johnlinford

While the details are still unclear around this, it would seem there had been some reports of issues with firearm safety on the set which resulted in some of the camera crew walking off set. It should also be noted that terminology can be a little confusing - a blank will often be referred to as a "live round" as opposed to an inert firearm.

If it's on the studio floor generally 1200mm is the standard as there could be a lot of people there depending what's going on. If it's eg grid access then it depends how many people are allowed up there and should be risk assessment based.

Depending on the nature of the equipment, respectfully, I disagree. If I have concerns about a structure, I engage a structural engineer to come and analyse the structure to tell me the load bearing capacity or if it is sound - they don't need to have been the architect or the designer of the structure to be able to do this. Anyone competent and experienced to perform a LOLER and scaffolding inspection should be able to competently analyse the structure and provide a suitable report of it's condition to satisfy the requirements of that legislation. A couple of LOLER inspectors used toI work with did everything from flying irons and theatre safety curtains to oil rigs - the mechanical and structural implications of damage to an alloy tube acting as a vertical supporting member, or a fraying steel wire rope are applicable across applications of technology. I would also expect any custom machinery to have as part of its design and delivery a comprehensive instruction manual that informs the user/client how to use it and ensure that is is safe. A significant part of the exercise of LOLER inspections is transfer of liability as much as it is a way of protecting workers from being forced to use battered kit as far as those paying for them are concerned!

I'd suggest looking at outfits that hire studio backline near you. I've hired from John Henry's in london in the past; have a feeling it's not cheap though. They're essentially just thick bits of clear perspex so one option might be a deal with a local plastic manufacturer and then bolting sheets to the front of whatever deck the band are on.

I'm slightly puzzled by some of the replies here in terms of overnight etc - surely the Iron is regarded as a crucial part of fire compartmentalisation and protection for the building and should therefore be in-place at all times when there is no requirement for the stage to be in use (overnight/during the day when the theatre is dark etc) - even during big fitups to avoid dust contamination of the auditorium can be good! Unless of course your FRA has deemed that the compartmentalisation is no longer necessary. I know many older theatres when Irons were manually operated and based on a counterweight system had a second exterior handle to operate them if needed.

I believe Eurobeat are now using an app, but the original Edinburgh show when it was in the UK (going back to 2010!) used SMS messages to an aggregating service that was then monitored by a website and the figures put in to an excel spreadsheet. Bit antiquated but more bullet proof with bandwidth!