Helmets - Protecting your noggin at a fraction of the price of brain surgery

Typical 4-point suspension
ANSI type I protection

Traditional hard-hats used by construction workers aren't much more than a skid lid to keep your hair on your scalp.  That isn't to say it isn't a good thing, especially for us 'folically challenged' folks.  However, when you flip one of these over and study the inside you suddenly realize that the shock absorption mechanism is anything more than a few nylon ribbons that are supposed to 'predictably' fail and take some of the wham! out of the slam!-bam! of a falling object.

There is no joy in scraping your skull along the bottom of a low-lying air duct, sprinkler pipe, or cross-bracing steel.  The pain is excruciating, and dripping blood from the catwalk is poor manners.

A few years ago, well actually ALOT of years ago, helmet manufacturers realized that adding a layer of crushable foam (typically styrofoam) to the inside of a helmet would increase the energy dissipation significantly.  We first saw this technology applied to motorcycle and auto racing helmets, and then to bicycle helmets.  It eventually made its way into rock climbing helmets, and from there into the world of construction helmets.

KASK Super Plasma Helmet interior view - ANSI type II protection.
Note the two layers of padding:  both Styrofoam and a fabric covered foam cushion.

Conventional hard hat with 4-point chin strap

Although you can buy accessory chin straps for cheap hard-hats, the chin straps don't always stay attached, they are difficult to find and buy, and they frequently cost more than the hard-hat itself.  In the theatre and show production industry we seem to spend a lot of time either bent over (hold the jokes please . . .) or working at height.  Both of these work situations demand that your PPE remain secured to your person.  You don't want you hard-hat falling into the scenery that you are painting, and you don't want it to fall from the truss or catwalk you are working upon.  Either way, when your hard-hat departs your head you are exposing yourself to injury AND you may be exposing the inattentive and unwilling participant below you to the full impact of your helmet on their head.  Hopefully, they are wearing some head protection, too!

Single chin strap accessory

So, if you drop you helmet to the stage floor below, will it damage it?  Yes, it will.  The next stop for that hard-hat is the dumpster.  You probably can't see the micro-fractures that impact set-up in the plastic, but I'd never trust the helmet to protect my brains again.  So, for a $5 big-box ANSI type I hard-hat, this is no big deal, but when you start wearing a $85-$150 ANSI type II hardhat, then protecting your investment (both your PPE and your brains) is a bit more of a concern.

KASK Super Plasma - ANSI type II protection

Myth:  Rock climbing helmets aren't OSHA compliant.  Any helmet that meets the ANSI/ISEA Z89.1-2009 or 2014 standard is acceptable.  It may not look like Bubba's typical construction site hard-hat, but if it meets the standard and is labelled as such, then it's legal.

So, what can yo do to keep a cool head and be stylin' on truss?  Get one of those really protective and 'I'm a professional' looking ANSI type II helmets and wear it!  The two most popular climbing helmets are the Petzl Verex Best and the KASK Super Plasma.  Bright colors are recommended.  If you need to black it out for a show (common for truss follow spotlight operators), just have your costume department sew-up a black spandex cover for it.

Bottom line:  Unless your want your brains to become Zombie food, protect them.  No replacement parts are currently available.

There is no shame in protecting your brain!

Understanding the New ANSI Z535 Safety Sign

ZOMBIE HAZARD

When it comes to OSHA compliance,  proper workplace signage can be your first line of defense against being cited for failure to post hazard communications.  The October DuraLabel newsletter hits the nail on the [zombie's] head this month, and they have been so kind as to allow us to re-post their timely information here.

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Hazard check for October:  Maintain walkways to eliminate soggy leaves; adjust outdoor lighting; get brake jobs for auto fleet; and most importantly – protect your workers from zombie invasions.

As the undead begin to encroach during the waning daylight hours, it’s critical to make sure your safety signs are OSHA-compliant.  OSHA’s primary hazard classifications for danger, warning, caution, and biohazard are designed to be noticed – important when you want to ensure your employees show up for work alive the next day.  Use the following information to keep your employees safe, and at the same time avoid being cited by OSHA.

DANGER

Danger signs indicate an immediate hazard which, if not avoided, will result in death or serious injury.  Danger signs should be reserved for the most serious hazards and signify special precautions are necessary.

