The Interface of Management and Safety

[Mutton]

For my Theatre Organization and Management Course I'm doing a research
paper on a topic of my choosing. I'm interested in safety, but as it
an Organization and Management course I cannot merely talk about using
the proper hardware. I'm attempting to investigate the interface of
technician and management on the topic of safety.

As of now I'm looking into the following.

-The differences in this relationship of technician and management on
both the 'amateur' high school level and the professional level.

-Response of management to technician requests regarding safety. "We
can't do it with X we need Y." "We can't do it in X time we need Y
time." on both amateur and professional levels.

-Safety hazards caused by ignorance of management. e.g. The middle
school in my district didn't know enough to inspect the rigging
system. Untrained custodians land acoustic 'clouds' to adjust them
leaving a few hundred pounds of counterweight up in the air. At one
point enough slack in a lift line allowed it to hop off the head
block. (This issue has since been identified, letters have been
written, issue dealt with) How widespread are issues like this?

-How management has to respond to an incident. What happens after a
stage collapse. What about an incident at a high school?

So in short, what are you personal experiences with your interface to
management on the topic of safety? Good, bad, split?

I'm still honing my topic so wherever the discussion goes from here
will be interesting.
Thanks everyone.

ps, do we have anyone from J.R. Clancy floating around? I'd like to talk
about your Scary Rigging Photos of the week.

 

[ruinexplorer]

I definitely think that you need to narrow your focus a bit. There is a difference in the level of safety and how it is practiced in an educational setting or a professional setting as well as permanent structures and temporary structures. There is a difference in knowing personal safety (that which the technician is required to know) and what is required of the management.

You may want to consider researching OSHA for what is required for the employee to know and what is required for the employer to provide for a save workplace. In addition, I would recommend that you check with the department of labor for safe practices for a training program. Many of the practices in theater would be considered hazardous and prevent students from performing the tasks at all. However, as with many technical trades, there is provision for the school to provide training with proper supervision and working hours. In addition, you should research what is required for places of assembly and the safety practices to which must be adhered for those as well.

Unfortunately, most administrators do not know how to even keep their office space in compliance with OSHA, let alone having knowledge of safe practices in the theater. As part of there requirement for a safe place of employment, they are required to provide training to their employees. In many professional settings, the majority of the tech staff are temporary workers, making it impractical to spend time training the technicians the proper safety.

When I was a technical director of a road house, I offered safety courses to any stagehand who wanted to work for me. They would take a test at the end of the call. If they passed the test, then they could be paid at a higher rate (took a bit of convincing of upper management to get this). No one was allowed into areas where fall protection was required unless they had taken my course. No one was allowed to use the man-lift without being trained. This also provided those same technicians additional work when hired by outside companies who used the space (we could not dictate who was hired, just what tasks must be trained in house).

 

[Footer]

Forget the HS level stuff, that will really do you little good. While the information is great and all to have, it really is not going to be beneficial to you in the future.

What I would look at a bit closer is how safety interfaces with the venue itself, the crew/staff working in it, the talent onstage, the management of said venue, the vendors providing gear, and finally the promoter/producer of the show. MANY of the issues we have had in the last few years are due to a breakdown between these groups. Each of these groups have very different expectations and making everyone happy and keeping a safe work environment is a constant battle. If I were you, I would dive in to how these groups affect each other and how best for the groups to work together to ensure a safe day for everyone involved.

Granted, most of the serious issues in places are due to pure ignorance. That is something that will not go away any time soon, especially in local school venues. However, your not preparing to enter those areas, so I would just ignore them and concentrate on the real world.

 

[mstaylor]

I agree with Kyle, forget the high school factor and stick with either college level or pro level theatres. The reason I mention college is many colleges hire students to either work non theatre but college produced events or as hands for outside rentals. It also may give a stronger frame of reference, considering that is the level you are working currently.

 

[teqniqal]

I'll take issue with the posters discounting the need for considerations of safety issues in the K-12 environment. Safety issues at these facilities are even more important than at the college level and professional level. This is for several reasons:

1. Children have a less developed sense of hazard recognition and awareness of the abstract potential for injury to themselves or others.

2. The persons responsible for the welfare of children have an extra-duty to protect those under their care, and in order to do that they must be trained to recognize hazards and understand how to initiate the hazard mitigation process.

3. Both children and those responsible for them can use each and every hazard encounter as an educational opportunity to explain how the world works and how their environment can affect their livelihood. Teaching Students, and therefore, those that are doing the teaching must also be educated in the subject, provides a set of life skills that almost any employer would require of them in the workplace. Learning about safety is a basic life skill.

4. Learning how to address safety concerns in a rational and thoughtful manner provides the student and teachers with interpersonal skills that will be useful in other walks of life. One must be able to address unpopular subjects and disarm conflicts that might arise from safety related situations.

5. Learning about safety from the perspective of what is expected of the individual and how their actions, or in-actions, might affect the lives of those around them builds respect and empathy, further life skills that are important in survival and caring for our fellow workers. Let us prepare students to be safer workers when they advance into the collegiate and professional workplace.