Rigging Tickets and such like

[Zanna]

Hello

 

I have been working as a theatre tech for several years now. I am recently freelance, and doing a year long electrical course (the new EAL equivalent of the c&g 2330).

I am planning on also obtaining several necessary certificates such as PAT Testing but I want to focus on the Rigging side as its what I love. I know I need my picker ticket for sure, and harness safety training wouldn't hurt but I am looking for advice from fellow working riggers. What are the best courses for me to do and where are the best places to do them? I am London based. Also always looking for personal training if anybody want to show me the ropes! I am a great climber.

I am a very lighting rigging and focusing orientated tech, its what I love to do the most.

 

Thank you for your time!

[spinmaster1]

The best course for entertainment rigging would be the 3 day one run by Total Training in Birmingham and by UK Rigging in Bolton. It may also be worth having a read up about the PLASA National Rigging Certificate as you'll soon need one at level 2 or higher to work as or be employed as a rigger in the UK. Have a look at this link about the NRC here. It'll be a good idea to see if you can get some work experience with a rigging company as a trainee so you can start your NRC assessment once you have the knowledge. I myself are also looking for a career in enteretainment rigging and can recommend the 3 day course. As for your picker training, you'll find that most places will give you a discount if you get trained on 2 categories of machine on the same day (normally 3a & 3b are the most useful). Hope this helps, Rob.

[paulears]

I've not grown any more comfortable with the concept of a

It may also be worth having a read up about the PLASA National Rigging Certificate as you'll soon need one at level 2 or higher to work as or be employed as a rigger in the UK.

single body setting a 'right to work'.

 

I'm not anti-PLASA or against the concept of improving safety, but a commercial organisation effectively controlling access/right to work disturbs me. In First aid, people who need to be able to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 can go to numerous providers, yet the National Rigging Certificate is not required by an Act of Parliament, so is effectively just good practice. The organisations who need safe working as part of their remit can use it to show they take safety seriously - but is one source of access to a rigging job actually healthy. If PLASA promoted the content to other providers as a gold standard to use freely without any formal link, then that seems healthier and perhaps less prone to suspicion? After all, Red Cross and St John compete to a degree for the FAW courses and people have choice. With a single commercial entity controlling (and profiting from) access to rigging, there is no choice.

 

I'm starting to think that as rigging gets more specialised, those within are seeking to make entry more difficult, using access barriers. I totally accept that there is a need to keep cowboys out, but the industry seem to want to be a big club. Join PLASA, only use PLASA people, keep the industry controlled tight and exclusive. Other ancient organisations with this policy are treated with deep suspicion - I wonder if there's a room somewhere with harnesses and rope on the walls, where people wishing to join have a strop placed around their neck, roll down one leg of their combats, and recite the PLASA code of practice in hushed reverential tones, before pulling shackles out of the bag hoping not to get the black one?

[indyld]

I share Paul's concern on the concept that a single commercial entity would provide the "right to work" - for a fee of course. I know that it may be said that this is a danger with things such as the Building Regulations and things like the impact of Part P. If PLASA wishes to become the centre point for such accreditation, it needs to change what it is - currently a trade association serving it's members. No one can argue against the need for standards and a structured approach to training and assessment.

 

When I wrote about Event Safety and Temporary Stage Design and the professional body model in other industries, I noted that disparate areas of our business were pushing in the direction of becoming standard bearers. What we must remember is that the organisations have a vested interest in this happening for them, it gives them more clout.

 

I've never been a member of PLASA, or the PSA or even any of the unions even though I support peoples right to belong to what they belong to and see the good these organisations do. Following on from a recent thread, I'd be pretty annoyed if I were unable to call myself a Lighting Designer and get any work in the UK, simply because I hadn't joined the club.

 

I've not personally heard of the move noted above to the UK going over to a PLASA Level 2 Rigging Cert floor, although venues may choose their own standards and Earl's Court, NEC etc. and even individual gigs are within their rights to insist on a particular stamp of competence for their risk management. Let's have standards, yes, but I hope we don't get to a stage where if you don't join the club, you have no future in your chosen field here.

