Check yourself.

 

Don't expect others to do it for you.  You are your best first defense against stupid - or worse.

Stanky Thang - Be Gone!

Sometimes it just isn't practical to bring your hard-hat with you, yet borrowing one from the tool pool seems a bit, well, yechy might be the word.  You don't know where that thing has been, or who has been wearing it.  The sharing of hard hats can bring the unwanted transfer of lice, skin disease, viruses, and, well, general yechiness!

Be polite to yourself and your guests and clean your gear, particularly your spare gear.  Wipe them down with disposable alcohol wipes, wash them with hot water and anti-bacterial soap, and keep them up off of the floor where bugs won't climb into them and build webs or nests (shudder . . .).  Believe me, 'Buzz' doesn't want to feel the after-effects of Brylcreem Bob's 'doo gel on his chrome dome.  Replacing the brow sweat band once in awhile would be a good idea, too!

GKR Industries offers the Hardliner™ disposable sanitary hard hat liner. Simple to install, easy to dispose of.

More info here:  www.gkrindustries.com/HardLiner.aspx

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.

YECH! A picture is worth a thousand words

Keeping your stage gear sanitary has been a blog post topic before, however, this video from microphone manufacturer Audio Technica pretty well sums it up.

For more information about keeping your mics clean, see:
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/who-knows-where-that-thangs-been.html
and
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/yech-get-that-stinky-thang-out-of-my.html

Who knows where that thang's been!?

Every time you approach a microphone (or maybe everytime a microphone approaches you) you have to ask yourself:  Does anyone have a condom that won't muffle the sound?

Really.  Where has that thing been?  Did the last singer / lecturer have herpes or some other orally transmissible disease?  Another solution comes to the rescue:  Mic Check (www.checkthatmic.com) is an individually packed, alcohol- saturated wipe that can kill many of the germs on the surface of the mic.  Great for wiping down many types of musical instruments, sound and lighting consoles, and just about anything else you might come in contact with - living or dead.

It makes a great companion to the Microphome cleaner product that gets down into the pores of the windscreen foam (see: http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/yech-get-that-stinky-thang-out-of-my.html).

If you still don't  believe this is a good idea, then go to:

http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/yech-picture-is-worth-thousand-words.html

Say "Ahhh"

Free Arc-Flash Training Seminars

Burnt to a crisp.  Not Good.  Bad JuJu.  Learn how to recognize Electrical Hazards and work safely around them. NFPA 70E Safety in the Electrical Workplace requires personnel training for anyone that works on electrical power.  Arc Flash events occur very rapidly and if you are caught in the plasma blast you can be seriously injured, burnt, or killed.  Learn about the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needed to do the job.  Think this doesn't apply to you?  Think again.  Dimmer Racks / Panels and Motor Control Centers (MCC) for Orchestra Lifts and Automated Stage Rigging Winches can have very large Voltage and Amperage power services, as do Road Show Disconnect Panels.

Example of an Arc Flash Warning Label
Note: Each label is custom made to match the requirements of the device to which it is attached.
If you don't see a label similar to this on your equipment, find-out why it isn't there.

Free is good.  Find-out more at: AVO Training Institute:  http://www.electricalpowerengineering.com/avo-arc-flash-hazard-analysis-seminar.php

Other info:
Mike Holt:  http://www.mikeholt.com/mojonewsarchive/NEC-HTML/HTML/What-is-Arc-Flash~20040512.php
Arc Flash Information Resource Center: http://www.arcflash.me/index.php
Occupational Health & Safety magazine:  http://ohsonline.com/articles/2009/08/03/arc-flash-training-ppe.aspx
Arc Flash Labeling Handbook: http://www.duralabel.com/ppc/free-arc-flash-book-g.php
Easy Power Support Resources: http://www.easypower.com/arc_flash/arc_flash_resource_center.php

Yech! Get that stinky thang out of my grille!

It's 10:00 o'clock.  Do you know where your microphone has been?  Who's been playing tonsil hockey with it?  Or worse?  Didn't think so.  Most people don't bother to think about those things.  Too yucky.  I know it puts shivers down my spine when I do.

Fortunately, somebody does care.  The folks at Microphome have just what you and your band needs to keep from contracting the next deadly thing (well, at least it might make those stupid germs think twice about who they're foolin' with).  Professional Mic Cleaning Foam.  Don't leave home without.  They claim it kills 99.9% of germs on the stuff it touches.

Check-out the product at www.microphome.com -or- www.microphome.org (which in this case I'm thinkin' they mean organism).

It's just like spraying shaving cream on your favorite '58, but it's hittin' the gross stuff head-on.

For another blog entry on the subject, see:
http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/who-knows-where-that-thangs-been.html

If you still don't  believe this is a good idea, then go to:

http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/yech-picture-is-worth-thousand-words.html

What's on your mic?

Breaking strength of copper wire vs. steel cable - Gee, which one would you choose?

This scenery flat was found attached to a utility batten with a loop of 12 gauge stranded copper electrical wire. Copper is a soft metal that has little strength when loaded structurally. The director usually doesn't want the performers to wear hardhats during the performance, so eliminating the possibility of scenery falling on them really can work-out well for the wardrobe department.