The DANGER signal word is printed in  white letters on a red background  and preceded by the safety alert symbol.  The message panel, beneath the signal word, is where the safety message is printed, usually in black or red over white.  You can also print in white over a black safety panel.  Pictograms may be used to help workers recognize hazards sooner and from safe distances.

WARNING

Warning signs are one hazard level below danger signs.  They describe a hazard which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.

The WARNING signal word is written in  black on an orange background  header and proceeded by a safety alert symbol.  The text in the message panel may be printed in white letters on a black panel or black letters on a white panel.  Warning signs and labels can be any size and printed in a landscape or portrait format.  Keep in mind, alternative design and color options should only be used to improve worker comprehension.

CAUTION

A caution sign indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury.  Caution signs are used in areas where potential injury or equipment damage is possible, or to caution against unsafe practices.  Caution signs should only be used if there is a risk of personal injury.

The CAUTION signal word is written in  black letters on a yellow background  and is preceded by a safety alert symbol, except when used for a non-personal injury.  The message panel below the signal word contains the safety message and any additional safety symbols.  Everything printed inside the message panel is black text on white or white text on black.

BIOHAZARD

OSHA 1910.1459(e)(4) states, “The biological hazard warnings shall be used to signify the actual or potential presence of a biohazard and to identify equipment, containers, rooms, materials, experimental animals, or combinations thereof, which contain, or are contaminated with, viable hazardous agents… presenting a risk or potential risk to the well-being of man.”  The symbol design must conform with the example shown and contain the word “BIOHAZARD" or “BIOLOGICAL HAZARD.”

The biohazard symbol can be black, fluorescent orange, or an orange-red color.  Background color is optional as long as there is sufficient contrast for the biohazard symbol to be clearly defined.  A biohazard can also be indicated on a danger or warning sign and may include the safety alert symbol.  If incapacitated zombies are strewn about your work area, they should be tagged with biohazard signs.

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Not included the DuraNews article was the correct use of ANSI NOTICE signs, so:

NOTICE

A notice sign provides information regarding operational policies.  Notice signs are used to inform workers about operational procedures that may affect safety or to instruct workers that specific PPE is required in the workplace.

Notice signs may include other graphic symbols to convey intent.  The NOTICE signal word is written in  white letters on a blue background , or  blue letters on a white background .  The message panel below the signal word contains the policy message and any additional safety symbols.  Everything printed inside the message panel is black text on white.

For more information about signage, labels, and markers that are useful around your production environment, go to DuraLabel's web site.

Total Structures to host Outdoor Stage Roof Educational Event

The week of the LDI conference in Las Vegas, Total Structures will present a two-day event that will be held on Wednesday, October 17th and on Thursday, October 18th, 2012.

Engineering Principles

Taught by Jeff Reder, Principal and Partner in Clark-Reder Engineering, a full service consulting engineering firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Jeff and his business partner, Daniel Clark, presently hold licenses in 44 U.S. states and are highly experienced in the design and use of both aluminum and steel outdoor stage roof systems

Jeff will explain the process of structurally engineering an outdoor stage roof, provide guidance on how to read such reports, as well as help the attendees develop and perfect important operational documentation such as operating manuals, high wind speed action plans, etc.

Focus will also be brought on explaining relevant standards such as ANSI E1.2 - 2006 (Entertainment Technology - Design, Manufacture And Use of Aluminum Trusses and Towers) and ANSI E1-21 - 2006 (Temporary Ground Supported Overhead Structures Used to Cover Stage Areas and Support Equipment in the Production of Entertainment Events).

Roof and Truss Inspection Principles

Taught by Adrian Forbes-Black, Vice-President of Total Structures. Adrian has nearly twenty years of entertainment rigging industry experience in both the United States and Europe, having worked for companies such as Tomcat and Columbus McKinnon before working for Total Structures

Adrian, assisted by Jeff, will teach the fundamentals of aluminum truss design as well as how to visually inspect the product and document the inspection for continued safe use.

General Information

The cost of the course will be $595 per attendee, if paid on or before 31 August 2012 and $695 if paid on or after 1 September, and can be paid at the time of registration by either check or credit card. The number of attendees is limited so please register soon.

Sessions will begin at 9:00 AM and run until approximately 5:00 PM each day and include a daily lunch break. Lunch will not be included, however, there are many restaurants within walking distance of the facility. A continental breakfast and afternoon snacks will be included along with coffee, tea, water, and soda throughout the day.

