A Cautionary Note

[Pete McCrea]

Rigging is dangerous. We know that. But we don't (hopefully) see what happens if it goes wrong. This happened in France recently, and the picture were posted in Roadie.net. I'm sure some of the others here will already have seen this.

 

Truss Collapse in France

 

It may be on a bigger scale than some of us work to, but it may well have been something simple that caused it. Rig safely guys.

 

Little DJ

[mike]

So why is this happening more and more often?

Are there more cowboys out there? are time constraints for these show in/outs to tight? or are the equipment spec/demands too much for temproary installations?

mike :(

[Guest lightnix]

Oh well, up go the insurance premiums again :(

[the kid]

As Many will know I don't reside in a theatre but just out of interest what are the premiums for and average theater (600-1200 seater)

[Pete McCrea]

Is it happening more frequently? or is it happening less? Is the number of incidents to number of gigs going down? Or is it we hear more about them because of the www and the ability for people to 'share the wealth'?

 

But as Lightnix says up go the insurance premiums no doubt.

[Ike]

I think a lot more events are using large rigs and where in the past an event might have used a few bars of six which can be flown from a bit of string* they now use a shed load of heavy movers.

 

The lack of experience of a lot of riggers/electrician is also a major worry.

 

 

 

*I accept no responsibility for people hanging bars of six off a 'bit of string'

[trussmonkey]

I cant help but think that forums like this are not helping this. They are great at providing hints, tips and help with things like Stage Management, Lighting, Sound, Wardrobe, etc . But for the really dangerous stuff such as Rigging, pyro etc they are a major worry. It is all very well asking for advise on how to wire a plug or where you can find a stuffed pigeon coloured blue but when people start to ask how to rig trusses and which motors to use etc etc then we start to get into all sorts of bother.

 

Asking for advise is becoming all to prevelante on this and other sites. And some of the replies I see sometimes worries me. People (tech and office types) should start to use the phrase

 

'IF YOU DONT KNOW DONT DO: OR ASK A PROFESSIONAL'

 

I dont mean ask on a site like this. It is too easy to give advise but you have no way of knowing if the advise was heeded or indeed followed. I mean you should ask a company etc.

 

If you want to learn rigging go on a course, get emmployed but a rigging company( some do appenticeships), if your a student ask about getting a company in to do a demo, etc . In short get TRAINED.

 

sorry for the rant and moan

 

happy rigging

xx

[Wilf dLampy]

*I accept no responsibility for people hanging bars of six off a 'bit of string'

As long as the load does not exceed the Safe Working Load of the piece of string, and it is used correctly by someone competent in line with the manufacturers specifications, then it isn't a problem.

 

Then again, using an electric motor, or even a manual chain hoist is (generally) a lot easier and safer (again if done correctly by a competent person in line with the manufacturers specs) and you don't get bits of string stuck in your hands ;)

 

I think the wider use of the internet, and wider availabilty and lower cost of camera equipment is probably why this seems to be happening more often. There have been lifting accidents happening ever since an apple fell out of a tree and gravity was invented ;) , but none of Newtons' local crew had a digicam in their pocket to record the aftermath, and you couldn't visit Roadie.net and see pictures of "badly rigged apple falls to ground"

 

(p.s. to extend this analogy further- if such a thing was possible- the Apple should have had a secondary support device, and an SWL stamped onto the stalk, branch and indeed the ground support mechanism- I'm not going to comment on whether or not Mother Nature was competent, or trained in how to rig apples safely)

[gil-galad]

Did you know the french have no health and safety commission!!!

[Andrew C]

Did you know the french have no health and safety commission!!!

As I wrote in another thread, American Big Business is trying to close theirs down, and their bought-and-payed-for Congressmen are aiding and abetting.

 

For details, and a health food warning, read "Fast Food Nation"!

[Chris Higgs]

Truss Monkey has it right.

We don't know what caused that accident (which I think may have happened in Canada, not France....)

We don't know what happened. Just be sure it doesn't happen to you.

If I had a quid for every expert I have heard explain the Boardwalk collapse I could retire.

Apart from everything else, it really is uncool in the extreme to assume it was "some idiot". This is just chatter.

This happened with the reported accident on the Beyonce show and I think a few of us pointed out that this chattering may affect someone's livelihood.

 

I get a lot of private e mails from all over the world about things discussed on the various internet fora. Seriously scary folks doing things about which they have no knowledge whatsoever. The tone of some of the 'motor multicore' thread is a good example.

Information, yes; advice, no.

[Ellis]

Is it happening more frequently? or is it happening less? Is the number of incidents to number of gigs going down? Or is it we hear more about them because of the www and the ability for people to 'share the wealth'?

A good measure of this would be to research the number of accidents in another industry (such as construction sites) reported on the internet - an increase in those in line with our industry would be a statistically significant indicator that the increase is in the reporting, not in the number of real incidents.

 

(No I am not volunteering to do the investigation)

[trussmonkey]

I worked on the beyonce show and am fully aware of the error of the messages posted in this forum.

 

another good example is the messages in the JOINING TRUSS conversation. if you dont even know how to do a basic thing like join truss then dont do it.

[Guest lightnix]

IMHO, situations like the one illustrated arise because of the relentless drive to do things ever more quickly and cheaply, regardless of the safety implications.

 

I've been on a number of shows where the lighting crew has been expected to rig the truss and motors, because "it's a part of their job". Protestations that I'm not a rigger and not competent or insured to perform such tasks, have usually been met with accusations of "unhelpfulness" or a "lack of professionalism". Explanations that I'm taking that stance in order to protect myself, my client, the production company, their client, my colleagues and the public have generally received similarly unsympathetic responses.

 

In the end I decided that I'd sooner risk losing a few gigs from obviously cowboy companies, rather than have my entire career and reputation trashed, because I did something wrong, albeit with the best intentions and it all came crashing down on somebody's head.

 

'IF YOU DONT KNOW DONT DO: OR ASK A PROFESSIONAL'

Absolutely, because if you don't know and do do, or don't get a professional and it all goes horribly wrong, then it will be you that winds up in the dock, you that gets fined and sued (or even sent to prison) and you that will never get another gig again. Everybody else will walk away and deny all knowledge, especially the people who ordered you to do it in the first place.

 

That's showbusiness.

[the kid]

'IF YOU DONT KNOW DONT DO: OR ASK A PROFESSIONAL'

 

Well exacaly on some threads there are the warnings and any sensible person will understand that only advice is given here. I have never done something from the net (building thing's etc) without getting advice from either another site of from a pro in that area.