Light Console Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Yet another post about PAT testing from me, but still.I am assisting at a school which has over £100,000 of LX and sound kit (8 Mac 250s 8 Mac 300s Midas sound desk, 6K Mackie PA (a long way from my days at school with six dimmers and 6 P123s! ;) )). Anyway, they want to start hiring out the kit to cover high running costs of crew and consumables. We tested over 300 electrical items in May and it took 2 weeks to put together a labelling system, Database in Excel, and to clean and test. Problem one: How to convince the team leader to buy dedicated PATS software and PAT tester (Barcodes will have to wait then) Does anyone know what software hire companies use to keep track of where kit is, last PAT test, missing shutters, revenue, etc etc? Cost of it? Problem two: What happens about insurance? Who is responsible for public liability – Hirer, owners, both? And possibly many more to come!Thanks,Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 I think a lot of smaller hire companies use databases built with Microsoft Access. It can be setup reasonably simply or used as a very powerful and scaleable database tool. In terms of insurance, it is normal practise I believe, for the hirer to insure the kit against theft, damage etc... Not sure about liability - try digging out any hire catalogue and reading through the terms and conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 One of the main hire systems is 'Hire track' by Navigator systems -Navigator systems (I think that's right) although other systems do exist which are cheaper. Otherwise it isn't too hard to write your own system as you don't have that much kit, just depends what it needs to do. I know quite a few schools that do hire their kit, though I don't know how legit they are about it. One option would be to contact a local hire company and see if they would be interested in any kind of 'subbing' deal, whereby they hired out your kit for you, they could then handle testing and insurance issues, may also allow you to sort out a good deal on school shows?? Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Console Posted March 1, 2003 Author Share Posted March 1, 2003 Thank you for the link, I have downloaded the demo, and will have a look at it. The Database in Excel is linked to an Access database, but we are looking at something that can automatically link to the tester so the kids don't have to enter in numbers, reducing room for error.Thanks for the tips on insurance, and interesting to hear other schools hire out kit. Although they seem to have everything needed for a school show, ecept the talent on stage!Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 (£100,000 of LX and sound kit (8 Mac 250s 8 Mac 300s Midas sound desk, 6K Mackie PA (a long way from my days at school with six dimmers and 6 P123s! ;) ))Bloody hell, what school is this?! :blink: Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Ferguson Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 Anyone thinking of hiring or loaning equipment should think very carefully about their legal responsibilities first. If there is an accident whilst your equipment is being used you will be expetced to prove that you had properly maintained the equipment and that it was safe for use when it left you. So you will need to keep thorough records of maintenance of the equipment and have clear records that prove that you have thought through what could go wrong with your equipment and designed maintenance checks to ensure that they do not. As far as insurance you will need public liability insurance and you would be foolish not to have some insurance to cover the equipment in case your "customer" is not properly insured. As a school though it may not be possible for you to hire equipment. Many schools are now set up as educational charities and the rules that govern trading as a charity are complex. And if you do decide to hire equipment out make sure that you get a reasonable return for what you are hiring out. The prices that hire companies charge are what they need to be able to maintain the equipment properly, pay for it's purchase and leave a little over as a profit. You will need to get a similar return on your equipment because hiring it out will cost you more in maintenance, lamps and insurance and may well shorten the life of the equipment. Regarding hire software I know of three packages that are used professionally, all of which are advertised in Lighting and Sound International Hiretrack Rental Point Insphire I am sure that all of them can send you a demo disk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Console Posted March 1, 2003 Author Share Posted March 1, 2003 It is the Wildern School in Southampton, awarded Arts College status last year. They have a £2million arts centre.Very interesting to read your comments Ian, read and lernt! I will pass on all comments. We have set up an extensive database, but want to log history of tests (I can do this with my software but they need to buy their own).Will update you on news sometine next week, when I hear back from them.Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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