Getting Swinging Lights to Stop on a Dime

Entertainment Engineering: "The Royal Shakespeare Company recently went through a $200 million refurbishment at Stratford-upon-Avon. During that refurbishment, it was decided that the lighting system design needed to be approached differently than in the past, and had to be driven by health and safety concerns. For example, in the past, maintenance personnel had to climb scaffolding to where fixtures were mounted then, while strapped into a secure harness, reach to replace the bulbs or perform maintenance tasks. The reduction of bridges or trusses would eliminate the need for maintenance crews to work at such heights during routine work or when adjusting the lighting. The original idea was to be able to hang the lights from cables that could be lowered to the maintenance crew. By doing so, the RSC would be able to provide higher levels of safety, and save on maintenance times, both of which were expected to produce a cost savings.