OSHA issues fines for Stage Manager killed in blast

2016-02-03 -Last summer we reported about an incident in west Texas where a Stage Manager was killed when a pyrotechnics storage bunker for an outdoor show exploded  (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2015/08/fireworks-storage-building-explodes-and.html)

OSHA has now investigated the incident and issued a statement:  “A 21-year-old worker, with three months of work experience under her belt, lost her life because Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation failed to provide appropriate training and protective equipment to workers handling pyrotechnics.”

That was the assessment of Elizabeth Linda Routh, OSHA’s area director in Lubbock, Texas, after a young worker was fatally injured last summer while taking an inventory of the pyrotechnics for an outdoor musical production at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon, Texas.

After an inspection following the fatality, OSHA issued six serious citations for failing to train workers on the use of explosives, provide fire retardant clothing, perform a hazard assessment and develop a written hazard communication program.

Proposed Penalties: $42,000

Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation is a performing arts employer.

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Although $42,000 may not seem like much for a human life, this assessment of the situation opens the door for civil litigation so the victim's family can pursue further compensation.

Another gust of wind up-ends a portable stage

2013-08-12 ~6:00PM - In Germany on the Island of Sylt, a mobile stage with a fold-out apron and pop-up canopy was caught by high winds and flipped on it's side.  No injuries were reported.  It is apparent from the video that there were no anchors employed to keep the stage secured to the ground - the staging company was relying on dumb-luck and gravity to do the job.

Video text translates as:
"On Sunday, about 18 O'clock, a strong gust of wind was recorded at the big event stage the Super Sail event, and it turned-over.  The stage was lying on it's back, there were no casualties. The Westerländer firefighters secured the structure, and salvaged the stage in the hours that followed."

Ocean + Wind-powered Boats = HIGH LIKELIHOOD FOR WIND.  This was foreseeable.

Wind Gust Topples Stage Canopy in Shelby North Carolina

2013-08-10 - Preparations for an evening concert were disrupted at the end of the sound check for one of the bands as a wind gust from an approaching storm blew the overhead lighting and canopy support trusses over.  A band member from The After had just stepped off of the stage when the structure toppled.  The show was set-up at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds near Shelby, North Carolina.

Picture Tweeted by The Afters

The picture from stage left shows a disturbing lack of safety preparation and recovery efforts.

• Workers appear to be wearing non-steel toe shoes, no hard-hats, and no gloves.
• The blue canopy is a light-weight 'pop-up' type with no anchorage or ballast weights.
• The main canopy truss was supported by telescoping material lifts (a more extensive discussion of this can be found at: www.jimonlight.com/2013/08/14/more-contradiction-in-the-shelby-stage-collapse-weather-equipment-negligence ) with no base anchors and had no cross-bracing, the canopy truss corners were lashed to the lifts with span-sets (seen in other pictures from http://www.wcnc.com/news/slideshows/Photos-Storms-blamed-for-Cleveland-Co-stage-collapse--219131761.html?gallery=y#/news/slideshows/Photos-Storms-blamed-for-Cleveland-Co-stage-collapse--219131761.html?gallery=y&img=7&c=y).  A reproduction of the Material Lift operation manual that clearly shows that these devices should not be utilized for supporting outdoor stage canopies can be see at Jim Hutchison's JimOnLight site: www.jimonlight.com/2013/08/12/another-structure-falls-stage-roof-made-from-genie-towers-collapses-in-north-carolina
• The stage is very similar to the stage deemed 'unsafe' by Pat Benatar's band at an event a few weeks ago (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2013/06/gut-feeling-can-prevent-accidents.html).  Few cross-braces, no railings.
• 
  

The band’s opening act, The Afters, was doing a sound check around 3:30 p.m. when the wind picked up and the stage started shaking.

“This storm suddenly came in and suddenly I hear 'get off the stage!'” said The Afters’ lead singer Josh Havens, in a cell phone video shot by MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard.  “And we're running, jumping off the stage.”

MercyMe’s stage manager witnessed the collapse.  Joel Bench is used to setting up and taking down stages – just not like this.

“The wind just picked up, the roof lifted a little bit,” said Bench.  “Then it started tilting and just kind of eased down.”

“Luckily we had people watching and eyes on it, and they started screaming and everybody started running and took off safely,” he said.

Reports from the event tell of lightning in the area which should have caused the stage to have been evacuated long before the collapse occurred.  Lightning strike and weather warning applications for smart phones and dedicated lightning strike monitor tools (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/weather-safety-for-outdoor-venues.html) are commonly available and should ALWAYS be monitored, especially if there are visible adverse weather conditions.