[ramdram]

Any of the older readers recall the "closed shop"?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_shop

 

Or the Guilds? I can foresee the problem may be more of who will work with you if you don't roll up the trouser leg...yet another hurdle for nippers looking for a career.

 

And, this might be of "interest":

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_Union_and_Labour_Relations_(Consolidation)_Act_1992

[Stupod]

Interesting topic... to throw something else into the debate, at the Professional Lighting Design Convention (PLDC) recently a paper was delivered by James Benya titled 'Certification for lighting designers'. In the presenters opinion anyone can give themselves the title of 'lighting designer' all it takes is to visit Vista Print and there you go. James believes that lighting design requires regulation and certification so that clients know that those that they are employing have met set criteria and demonstrated competence and that this should come though formal training and qualification. Those without certification should be prevented from calling themselves lighting designers and should be unable to undertake work as such.

 

It was definitely an interesting presentation that sparked a lot of discussion so thought I would bring it to this forum!

 

James Benya Confence Paper PLDC

[paulears]

To rephrase an old saying - but who certificates the certificators?

[kerry davies]

In the case of the NRC, the guys what invented the trade like Higgs, Porter et al, Paul, are the certificators.

 

PLASA (the employers?) just sponsored those guys to put together a work-based assessment scheme.

 

The NRC assessors who by a strange quirk of fate are the guys who more or less invented the live events rigging game and the NRC itself then set about assessing skills in a workplace environment rather than a classroom. The employers then said "Ta! Pretty certificate!" and set about employing only those with the NRC so that they could assure themselves that they were satisfying their legal duties on safety and competence. This might be because they could not insure the 14 year old BR riggers, I don't know, you tell me.

 

No closed shop, anyone can join. No secret squirrel, it is open to all. If you want to work at the cutting edge of dynamic load rigging in live events where things are suspended over the punters heads, I don't believe it is overkill. NRC is not perfect but it exists, until the university lecturers with specialities in Brechtian theatre or Stanislavsky set up a rigging module, I am afraid you have to make do with the boys who created the field.

 

For the OP; Eric Porter carries out rigging training at Backstage Academy with Litestructures where they have top quality facilities, there are other courses.

[paulears]

Yes - I see, but the founding fathers have chosen to have a single entity control entry to a profession - and while the aims of quality, safety and common techniques are all sensible and perhaps vital attributes of a certification, it is a monopoly - there is no choice available. That's my only concern, not the quality of what they are doing. PLASA themselves decided they wanted to offer an alternative to qualifications issued by the established organisations, so they successfully gained their own acreditation and can award some qualifications that have nationally accepted credit, and have real worth - yet they seek to be the only people who can validate somebody as competent to work as a rigger. This to me smacks of a double standard. Of course, if they decide to allow other training organisations to work to their specification, meeting their standards - then the passport would seem to be a proper 'standard' - difficult to be a standard when there is only one provider?

[ianl]

shurly its not about plasa/nrc letting other people train to there standard. any other suplier of training / acreditation is free to setup their own standard, all they have to do is convince the big venues and hire companies that their acredditation is good enough standard for their staff/freelancers

 

Yes - I see, but the founding fathers have chosen to have a single entity control entry to a profession - and while the aims of quality, safety and common techniques are all sensible and perhaps vital attributes of a certification, it is a monopoly - there is no choice available. That's my only concern, not the quality of what they are doing. PLASA themselves decided they wanted to offer an alternative to qualifications issued by the established organisations, so they successfully gained their own acreditation and can award some qualifications that have nationally accepted credit, and have real worth - yet they seek to be the only people who can validate somebody as competent to work as a rigger. This to me smacks of a double standard. Of course, if they decide to allow other training organisations to work to their specification, meeting their standards - then the passport would seem to be a proper 'standard' - difficult to be a standard when there is only one provider?

[J Pearce]

It's only as bad as IPAF surely?