Click Here to Register:

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e67jmbwu2057a81a&llr

 

If you wish to reserve multiple places then please register each person separately using this link so they can obtain each person's relevant details.

Please contact Kandie Koed (kandie (at) totalstructures (dot) com or phone 805-676-3322) if you have any questions.

Emergency preparedness from the other side of the pond

Good guidance is often hard to come by, particularly for free.  Most standards to which we must operate are usually published by somebody that wants a chunk-o-change for the priviledge of reading the rules by which we must abide.  In the United States the NFPA manuals & books, ANSI standards, ASTM standards, PLASA / ESTA standards, and most Buiding Codes are priced anywhere form $20-30 bucks up to several hundreds of dollars.  Now that's not so bad if you only need one of the books, but for most of us in the theatre industry, we need maybe 15 to 50 of these to cover our collective bacon on all of the hazards and project types we are typically exposed to or involved with.  This can really add-up quick.  Especially when they change with locality and adoption dates.  Think about this the next time you hire and Architect, Engineer, or Theatre Consultant - part of your fees go to keep this library up-to-date so that they can prescribe the best and most current designs that satisfy the local code requirements.

There are a few free publications out there, too.  So here are some good resources that won't break the bank:

American's with Disabilities Act (commonly known as the ADA):
www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm

Occupational Health Safety Administration (OSHA):
www.osha.gov

National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH):
www.cdc.gov/niosh
(Great ladder safety info here!)

And with a big thank-you for the United Kingdom government:
www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firesafety/firesafetylaw/aboutguides
This is a set of Fire Safety Risk Assessment Guides that clearly and logically cover many different types of performance venues.  They may be metric (oh, the horror!) and they may be formatted on funny sized paper, but doggonit, these are good guides!

ANSI Approves PLASA Dust Effect Standard

Luke, I'm Your Father

The PLASA Standards group has announce that on Friday, 2 December 2011, the ANSI Board of Standards Review approved the adoption of ANSI E1.40- 2011, Recommendations for the Planning of Theatrical Dust Effects, as an American National Standard.  The new dust effect standard is written as a recommendation, a document that gives a mixture of guidance "should" statements and mandatory "shall" statements.

A great variety of materials might be suitable for dust effects, either as dust lying on props and scenery or as aerosol clouds, so it does not specify exactly what dust must be addressed.  However, the standard will help people to avoid inappropriate materials, to select those that are least likely to cause health or safety problems, and to use them with care.  Publication is expected in a few weeks.

Safety Standards Protect Workers — Improve Productivity

The American National Standards Institute, Inc. (ANSI) publishes safety standards for the workplace.  These standards are key to ensuring worker safety, protecting the environment, and improving productivity.

You can find standards for ladder safety, construction, clothing, equipment, workplace surfaces, signage, occupational health, fire safety, handling of chemicals and gases, labeling and safeguarding standards for equipment, noise, and vibration, and more at www.webstore.ansi.org/safety_standards.  Download individual copies or explore multi-user site licenses.  If you are part of a school or university system, they may already have a site license that you can benefit from.

Searches are available for a wide range of safety standards from these organizations:

• American Ladder Institute (ALI)
• American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
• American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)
• National Eletrical Equuipment Manufacturer's Association (NEMA)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• International Standards Organization (ISO)
• International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA)
• American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA); and many others.

Bangin' heads in the workplace

(OzMuseum.com)

At this time of year, football seems to dominate the the national attention as the Superbowl approaches.  Many types of sports present the performers (players) with opportunities for severe head injuries.  It seems like concussions have shown up in every corner of the football world over the past year:  on the field, on locker room posters, in Congressional hearings, in labor negotiations. There's even a blog devoted to them.  Whenever you talk about concussions, you inevitably end up talking about helmets.

Working in theatres is no different. We encounter low-lying beams, pipes, conduit, all-thread, the sharp edges and corners of stage lighting instruments, and the occassional metal flange or rebar sticking out where we least expect it. Of course, we also spend an inordinate amount of time around other people (Remember them? They are the most dangerous thing in the theatre!) that may not be watching where they are going with that oversized chunk of wood, scenery, ladder, or scaffolding.