John Huntington's ControlGeek site has a thorough run-down on the actual weather conditions:
http://controlgeek.net/blog/2013/8/11/more-on-the-mercymethe-afters-cleveland-county-fairgrounds-stage-roof-collapse-for-mercy-me

Brittany Spangler, administrative assistant for the American Legion World Series, said “The World Series officials are all devastated, but in the end, it was safety first for the artists.  We’re sad, but you can’t really stop Mother Nature.  We weren’t aware that the winds were going to get that high.”  Commentary:  The venue should have had a weather service monitoring the local and regional weather.

Fortunately, no one was injured and the scheduled event that was expecting as many as 10,000 2,500 attendees was cancelled.  Hopefully, the event promoters and staging company have learned from this near-miss.

Spring Storm in Thailand Topples Stage and Kills One

June 17, 2013 - Phuket, Thailand.  A poorly built stage canopy and adjacent speaker towers fell-over during high winds at Paphan Hin public park.  One person seeking shelter near the stage was crushed and killed instantly by the weight of the speakers that fell on him.  The stage was erected for a Prison Fair where furniture and other goods fabricated by the prisoners are sold to benefit them.

Witnesses say a 62 year old man that was a motorbike taxi driver, Mohammad Poksakul, sat near the stage and when a 60 kph wind gust pushed the canopy sideways, it forced the 10m tall speaker tower over, which in-turn, fell on to him and killed him.

The victim lies covered-up, stage canopy at right, stage left speaker tower in background.

Toppled Speaker Tower at Stage Left - Note lightweight scaffold framing.
The base does not appear to haven any anchor plates.

View of Stage Right Canopy Supports - Note that they only provide vertical support - no lateral stabilizers, the base was not anchored to the ground.  The orange straps appear to have been guy-lines that tore loose from their attachment points.

Concert season is windy season everywhere.  Be alert to bozos that do not understand how to secure the stage.  Be alert to promoters that don't evacuate the area when storms approach.

Have we learned nothing?

The festival season starts early in the south, and Mardi Gras is one of the first events we see set-up for numerous stages and shows.  Outdoor festival stage canopies have proven to present opportunities for accidents because they have large surfaces that can be caught by side winds and uplifting plow winds.  To counter-act the forces developed by gale-force winds, event riggers rely heavily on large ballast weights to tie-off canopy structures in an attempt to anchor the framework to the ground.

These ballast weights work well if they are massive enough for the predicted winds and effective 'sail area' presented by the canopy roof and side walls.  If they are too light, the ballast weights will just be dragged across the ground and bulldoze a path of their own.  Slippery grass, or dirt that turns to mud, just act as a lubricant to free the ballast weights up for sliding in the event of a downpour, so anchoring or pinning the ballast weights to keep them from moving is also part of a good rigging plan.  (The ballast weights shown above were not pinned or anchored to prevent sliding)

Wind is not a steady-state event.  You know that.  It gusts.  It starts and stops.  It changes direction.  It generally whips everything around a bit as it works it mayhem.  For this reason, we need to use secure connections on the guy wires for the ballast weights and stabilizing X's that are used to stiffen the structures against parallelogram movements.  If you don't, a gust of wind can slack the line, unhook the conenction(s), and you loose all anchoring in the blink of an eye.

As you can see above, the anchor ties used in the blocks in the first picture are common ratcheting tie-downs in the trucking industry, and they only have a open hook at the load securing end.  This may be de rigueur for the transport industry, but it's a no-go for event safety.  If the wind gets to blowin' and this bad boy comes loose, it could rip the flesh right off of someone unlucky enough to get in it's flailing path.

So, it was bad enough to see the above tie-down terminations at almost every corner of the stage, but then I looked further up the anchor line and found this:

Each anchor line had two possible points of failure.  Three stages and a major cable bridge over the street, all in close proximity, four to eight anchor blocks secured in this manner for each one, and two possible failure points per securement.  All of this within a city block of a major open waterway (read: obstruction-free wind-path).  Personally, I don't like those odds.

The City is relying on the Event Producers to Employ Staging Subcontractors that will erect facilities that will be safe for the (possibly highly intoxicated) general public to hang-out around and potentially be leaning-on, climbing on, or even messing with.  Plan for the worst, and you may have a chance of having an incident-free event, but if you leave opportunities for failures in the system like are shown above, be ready to pay the piper (or at least the plaintiffs).

