Ground Support Collapse in Turkey

[Liam FitzG]

I have looked around and I don't think that this story has been featured here already... I was sent this link by a friend who frequents this other forum.

 

http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/15554/4251/

 

They seem to have tried to bodge a roof onto a ground support system, then it rained and a lake developed, after that it was only a mater of time.

 

Liam

[chrispuxley]

Thanks for that. Nice to get a candid report on something like this.

[Guest lightnix]

True, but it would be even nicer if HISTORY DIDN'T KEEP BL00DY REPEATING ITSELF over and over a-bl00dy-gain

 

I haven't read the links, BTW; that's just what a quickly-scanned search for "collapse" turned up in these forums alone. That's the seventh so far since the Blue Room was launched - which makes roughly one every six months. There have been several others; I'm reliably informed that such reports are "fairly commonplace" on other forums (why not in here? Any chance we could start spreading news of these incidents a little more widely, chaps?). There was an H&S presentation at a PSA conference a few years ago, which featured a truss collapse in Germany. IIRC there had been much truss, lighting, sound and other Heavy Things hanging over the audience and the whole lot came down of its own accord, over a period of 20-30 seconds, barely two minutes after the punters had cleared the venue.

 

A subsequent investigation revealed that the main supporting member of the mother grid had been overloaded...

 

by...

 

350%

 

:o

 

Sorry, but I feel a bit of a rant coming on here - I'll try to keep it gentle; although I'm not going to pull any punches, either :** laughs out loud **:

 

Why do these things happen? :huh:

 

Why do they happen again and again?? :huh:

 

And again??? :huh:

 

Is it just because of mangement greed and incompetence???? :huh:

 

Or is it as much to do with the meek compliance of the crews????? :huh: :huh:

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to dis the man who started the thread over there. I thoroughly respect, admire and take off both my hat and shades (a rare tribute, especially in this beautiful weather) to him for sticking his neck out and telling the tale (with some superb illustrations to boot) B-)

 

Even so...

 

It seems that every time I hear a story like this (and I've heard a few), certain patterns seem to emerge...

 

"I didn't like the look of it from the start..."

"I thought something wasn't quite right when I saw..."

"I knew that what I was doing, wasn't exactly 'by the book', as it were; but the show had to go on..."

 

So why did you stay? Why did you help it to continue?? Because you felt it was your "duty"??? Because "there are always variables and these things sometimes unfortunately happen"????

 

Or was it simply because you / we / I are / am just as vain, shallow, greedy, short-termist, cheap and nasty as any promoter, producer, director or company owner? :unsure:

 

Or maybe you subscribe to the utterly ridiculous superstition, that if you say "No", even once, even under your breath, to anybody even remotely higher up the Food Chain than you, you will never, ever work for anybody in showbusiness, in any capacity, not even a gofer, ever, ever, ever again.

 

Be honest, now.

 

Please chaps, take the red pill ;)

 

OK, I'll admit that once upon a time I was the just the same; but I can honestly say that nowadays, I would have started to pack my bags the second I heard the truss make a seriously funny noise and in a taxi on my way back to the airport once it had come down (having paused briefly to grab a few souvenir photos) and God help / Devil take anyone who tried to stop me leaving. Sorry, I'm a lampie - I don't do scrap metal :** laughs out loud **:

 

When will people finally realise that it's not a question of whether they'll ever, ever, ever work again, but whether the people who put their crews through such misery will ever, ever, ever be able to get crews again?

 

Or am I just pissing into the wind (again)?

[J Pearce]

You're absolutely right.

 

I walked from a show when the scaff work platform turned up, to say it was a death trap would be an understatement.

The crew gaffer said the lights have gotta go up somehow, I told him to hire T bars.

 

Someone was stupid enough to use the access equipment, and fortunately no-one was hurt.

 

Contrary to popular belief The show doesn't HAVE to go on.

[Pete]

The crew were climbing in a thunder storm,in the rain,without harnesess........

 

Wonder whose Idea that was!

[trotboy]

The roof Canopy here was obviously not tight enough. The thing is that the guy who was there says 'the sticks they had been using to clear the water from the roof were't long enough to reach it at trim' - if the roof was collecting water on the deck, it should never have been raised until the problem was solved. Also any ground support used on grass needs solid supports to sit on, landfill or no landfill. This system must have had anywhere between 5-20 Tonnes of additional weight on it before it gave out - amazing no-one was hurt.

[maeterlinck]

There's really no harm in asking questions. If something really doesn't look right then simply ask the guy in charge of it to explain to you why it IS safe.

I'm not a rigger, but if they do something that looks really bad then I'll ask. Never know, I might learn something!

[lxhipster]

That's why they make things called Rooftop Truss Systems !

 

Actually, why can't this company afford to buy a proper Rooftop System when they can

afford to buy Vari*Lites, YAG and so much more.

 

Sorry, If I'm being a bit rude.