The use of proper scenery attachment clamps, and securing flats at the bottom as well as the top can improve the safety. By attaching suspension cables both places, the flat framing is loaded in compression, rather than in tension, greatly reducing the likelihood that the flat could be pulled apart at the seams / joints should it snag on something when it is going up (flown-out).

Thread the suspension cable through this at the top of the flat.
Terminate the suspension cable at the bottom with a bracket like this.

Components shown found on Doughty Engineering web site (www.doughty-engineering.co.uk)

Could you sharpen that stick a little bit more - I'm not sure it will fully pentrate my skull!

All-thread rod that protrudes below the air duct mounting bracket - cut an an angle to ensure damage to anyone that dares to come near . . . yet another reason to wear a hard-hat!

Zzzzzaaap! Is that burning wire I smell?

When you connect two electrical items together you should follow a few simple rules:

• The National Electric Code
• Use one piece of wire, not three between two devices (this really cuts-down on work, too!)

As you can see in this strip of porcelain sockets, there are multiple splices of three different kinds if wire, each which is wrapped with a different type of tape, not all of which are really good insulators. The Edison plug (NEMA 1-15P) is wrapped in masking tape, too!

If you are not a licensed electrician, don't be wiring 120 Volt (or higher) power circuits that will be used anywhere, particularly on stage where you will be exposing others to your deathtrap.

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin' - Raw Hide! (Well, at least Raw Brain)

I found this steel microphone base up on the elevated locking gallery in this theatre. The gallery has no kick-plate around it's perimeter to keep heavy things from rolling or sliding-off onto the unsuspecting crowd below (which is a whole 'nother issue), and is about 10 feet above the stage floor.

Not setting round rolly things on edge over people's heads would qualify as a "no-brainer" to most folks. But you can never tell what somebody else might do. So, to keep from becoming a 'no-brainer' - always wear a hard hat around places like this. Pick one up at the local hardware stor or safety supply - they are less than $10 bucks and could save your life.

Another Stage Tower Collapse

Hey folks, please be careful out there when you are working outdoor shows. The wind is a wicked and powerful foe. It can pick-up tents, topple towers, and generally wreck havoc. The latest report is somewhat belated as it occurred July 18th, just one day after the Madonna concert canopy rig fell in France. This time it was at an outdoor concert in Guangzhou, China.

There are several videos out on YouTube that show a very shaky cell-phone cam of the show. At one point the camera pans toward stage left and shows a large scaffolding-type lighting tower with some line array speakers also hanging from it. Later in the video there is much confusion and yelling with a few shots of the collapsed scaffolding and several people climbing through it.

Not surprisingly, there is VERY LITTLE media coverage of this and virtually no acknowledgement of anything by the promoter or sponsors. Some news articles say the cellphone video shows the I-Mag video screen falling forward toward the audience, but that is not what this writer sees. The cause of the scaffolding collapse may be related to an incoming hurricane (cyclone) and large tarps tied to the scaffolding acting like windsails.

This is not much different than what happened in 1990 in Brooklyn, New York at the Martin Luther King Music Festival at Wingate Field. Curtis Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down in an onstage accident after high winds cause a 600 pound lighting rig to fall on him during an outdoor concert. Eyewitnesses described the moment as “A small twister of some sort tornado-like, just came out of nowhere.” He was 48 years of age at the time of the accident. Curtis Mayfield was best known as the lead singer for The Impressions and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film “Superfly.” Fortunately he was able to write, produce, sing, and record while lying on his back, but sadly was unable to play the guitar anymore.

Unrelated to either of these events are also numerous report over the years of stage canopies, tents, and other concert paraphernalia being blown over by high winds. Everytime these events happen there is always someone that is quoted in the media as saying "We never thought that this could happen . . . blah, blah, blah."

It's time to wake-up out there! It can happen! It does happen! It could happen to you! If you don't know the weather, your rig, and your loads, don't do the show. Today we have Doppler Radar, Internet real-time weather, and very accurate wind speed measuring devices. Install them, use them, monitor them continuously like your life depends upon it. It does.

And you really can't do this !

The earlier post about blocked exit corridors was just the beginning of this subject. This is probably one of the most dangerous and common problems I find in theatres. IF THE PATHWAY LEADS TO AN EXIT DOOR - THEN IT MUST BE KEPT CLEAR! Also note the broken emergency light and burned-out EXIT sign lamp. This door was at stage left.
This vestibule was at a house left leading from the audience chamber to the outside exit. This vestibule was also feed from the stage by doors on the left (barely visible in the picture). It had a table, chair, and loudspeaker cabinet all in the travel path.

You can't do that!

Aisles and corridors along the exit route must be kept clear of obstructions (this means tables, chairs, junk, more junk, and anything else that would or could impede the flow of people out of the building in the event of an emergency).

Heads!

Just because there is a flat spot somewhere doesn't necessarily mean it's available for storage. Storing stuff, particularly heavy stuff, on a ledge over a doorway is just not a quality decision. Stuff moves, it gets snagged, it shifts, it rolls -- the next thing you know: you wake-up in an ambulance with your noggin' throbbin'. And here you have to lean out over a railing on a spiral staircase to get to the 'stuff'. A geat opportunity for a fall, too!