Follow-up to commenter:
If you are going to use ratchet-straps to secure anything (subject to load rating), then utilizing products that have a self-closing clip is highly recommended.  Here is a picture of that type of ratchet and clip:

 

Deist   http://www.deist.com/inline-ratchet-tiedown-p-258.html

It is also recommended to have a wire rope safety cable that runs in parallel with this, preferably one that is only slightly longer than the final tensioned length of the ratchet strap.  This can prevent a total release of the system should the ratchet strap fail.  Fabric based straps and slings are subject to weakening due to abrasion, minor cuts, and rot.  Straps exposed to sunlight have shortened lifespans due to the exposure to UV light which weakens the fibers.

Event Live Expo 2013 Plans Full Day Of Safety Workshops

The Event Live Expo and Summit this February 5 thru 7, 2013 in Los Angeles, California looks to be a tremendous resource for Event Safety information.  The organizers have planned six Summit sessions to fill the second day of the expo (February 6th) and numerous elements of event planning and execution will be addressed.  A run-down of the day can be found at:

www.eventlive-expo.com/2013-program Click on the DAY 2 tab.

General information and registration for the conference can be found at: www.eventlive-expo.com

New Reports on 2011 Ottawa BluesFest Staging Collapse

More than a year after the incident (http://theatresafetyblog.blogspot.com/2011/07/ottawa-bluesfest-stage-canopy-collapes.html), a report assessing the damage, probable causes of the damage, and outlining recommendations to prevent a repeat of the day has been published.  Writer Chris Cobb of the Ottawa Citizen newspaper has obtained a copy of the report and summarized it in an article published on November 19, 2012 (www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Finger+points+stage+owner+collapse/7568244/story.html).

The previous day he also published a summary of first-hand accounts by people present during the incident. The article 'Stage fright' can be found here:  www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Stage+fright/7561428/story.html

Photo by: Sandra Luty

One of the key causes of the collapse was determined to be that the stage crew could not remove the stage canopy fabric walls in time to unload the structure from the winds.  The panel ties had been previously removed due to a storm a week earlier, and when the fabric wall panels were reattached, they were re-secured with plastic zip-ties that were too tough to cut with a knife.

Actress Injured by Falling Lighting Equipment

Actress Kristin Chenoweth was rushed to a New York hospital after she was injured on the outdoor set of "The Good Wife" that was shooting in Brooklyn, NY on Wednesday afternoon, July 11, 2012.

A source connected to the production of the CBS show said that Kristin was struck by a piece of lighting equipment that was dislodged from a scaffold due to a strong gust of wind.

The 44 year old Tony Award-winning actress immediately fell to the ground and her head impacted the concrete.

A witness said that Chenoweth was hit "square in the head" and appeared to be "knocked out cold. I thought she was dead at first."

A crew member called 911 around 5:07 PM ET to report a woman who had been hit in the head by a scaffold.  The item that struck her was later identified as a ‘Lighting Silk’ (a metal frame with a fabric lighting diffusor media) and the boom stand that supported it.  Paramedics treated Kristin on the set fitting her with a neck brace and putting her onto a stretcher.  She was quickly taken away from the set in an FDNY ambulance and was admitted to a nearby hospital in Manhattan.

 A representative for the New York Fire Department said that Kristin was being treated for "minor injuries" connected to the accident.

Chenoweth later said that she had been hit in the face by the lighting instrument and then hit the back of her head on the curb, which knocked her unconscious.  She said that she had a 5½” skull fracture, possibly cracked or bruised ribs, some additional injuries to her hip, back, and neck.  Two months later she was still requiring some physical therapy and wears a neck brace from time to time.

On August 13th she resigned from the cast of the show. "It is with deep regret to inform everyone that due to my injuries, I am unable to return to 'The Good Wife' at this time," Chenoweth said. "[I’m] Getting better slowly, and thank you, everyone, for your concern.”

The accident not only caused Chenoweth physical injury, but mental as well. The actress described how she struggled forming sentences and remembering words. She told the NY daily News that “I couldn’t really form a sentence after it happened.  I’m the queen of multi-tasking.  I’m not so good at that right now.   I’ll be like, ‘Mom, are you talking on the thing that you push ... the phone?’ ”

“That’s been interesting, but that’s getting better. I’m grateful.  It could have been much worse.”

The actress has been involved in other performance-related accidents, too.

• She injured her neck during the pre-Broadway engagement of "Wicked" in 2003.
• She fell off an elevated section of the stage during a rehearsal of the Broadway revival “The Apple Tree” in 2006.
• She injured her back on the set of “Glee” when she tumbled down a set of concrete stairs in 2011.

