Theatre Safety Blog: While touring the Mesa Arizona Arts Center (which is a fantastic set of four venues: www.mesaartscenter.com) the Technical Director, Robby Elliot, showed me a simple rig that they use to prevent unexpected run-aways in the fly system. Robby explained that due to the short time constraints imposed during some show strike operations, sometimes the stage crew gets ahead of the fly crew when unloading the battens. This leaves the counterweight arbors heavy and prone to accidents while the weight loading crew plays catch-up.
5 comments:
This is a very cool simple solution and I see no reason not to use this as a safer solution to snubing or stabbing a lineset. We should try this in the Chosky and test this solution to see if there are any unintended consequences. I also would change out the carabiner that they are using from an aluminum one to a steel one even though the 5000lb capacity of the rope grab is the limiting factor I would rather have steel on steel contact. With the speed of deployment of the system I think that there is no reasonable excuse not to use this engineering control.
I agree with Luke. I'd be interested to explore the use of this rig over using an 'Uncle Buddy' or belay pin. Or even in addition to one of those devices as they also have some other benefits the rope grabber might not.
I find this device extremely interesting. All it really is, is a modification of a vertical life line stop. I am extremely surprised that no one had ever thought of it. I hope that a lot of theaters start to use this system. I know that there is a lot of this type of technology out there but a lot of these systems need you to be new build or have a major over hall of your flying system, like replacing all of the rope locks or head block both of which are a major undertaking. This system is so simple to use and you can just put it on the line sets that you need to work with. I hope to see one of these device in the future and get to use it.
I don't like working the fly system because I am always scared the I will grab on and go flying up or other crazy things like that. so to see an easy way to prevent this is reinsuring, however I don't feel like you should have to put it in a theatre. I think that people so try and remember their jobs so this is not needed. This however is an unrealistic goal. so having a back up plan is important too.
I'm glad someone is out there still working on a solution for this logistical problem we face nearly every day. It's always been a bit of a mystery to me why we, in regional theatre at least, seem to just accept the danger we put ourselves in all the time when it comes to over-loaded arbors. All mechanical solutions must suffer inherently from introducing a strain on the system for which it was not specifically designed. This solution is more elegant and appears to put less strain on the kick blocks and T-track than the uncle buddy, and is way more user-friendly than the snub, but it doesn't solve the basic problem of introducing strain. Operating line is not intended to take real load. It is intended only to direct a balanced load in one direction or another. Of course we all know, or think we know, intuitively that the thick hand line we use can take plenty of load. But what I am waiting for is someone to introduce into the system an operating line that is not only designed for load, thereby acknowledging the fact that we do this all the time, but is also specifically designed to take a stop of some kind. Of course using chain for operating line is impractical, but with all our big brains, why couldn't we engineer something like chain, meaning with links or perforations that make a true rope lock possible, but as pliable and quiet as rope. I know I don't know what I'm talking about, but just sayin', the problem doesn't seem to be the line-lock, it's the line.
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