Wearing a hard hat doesn't make you a geek. Get over the concern about making a fasion statement.  In fact, many theatres REQUIRE that they be worn.

The nature of our work in the theatre causes many of us to spend alot of time bent over working on stuff, so keeping a hard hat on your head can be a bit of a problem.  There is an easy fix for this:  Get a chin strap to keep your hard hat in-place.m  they cost very little and they can keep you from calling HEADS! from the catwalk as your hard hat plumets to the floor below.

One thing to keep in mind when purchasing a chin strap is to look at the clips that attach to the hard hat.  Some products only have a bent metal 'U', while others have a clip type attachment like show here.  These are much easier to keep in place and are highly recommended.

 

ANSI standard OSHA approved hard hats are fairly inexpensive (usually under $10) and the chin straps are even less.  These shoudl be fairly easy to justify for your budget, as a football helmet cost between $50 and $400.

Shades so dark, you don't even know my name

Veratti V6 from EnconSafety.com

Eyeballs.  You get one set for life.  No spares.  No back-up.  No mistakes.  Treat them like you can't live without 'em (well you can, but it sure isn't easy).

Thinkaboutit:  Flying nails, staples, loose ends on wire rope, crud spewing from saws, drills, planners, weed whackers . . . and that's the stuf you can predict.  What about that joker foolin' around with the stick?  Or worse.  get some safety glasses and wear them  Sittin' on top of your head may keep your date book full, but what good is that if you can't see if they are cute or dog food?

Look for products that meet or exceed ANSI Z87 and CSA Z94 standards.

Fall Protection Training Site by Miller

Every once in awhile you come across a really good training site that has good FREE info.  The Miller Fall Protection web site is one of these.  Go to:  www.millerfallprotection.com/training and take a break and watch the webinar you'll find under "Free ANSI Standards Training Video".  It's well preseted and has the facts organized.

The Big Red Word vs. the Little Green Man

SLATE author Julia Turner has a great article about the ongoing controversy between the common US  EXIT  sign and the internationally recognized ISO standard 'running man' sign.

You can read it here:  http://www.slate.com/id/2246107/

Chutes and Ladders

Ladder wells can be dangerous places, as they are a transition point from a stable work space and a location where you are on uneven footing and must use your hands as well as your feet. In the picture below you can see a ladder-to-catwalk transition that does not meet the ANSI standard / OSHA required railing arrangement. You have to climb between the railing and the toe board (kick-plate) to make the transition. It is really quite awkward, and therefore, dangerous.

Here is a ladder transfer platform that is clearly marked and has a spring-hinged safety gate.

PS Doors Safety Gate

This is a gravity-hinged safety gate.

Intrepid Industries DG series Safety Gate

As mentioned in other posts, it always a good idea to have both emergency lighting (i.e. 'frog-eye' battery-powered light packs) and photoluminescent marking stripes along your catwalks and ladders so when the lights go out and your battery-pack fails, you still can find your way to the ladder - and down it.

Resources:

Intrepid Industries (www.intrepidindustries.com/Index_Gates.htm)

PS Doors (http://psdoors.com/safetyProduct.php?item=LadderSafetyGate)

ANSI A14.3 - "American National Standard for Ladders−Fixed−Safety Requirements"

OSHA - U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration – "Regulations 29 CFR 1910 Subpart D (Walking-Working Surfaces)"

PIP - Process Industry Practices document "STF05501 - Fixed Ladders and Cages"

Shin busters in the dark

Orchestra Shell Tower Counterweights. There are two things that you can do to make these a little friendlier:

• Install some foam padding along the edges that will hurt you if you find them in the dark,
• Install / Paint the corners and edges with glow-in-the-dark tape / paint so you can see them in the dark.

Good Resources:

• Glow-in-the-dark paint:
  www.glonation.com
  www.kankote.com
  www.americanpermalight.com
  
• Glow-in-the-dark tapes:
  www.surefootcorp.com/glow_in_the_dark.asp
  www.balcousa.com/glow-in-the-dark-emergency-exit-systems.cfm
  www.americanpermalight.com

Busted!

Standardized set pieces for One Act Play competition need love, too! Drop them and they break. The next thing that might break is the actor using it. Don't just toss them into trucks, trailers, and storage rooms. Always inspect and repair before use! Look closely, and you can see that the lower 1x3 stabilizers both have knots in them and they are cracking. Yet another failure mode in progress.

