and litigation. The material may be startling to some, but the author’s hope is that it will be a major wakeup call to all who work in and administer school performing arts activities. It is a must-have and must-read for all schools, theaters and any facility with an auditorium. It is especially useful to health and safety officers, risk managers, insurance carriers and personal liability lawyers. This book ultimately saves lives by mitigating hazards. This book applies to ALL LEVELS of theater, not just secondary schools.
I also want to put in a plug for ISETSA. The mission of the International Secondary Education Theatre Health and Safety Association (ISETSA) is to promote standards of health and safety practices in theatre and theatre education. We do (I am a member of this group) this primarily by connecting students, educators, technical experts and practioners with each other. Dr. Doom is also associated with this organization.
Those of us in technical theater need to constantly be thinking about safety to not only keep us safe as we work, but also all those that persons who use the space safe!!

Dennis

Oops - I forgot to post the links. www.isetsa.org or the book website: www.theaterhealthandsafetybook.com