Technicians for Change: You may have heard your fly system should be inspected annually. If your organization is like many, a random person appears one day to look at your flys. Later, someone in the office gets a report that gets shoved in a folder, in a cabinet, in some office, so you can get back to work. But, really – Why should your fly system have an inspection or you care to read the report? What should this report tell you, the user?
5 comments:
It's great reading through this article to get a better sense of rigging inspections, which are not something we as students normally do but is a critical aspect of being a technical director or manager at a theatre. As we discussed (literally yesterday) in entertainment rigging, even though we have ESTA (and under that ETCP), there really isn't much out there that is legally binding across our industry when it comes to our special form of rigging. First, I like how this article differentiates upfront the difference between inspection and maintenance, because often in our world we see something that needs fixing and just try to do it ourselves right off the bat. With rigging, we really can't afford to take those risks. Procedurally, the inspection notes in this article are relatively straight-forward, starting from the arbor and working through the lift lines to the batten. Nevertheless, having a checklist is vital even for these mundane or repetitive tasks, since it ensures that nothing gets missed. Now I want to take a closer look at ANSI E1.4-1...
I had not realized that there was not a standard for fly system inspection. I guess since there are multiple companies that manufacture fly systems, and there are a variety of types of fly systems (old school hemp, counter weight, double purchase, automated, systems with combos), which makes it hard to standardize. However, I’m still surprised that ESTA’s TSP doesn’t have a standard for inspection – since that group has a bunch of manufacturers, it would be convenient talk to everyone and establish a standard. It is good to know that there is a general standard format for inspection reports. I have been working through the OSHA 30 modules and it is apparent that inspecting your gear on a regular basis in a thorough way is a key component in avoiding injuries and mishaps. Since fly systems tend to hold large loads in overhead positions, it is very important that that system is maintained safely, which inspections are a key component to keeping up that safety standard. I wonder if a standard will ever be formed?
It honestly surprised me that there is no standard for a fly system inspection especially because it seems like such a hazardous side of theatre. I understand that every building and fly system is different but I do think there should be some sort of standard or code that these fly systems need to pass for it to be used again. I always was worried when an inspector would come to my previous program because we would scramble to make sure things were approved and most of the time it would be with like one or two citations, however my program wouldn't fix the things that were cited instead we would make a not to change those things when the inspector came the next year. I think it is part of a technical directors job to not only ensure that the scenery is safe but also what would be flying in this scenery or holding it up. The overall safety falls into a technical director's hand so if there is no standard what do these professionals know what to look for. I think it is very important for there to be some very clear things people should look for and make sure to check before any show because even if it seems time consuming or tedious, it could be a life or death situation.
Fly systems have always sort of scared me. I’ve gone to 3 highschools in totality in my highschool career, and only one of those schools had a fly system. And as soon as I was cleared to use it I moved to a new school. So I’m honestly not all too familiar with fly systems and I’d like to be. But I’m learning! I recently clocked what the load system really means, and I do, for the most part, feel comfortable using them now. I just don’t know too much of them. I didn’t even know they had to be inspected, although in retrospect, it does make logical sense that they would need to be. I guess this just shows that there’s still so much I have to learn about the standard theatre space. And I’m excited to learn more!
Hi, all.
Disclosure: I am the author of the "What My Fly System Inspection..." article. I love your comments & am thrilled you are interested. But I can tell from your insights that I did not clearly draw a line between "standards the inspector uses as guidelines" and "format standards for reporting the results of your work".
Inspectors looking at a fly system (or any rigging for that matter) look at how closely the existing equipment aligns with 4 separate documents. Those documents are (in no particular order) the appropriate ANSI standard, the architect and engineer installation drawings, manufacturer recommended practices for installation and use, and industry best practices. Not all the documents are available all the time, so inspectors sometimes rely on their knowledge base and preferences. This indicates why one inspector will focus on wire rope while another will focus on noisy gear and smooth action.
Inspection documents produced by the inspection have no common format. In part this is due to the wide range of gear an inspector will encounter. One fly system can have utility battens, traveler line sets, dedicated electric battens, and temporary electric battens. This variety exist within an ordinary, straightforward fly system, before we look for unusual or special variations. Imagine the checklist length if we consolidated all the info for those 4 styles onto one checklist - Each line set might be 2 pages long. So we do our best to be clear, transparent, honest, and thorough. I start at the control end; other inspectors start at the batten. Mine are Excel; others are hand written. And that is what I meant by 'no reporting standard exists'.
You've given me the idea of writing a companion article I might call "One Approach to Conducting a Complete Rigging Systems Inspection." Thank you all for your input. Stay Awesome!
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