Student stagehands take note: These things are heavy and shouldn't be moved by one person - You can hurt your back by lifting too much.

You should also be wearing ANSI standard steel-toed OSHA approved work boots (PPE). If you drop a piece like this on your foot it can do a lot of damage if you are wearing flip-flops, sandals, or tennis shoes.

And lastly: This is another good reason to be wearing leather gloves (PPE) when you are moving these things -- they can have nails, staples, tacks, and splinters that can really rip you up.

Ladder, ladder, on the wall . . . how many ways can you make me fall?

This ladder may have been 'legal' when it was installed (probably circa 1951), but it doesn't meet today's ANSI / OSHA standards.

For starters, access is on a platform that is about 8 feet above the stage (not visible, but off to the left of the ladder). There is no railing along the edge of this platform. To correct this situation (other obstacles to come, stay with me), a safety railing would have to be installed to protect the worker on the platform, then a cage would have to be installed to enclose the ladder. Since the ladder is almost adjacent to the railing, additional guards would have to be installed between the top of the railing and the bottom of the ladder cage so that the worker could not fall over the railing as they climb the ladder.

Note that there is also a wire-guided line set intruding into the climbing space of the ladder.

The next thing that is encountered is the opening through the proscenium wall. A platform is required here so that the worker can enter the door without hanging off of the ladder.

• Side note: The door was found open, thus violating the fire wall integrity. This door is a 'shorty' - its only about 48-50" tall. They built them that way to meet the square footage requirement for penetrations through the fire wall. Curious, as there never was a fire curtain installed to separate the stage and house - why would they worry about the size of the fire door?
• Second side note: On the other side of the fire door there was a light switch to illuminate the attic catwalk, but if you didn't know this, you would enter in the dark to find a 2 foot wide catwalk that turns immediately left. This catwalk has no guard rail or toe boards, beyond which was about a 20-25' drop down into an interior wall void that goes all the way down to the auditorium floor level. If you fell down in there they wouldn't find you until your body started to stink-up the place. Don't fall in on the last day of school - you'll be there all summer! Did I mention that all of this was fully accessible to the students?
• Third side note: There was no grab-rail or anything to get a hold upon as you climb off the ladder into this 'shorty' door way - you have to reach in blindly and get a grip on anything that you can feel for - that was scary. Climbing back out of the door to get on the ladder was 'fun', too!

So, assuming you have added the requisite landing at the attic access door level, you now have to get up to the gridiron level. The existing ladder over-hangs the access door opening on the right, and runs into the headblock beam on the left. Time to re-group and think this over.

Plan B: Lets put the ladder to the right of the door, far enough off-stage that you can go past the electrical conduits with the proper clearance. This way we don't need the railing-to-ladder-cage filler panels, and we get out of the way of the wire-guided line set. We would have two platforms: One at the access door level, and one at the gridiron level. Of course, both platforms will require proper railings.

When you connect the platform to the gridiron you find that there is no railing along the headblock beams. (Imagine climbing the existing ladder, working your way around the off-stage headblock beam, over the loft well between the headblock beams, only to find that the gridiron was built with 2x6's set on-end with about 6" gaps between them. So much for having a good footing and a 'non-combustable' structure . . .)

Oh yeah, did you notice that there was NO loading gallery? Need to add one of those, too. Looking at the picture you can see that a loading gallery floor would likely encroach into the platfrom area for the attic access door. Dang! Wuddle we do?

We could use all motorized line-shaft rigging, but that is a fairly expensive solution. The saving grace is that the facility is now a 6th-grade only school that does not have a theatre arts program. The wire-guided rigging system was pretty well shot, and all the drapes need replaced, so the movable rigging will probably all go away and the battens will be dead-hung. The facility still needs a proper ladder access to the attic and gridiron, but at least it won't need a loading gallery, too.

One last note: Did you see that 2x4 fluorescent light fixture bolted to the bottom of the wood 'gridiron' joists? There were about a dozen of those that need to be serviced . . .

Skull Scrapers

The meat on top of your head is pretty tender, all jokes about 'thick-headed people aside. This is why wearing an ANSI standard OSHA approved hard hat around a theatre is a really good idea. Catwalks are notorious for low hanging steel and sharp edges.