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.

Stage Canopy Collapse in Toronto Claims One Life

Saturday, June 16, 2012 - Toronto, Canada - Workers erecting the stage for a Radiohead concert scattered as the framework above the stage came crashing down, pining and killing one worker.  The weather was calm and wind did not appear to be a factor.  Arial shots of the aftermath show a scaffold style framework that did not involve portable concert trussing.  The incident occurred at around 4:00PM before the concert and any audience had been allowed into the venue.  The concert was cancelled.

According to Ian McClellend with the cities' EMS department, one man was extricated from under the wreckage and pronounced dead at the scene;  another was transported to the hospital with head injuries; and two more were assessed with minor injuries and released on the scene.

The Canadian Ministry of Labour will be investigating to see what the root cause of the structure collapse was.

More information can be found at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/16/world/americas/canada-stage-collapse/index.html

The way it is supposed to work - WORKS!

An outdoor show at Buffalo New York's Coca-Cola Field was cancelled due to threatening weather conditions on June 1st, 2012.  The event, featuring country music performer Eric Church, was delayed twice as the stage roof was lowered due to strong wind gusts, and after some of the stabilizing guy wires snapped, it was decided that it was too risky to continue with the show.

Other factors cited were increasing rain and lightning strikes in the area.  The cancellation set-off a few unruly responses from the crowd and some folding chairs were tossed onto the stage.

This is a great step forward in that the event organizers recognized that it would be better to postpone the event until a future date rather than risk injuries to performers, crew, or the audience.  The ticket holders will be given the opportunity to come back in a few weeks to see the show once it is rescheduled.

More information about the cancellation can be found here:
www.wyrk.com/eric-church-promises-free-makeup-show-in-buffalo-for-taste-of-country-2012-ticketholders-video/

And a formal statement from the event promoter is here:
www.wyrk.com/official-wyrk-statement-on-taste-of-country-2012-suspension-before-eric-churchs-set/

PLASA Protocol Speaks-Out About Safety

The entertainment industry organization PLASA (recently joined with ESTA) offers free monthly magazine titled Protocol.  It's always chock-full of good information, and this month is no exception.  There are several good articles aimed directly at stage safety:

• Rich Wolpert and Delbert Hall’s Tech Tips column expands on Rigger's Fids in "Fids, Part 2" - If you don't know what a "rigger's fid" is, or want to know more about how to make and use them, this is a great series.
• Jim Utterback with Joe Aldridge, Eddie Raymond, and Alan Rowe following up with his on-going series on Safety, this one on "Risk Assessment”.
• Gary Justesen from Oasis Stage Werks writes about "Seeking Shelter From The Storm" and the inspection and operations protocols for Outdoor Stages with a sidebar discussion about event cancellation insurance by Neil Huff.
• Richard Cadena and Alan Rowe discuss "Lithium Battery Hazards" and how not to burst into flames while flying.

You can get your own subscription to this fine journal at:  http://na.plasa.org/publications/protocol.html and yes, you can read it on your mobile device, too, with reader apps available.

While you are there, cruise on over to  http://www.plasa.org/association/ and sign-up to be a PLASA member.

Indiana Legislature posts Bill requiring outdoor stage inspections

The Indiana State Legislature posted a bill to require all venues statewide to have outdoor stage structures inspected by an engineer or other qualified person.  More information at:
http://theatreface.ning.com/profiles/blogs/follow-up-to-indiana-state-fair-stage-canopy-collapse

This may provide a model of other states to go-by as they develop their new regulations.  Maybe we can prevent a repeat of the last few summers of show disasters.

Performers need some limits and restraints, too.

This video of a 1982 U2 concert at Gateshead clearly shows a performer that has completely disregarded his own safety (and possibly the safety of others had he fallen).  The artist climbs the support structure starting around 2:30 in the video.

Were any laws broken here?  Maybe not, as it was the artists' own initiative to do this, however, promoters, venue owners, stage managers, and staging rental companies must be on the alert for this type of unexpected and unplanned behavior so that proper precautions are taken to thwart it or see that it is done with the proper safety protocols in-place.

Where Are We Headed with Outdoor Concert Regulations?

PLSN published a Guest Editorial by this blogger in the September 2011 Issue of Projection, Lights and Staging News.  In it I discuss the potential for a coming storm of concert legislation that may affect the entertainment industry.  Check it out at:

http://www.plsn.com/current-issue/87-guest-editorial/7967-where-are-we-headed-with-outdoor-concert-regulations.html