eamon Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Hi all I am in the process of purchasing a MEWP style working platform. This is straight forward and I have agreed the unit and all is good. My query is about looking to place a retractable line across the front of the stage to prevent falls off the main stage whilst focusing my first electric bar. My main stage is raised at 900mm to the auditorium floor. My current system uses a tallescope. Said tallescope is higher than the pros (5020mm high) and it would take an immense amount of doing to run the scope off the stage. With the incoming MEWP, I can foresee a situation of some clown moving the MEWP, not paying attention and tumbling off the stage leading to some fun results.... The MEWP in question is manually moved around and only goes up/down. The operator(s) on the bottom manouvers the unit into position etc. There are obvious factors such as proper staff w/training and experience in place but the potential still exits for somebody to not pay attention and cause injury to themselves, possible death from crushing etc. This factor is too high for me and I am wondering if anyone has seen a reel that will act as a safety guard to help ensure that any operator does not run over. Building a barrier is not a practical option for the approx 20mins it would take to focus the first electrics bar etc. I am wondering if others have seen a similar system. Kinda like running a rope across a stage so as to make people aware there is an orchestra pit etc. cheers eamon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Nit-picking here on words, you are actually looking for edge protection rather than "fall arrest" and seem to have designed your own bespoke "rope-across-stage" solution. This does however give me an excuse for a link to recent Association of Independent Festivals guidance which is handy for lots of BR members. Don't get bogged down with it being for TDS or outdoor events, the safety aspects are transferable. There are umpteen solutions but Star events designed a tools-free handrail for just this purpose a couple of years back and I see no reason that theatre can't steal/adapt similar ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handyandi Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Different idea than you are maybe thinking of but this was designed to be a physical arrester for wheeled objects (flightcases as shown) & also as a floor level barrier for personnel & performers. Edge safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRW Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Thinking outside the box a little bit- presumably if one is driving the MEWP, one could conceivably just drive through the rope without even noticing it- what about an infra-red beam emitter/detection system, mounted either side of the pros at a suitable height, that could sound an alarm (and probably flash a light for DDA compliance!) if broken? A bit like one of those invisible smoke detector beams you get in auditorium/glass ceilings? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 He said it's a manually moved one so nobody will be driving it. The edge safe thing looks good, hadn't seen that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 One venue here has a 4' high netting barrier permanently attached to the upstage side of the prosc on stage left. Whenever the pit lift is down it gets put across and hooked to stage right. Would something like that work for yo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRW Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 He said it's a manually moved one so nobody will be driving it. The edge safe thing looks good, hadn't seen that before. D'oh! Right you are...Sorry Eamon, I missed that bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GridGirl Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 The Sydney Opera House's Opera Theatre (or as it's been renamed, the Joan Sutherland Theatre) has a scenery lift at the back of the stage which, when down, has a two-storey drop. The safety mechanism used is an upright net made out of seatbelt webbing, but in bright yellow, which is fixed at one end and has a pole which runs through the other end. The pole slots into a flange on the floor, then is hooked into an arm at the top then the arm is pulled up and locked into place to pull the net tight. The lift can't be moved unless the arm is locked into place. At the bottom level, there is exactly the same arrangement on both sides of the lift so you can't get caught underneath it. It wouldn't be difficult to create a smaller version of this for stage fronts, I wouldn't think. It's quick and easy to operate - you'd just need to figure out some way of tidying it up when it's not in use. Pics for reference: This one is actually one of the downstairs nets:http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e26/kiwitechgirl/5dbcce7564c008e67de6860fe419d1ba.jpg This is the flange/arm mechanism - there's a microswitch in the mechanism so that the lift won't operate unless all the nets are in place:http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e26/kiwitechgirl/D3B8AED0-D802-41B6-B62F-C7A48762FCB8-14562-00000CDE9CB8FFDF.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 At my last venue we had a similar system for our mid-stage pit... ours were bollards that were inserted into the stage floor to create a box. Each bollard had 2 eyelets a side - we had similar nets to grid girls made up - along the top and bottom the webbing extended about an additional foot on 1 side with heavy duty clips. The other side had about 3ft of webbing and ran through 2 ratchets with the same clips attached. Get it made properly and it will stop people and objects from being able to topple over the edge. If you have the points permanently installed either side of the prosc (depending on width, you may need to add a central temporary bollard) it takes 2 minutes to put up, and about 3 minutes to pull down (including folding it up neatly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamon Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Hi all Thanks for the multitude of suggestions and idea's. I do like the netting one from the Opera House as well as the Edge Safe device. I will most definitely look in to them. My pros width is just under 14m width so I may have to look at a central pick up. A new CS marker if need be. Thanks to Kerry for pointing out correctly the deficiency in my term of Fall Arrest. I just could not think of a proper name for what I sought. Anything I do, I will probably get some one to make and inspect it yearly. Makes more sense this way, than bodging a solution for a permanent problem. The MEWP is not due in for another couple of weeks. My main reason for getting it is down to the scope codes of practice and the fact that most companies who access the building look blankly at me when I start to discuss crewing levels. That and I can use it throughout the building for various jobs. Thanks again. eamon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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