The following picture shows a steel ladder that was mounted away from a wall, but the steel tab for the wall attachment was left intact. As you can see, someone walking around backstage in the dark could very easily run into this. Padding and marking aren't really an option here -- time to get out the cutting torch or hack saw and completely eliminate this hazard! Remember to grind the remanants smooth if you cut something off of the vertical railing of a ladder, otherwise you are creating a great way to slice someone's hand as they use the ladder.

Here is a home-brew solution to some protruding beams along a loading gallery. Glue some foam pipe insulation over the corners.

Use your noggin for thinking, not bonking.

A Long Way To Fall - Ladders Without Cages

This is a legacy ladder which was installed before OSHA even existed. However, that does not exempt the owner from correcting the situation. Ladders of this height must have an ANSI standard cage around them and a fall protection device installed.

Fall protection can be provide in two ways:

a.) There can be a continuous cable or track that runs the length of the ladder (usually up the centerline) with a special trolly attachment that ties to the front of the worker's fall protection harness.

b.) There can be a retractable fall arrest lanyard secured above the top of the ladder way that attaches to the back of the worker's fall protection harness.

Since the worker has to transfer backwards from the ladder onto the catwalk near the top, the retractable fall restraint would probably be the safer solution. Otherwise, the worker would be required to attach a secondary lanyard to the catwalk fall protection anchorage point before he could disconnect the front trolley and he would have to do that while standing on the ladder.


At the top of the ladder you can see that there is a fire sprinkler pipe crossing the travel path of the worker. This would have to be repositioned to provide proper clearance for the ladder cage. Right above the sprinkler pipe is the end of the Loading Gallery catwalk, which would also have to be moved back to allow a clear passageway. Fortunately, I had on my hard-hat when I climbed this ladder -- when I reached the sprinkler pipe I hit my head hard enough to dislodge the inner suspension. Had I not been wearing the hard-hat it could have knocked me out or made me lose my grip on the ladder.

A secondary problem with this stage design is that a full fly house really should have a Lower Loading Gallery in addition to the Upper Loading Gallery. The Lower Loading Gallery is typically situated about 10-12 feet (~4m) below the Upper Loading Gallery so that weights can be added / removed from the counterweight carriage (arbor) when the batten is about the height of a backdrop and/or scenery flat.

Of course, once the ladder has a cage around it and the end of the catwalk is repositioned, it will need a safety gate at the catwalk to keep someone from inadvertently stepping-off into the open hole. Something like this (from a different facility):

If you look closely you will see several interesting items in this picture:

• On the left side (on stage), there is a railing that meets the 4" sphere rule (as if there was going to be a baby crawling around up there !? I guess they figured it was OK if the baby crawled under the safety gate . . .). There should be a steel plate or mesh that extends up about the 18-24" level to prevent the unused ( stored) counterweights from spilling over onto the stage floor below. Also note the 'stored' counterweight left along the off-stage side of the catwalk as a trip-hazard.
• The on-stage side railing is also about 40" tall, enough to keep you from falling over it. A 42-48" railing would be more appropriate here.
• On the right side (off stage, toward the counterweight arbors) there are railings at 8", 24", and 40". Just enough of them to keep you bonking your head as you try to man-handle the counterweights. There is not any OSHA required fall protection anchorage to allow the worker to wear a fall protection harness and safely lean-over the railing and do their work.
• The floor of the Loading Gallery is fabricated from open pattern bar grate, which acts like a cheese grater on your knees when you kneel down on it. It is also open weave, so any grit on your shoes gets scrubbed-off and drops onto the crew working below you. A better solution is to have a closed floor decking (sheet metal) that has a dense rubber mat on it. This provides a non-slip surface, is quieter when setting-down counterweights, and keeps the grit from raining down on those below.
• And the coup de grâce is that there is not an Index Strip Light at this level, so you are working in the dark (all that light you see is from the camera flash). There wasn't any emergency lighting packs either, so if you get caught up there in the dark, good luck getting down!

As a side note, it is always good to paint the working surfaces facing the catwalks a light color like white. This is good for floors, railings, uprights -- everything. If the masking drapes are all properly positioned, no one will see the catwalk from the audience seating area. Place glow-in-the-dark marker tape along all gate and floor openings so you can find your way out in the event of a total power failure.