Live Design: Sound reinforcement can be a dangerous job. Despite the best precautions, working at breakneck speeds, with heavy equipment and electricity, in unfamiliar environments, or in the elements can be a recipe for disaster. In 2017, there were 45 major staging and rigging accidents alone. And as recent tragic events have shown, the scope of concert safety concerns grows broader (and more terrifying) all of the time, from weather catastrophes to terrorist attacks.
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These are some really great guidelines for anyone that works events, be it large concert tours, or small local events. The personal safety section of this article I think is the most important for all technicians to read. I have met a lot of technicians who believe bravado will protect them more than taking basic safety precautions. I myself had never worn a hard hat during load ins before coming to CMU, and now that I do, I cannot believe that I had ever worked without one. I had always faced the threat of hardware falling and becoming a big safety problem, but I had never made the connection that wearing a hard hat would make that problem go away. I am, however pretty conscious of hearing protection during live events. When I was younger, I played with a jazz group whose leader's mantra was "X is hearing protection month" (the X being whatever month it was), and really drilled into us the importance of wearing even basic hearing protection. Hearing loss is something I think many people forget about, and should similarly be made more aware of.
How easy it is to forget to take safety precautions when dealing with live event setup/teardown. This article is really good, but I feel like it should be more substantive than it is. These are all good points to be made, but there are many other issues that arise not just on tour but even when loading in a show at a regional or community venue. Like Sydney, I never really wore a hard hat until I came to CMU. There have only ever been a few occasions where it was required as part of a crew call with my local. Touring crews wear them all the time and it never gave me pause to wonder why we never did. Hearing protection is another one. I’ve been backstage more than once where I’ve come away with a headache or reduced hearing for a time period because of the noise level. When you are running spot for a summer concert, the other big issue is that you have a headset on and wearing earplugs could hamper your ability to hear the calls from the lighting director. As I age, I need to start paying more attention to what is going on around me in a venue as it relates to my personal safety.
The amount of staging and rigging accidents in the past year alone was shocking to me. I understand that working in our field is extremely dangerous as it requires so much of our physical selves, and I was always curious about how producers and managers maintained safety precautions for huge show crews and traveling shows. Most of the safety precautions mentioned here in this article are just common sense, but obviously extremely important for the crew members. Unlike fire hazards and other safety incidents, the issue of the rise of terrorist attacks in concert venues that have become horrifically more common in recent years. There is not much that we as audience members or concert-goers can do to prevent this, other than always be aware of our surroundings and exits and report any dangerous or suspicious activity. It is up to the managers of festivals and large events to really take security precautions with the utmost seriousness to keep attacks from happening.
Safety is always of the upmost concern for workplaces, but touring even more so. The multitude of moving pieces makes it a perfect place for accidents. There's so much to keep track of between your typical load in and out routine, but also navigating a new space with new faces. I liked how this article addressed issues from individuals to large-scope. As said, concerts are now huge targets for violence and something as simply as tagging your touring equipment could allow for much quicker identification of foreign objects. The precautions mentioned are helpful too because they are actionable and doable within a restricted amount of time. A more meta idea would be to rethink safety procedures, something I was a part of last summer. With a lot of employee change over, it's difficult to spread all of the information needed for safety procedures. Implementing safety sheets or a quick safety intro day would help new employees act accordingly during any incidents.
I find it hopeful and sad at the same time that this article exists. The hopeful in this is because it shows that there are people trying to be aware that our industry has a inherent level of danger in it and while may try to ignore it we need to make sure we try to mitigate the danger levels in our work. This said is the sad part is that this article needs to exist in the first place, we shouldn’t have to push ourselves as hard as we do to preform well in our industry. We should take better care of ourselves so that we can continue to work the next day and the one after that. I am thankful and saddened by the fact we have to include in a talk about the danger of active shooter drills, the fact that it is necessary need for it hurts but just because it is a tough subject shouldn’t mean that we avoid the subject.
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