[paulears]

I suspect I'm coloured by a previous requirement to get a specific qualification, that took me a year and was no fun whatsoever, only to discover 6 months after passing that a different one was required and mine had been retired. I just see a scheme filtering in, being promoted by those that have it as a soon to be requirement if you want a job, and just think it's not necessarily a good thing.

[Zanna]

Thank you very much for all your tips and advice. I will start looking into it.

[madorangepanda]

It's only as bad as IPAF surely?

And PASMA and quite a few other private companies who try to set themselves up as an "official" training body. Generally pushing up prices and making life harder for those that offer good training but choose not to affiliate.

[brainwave-generator]

The definitive answer is that you need NO QUALIFICATIONS AT ALL to work in rigging in the UK.

 

The IPAF ticket is useful because it allows you to work at height. However, no company will let you start as an up-rigger. They will all want you doing your fair cut of ground rigging before graduating to up-rigging, so you can learn how stuff works and how things go together and what the groundies are doing. Depending on where you work, pickers may not even be needed as you may have good roof access in which case that is how you will access the points.

 

The NRC (National Rigging Certificate) is a good thing, run by professionals who understand the industry. It is however, a bit specific on rigging to beams in arenas. It's of sod all use if you want to do Counterweight Rigging in a theatre. As such, you'll largely find the NRC is only recognised by companies whose rigging is related to the NRC. So Star, Unusual, KRS, PRG, (the big ones!) etc - will all want NRC as it covers what they do. Other companies, or indeed theatres and venues, may not require it as they recognise that the work involved is quite different to what you are tested on at the NRC.

 

HOWEVER - the NRC is very much NOT something you do before you become a rigger. If you go in the test centre without a minimum of 12 months under your belt in a professional rigging environment they will spot you as a bluffer the minute you walk in and you'll fail. It's a quite in-depth test covering all aspects of rigging, from hanging points to terminating SWR, and calculating loads to ensuring your PPE is always fit for use. The NRC is NOT required to work in rigging in the UK at all, and even for the companies who do endorse it, it's not required (a) for ground rigging, or (b) if under supervision from somebody who does hold an NRC, as in this scenario you are considered a 'trainee'. Although, you probably can expect your pay to reflect that.

 

The IRATA Rope Access certificate is largely of bugger all use. People seem to think Rigging and Rope Access are related. They are (generally) not. We use ropes to lift things but not access things. Rope Access is a specialist field in it's own right, and not something riggers are required to be competent in.

 

PASMA is also largely useless thing. IPAF is generally a bit more recognised than PASMA, and scaff towers are not very prominent in rigging environments anyway. I've often been challenged "do you have your IPAF ticket on you" when jumping in a picker, I've never been faced with "do you have your PASMA ticket" when shoving a scaff tower together. I would largely say you don't need to do this unless your employer asks you to. In which case, insist they pay, and it's a day off work as far as you're concerned.

 

FORKLIFT however is one you should get. Forklift tickets are very much a recognised thing, and if you can drive a forklift you are useful to a rigging crew. We use heavy stuff, lots of heavy stuff. One piece of minibeam might not look too bad but rack up 300m of it and there's a lot to be moved. Some companies pool their motors in stillages which also need forklifting. Most companies pool their steels, spansets, shackles and chains in stillages and those need forklifting. Pallet trucks are of reasonable use for moving them around but of sod all use putting them in a lorry. So of all the tickets I recommend you get, forks is actually the one. You will find this universally useful across the whole industry, too.

 

To start in rigging, all you need is a good attitude, a good level of physical fitness, a pair of steel toes, a helmet, and a hi-vis jacket. You don't need to go out and buy a harness straight away, you won't use it. You don't need to buy a hundred ropes pulleys descenders ascenders and all the other Petzl stuff, just the basic PPE will do you fine. You'll know when you need more, as people will start asking you for it. If you can get your forks, bonus. But that'd be it for now, you can get your IPAF when you start getting asked to use the pickers and get your IRATA if you start doing some really weird stuff, and your NRC will come in due course - you'll know when you're ready.