Strippers can take you breath away - permanently

Methylene chloride, also called dichloromethane, is the solvent common in many paint strippers.  The widely available products with labels that warn of cancer risks but do not make clear the possibility of rapid death. In areas where the fumes can concentrate, workers and consumers risk asphyxiation or a heart attack while taking care of seemingly routine tasks.  PublicIntergrity.org has researched the many deaths that have occurred while using these products and the report can be found here: http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/09/21/17991/common-solvent-keeps-killing-workers-consumers  It's a lengthy read, but it could save your life.

In the fine print of most labels they manufacturers allude to the precautions necessary when using their products, but without a magnifying glass and good lighting, the labels are often difficult to read and easily ignored.  While these products can be bought at home-improvement and general retail stores across the U.S., the specialty respirators and polyvinyl-alcohol gloves needed to handle them safely are not usually available from those same retailers.  OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health say only a full-face respirator with a separate air supply, or exhaust ventilation to remove the fumes, will provide sufficient protection.

Setting aside longer-term health concerns, such as cancer, the danger posed by methylene chloride is its one-two punch when fumes accumulate. Because it turns into carbon monoxide in the body, it can starve the heart of oxygen and prompt a heart attack. The chemical also acts as an anesthetic at high doses, so its victims slump over, no longer breathing, because the respiratory centers of their brains switch off.

READ AND UNDERSTAND YOUR CHEMICAL PRODUCT LABELS AND SDS

THIS REALLY IS A "DO OR DIE" SITUATION

Check yourself.

 

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

Load-out ends tragically for stage worker in Milan, Italy

June 19, 2:40 AM, Milan, Italy - 34 year-old Egyptian stagehand Farouk Abd Elhamid Khoaled was killed during a load-out accident after the close of the KISS Monster Tour 2013 show at the Forum of Assago arena.  Reports vary by translation, but the general consensus was that three workers were operating either a fork lift / boom lift or a freight elevator (language translation web sites don't seem to agree on this) to move some scaffolding and crates to the loading dock.  The lift was overloaded and began to oscillate, pitching Farouk into the path of a shifting load where he was crushed.  One of  the other workers, 21, was transported to the hospital with serious injuries and the third was unharmed.

The original Italian news article can be found here:
www.lettera43.it/cronaca/forum-di-assago-morto-schiacciato-un-operaio_4367599465.htm

Load-out (strike) can be one of the most dangerous operating periods during an event,  People are tired, it's late at night, and everyone tends to be in a hurry to get it over-with.  This is the time to be one the look-out for ill-conceived operation of lifts, hoists, dollies, trucks, carts, and other machinery.  Don't let your guard down!

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.

A Blogger Rants on Fall Protection

Fellow blogger and lighting guru, Jim Hutchison, over at Jim On Light went (appropriately) ballistic over the recent death of another show worker, and he vented via his keyboard about it.  Jim's words are excellent and truly 'Words you can live by'.  Check it out:
www.jimonlight.com/2013/04/09/lets-be-safer-at-least-in-the-entertainment-industry/

Fan injured by unsecured canon equipment sues promotor

William Mueller Jr. sued Live Nation and others, in St. Louis County Circuit Court in March 2013.  Mueller claims he suffered injuries to his groin and upper thigh and suffered pain, mental distress, and temporary loss of consortium (see below).  Mueller says he attended the KISS concert at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on August 27, 2012 when a cannon was discharged during the band's final song.

He claims he was standing at his assigned seat when the cannon "exploded and with great force launched a metal ratchet tie-down strap" that hit him.  "(P)rior to this incident plaintiff had been diagnosed with a rare brain cancer (Esthesioneuroblastoma) and had experienced major surgeries and intense radiation therapy," he says in the complaint. "At the time of his injury, plaintiff's body was in a weakened and vulnerable condition.  Defendants owed to plaintiff the duty to exercise the highest degree of care for his safety.  [The] Defendants actions, conduct, or omissions were negligent, negligent per se, or both and were not those of a reasonably prudent person."


While the band KISS is known for outrages theatrical performances from raised platforms amidst fireballs, canons, smoke machines, and pyrotechnics, it would be reasonable to assume as an attendee of the concert that there would be precautions taken to ensure the audiences' safety.

Mueller seeks actual and punitive damages for negligence.  He is represented by David Diamond of St. Peters, Missouri.

The band KISS is not a party to the complaint.  The defendants are Contemporary Group Acquisition, Live Nation Worldwide, Live Nation Entertainment, All Access Staging & Productions, and Live Nation general manager Leslie Ramsey.

**********************

Loss of consortium is a legal principle that awards monetary compensation for the damages that an individual had to suffer because of family member being injured or for being deprived of a normal family relationship. Damages can mean the loss of love, emotional relations and other services offered by a family member or spouse, if he/she had not been injured. The injury may also have occurred because of assault and battery, wrongful death, false imprisonment, medical malpractice, negligence, sale of addictive drugs and the like.

According to the loss of consortium definition, the basis for awarding these damages is simply the inconvenience of having an injured spouse. This can also be when this injury or act has a devastating effect upon the individual filing the consortium lawsuit or if the injury can directly affect the individual’s personality such as getting depressed or general unpleasantness.

The term consortium encompasses a wide variety of meanings to include all the benefits that a person receives from another family member such as affection, companionship, cooperation, and financial support.

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.

Keeping it all together

GRC (Not the Nutrition Guys) is a term commonly used to abbreviate Governance, Risk Management, and Compliance in the safety industry.  It is supposed to be an organizational cohesion that coordinates the efforts of everyone in a business so that guidance (Governance) is uniformly applied to all the sub-groups, and the subgroups share information and resources openly.

School Districts and Universities typically show significant separations between Risk Management (aka insurance claims management), Facility Safety (building and equipment maintenance), Public Safety (security), and personnel safety (actually training staff and students).

Interdepartmental separations occur, too.  Why is it the automotive shop student is given protective eye wear, while the theatre shop student has to provide his own?  The disparities are numerous and sometimes frustrating.  It affects the supply of safety information, safety goods, safety training, and maintenance.  When properly implemented, it answers the question of "Who's going to pay for this?"

For the governing administrators to do their jobs effectively, it is critical that they understand the wide variety of environments under their care.  In the theatre, this means that we have to pull-back the curtain and expose ourselves to the scrutiny of other non-theatre people.  This is hard.  We spend our entire careers trying to create magic and not let anyone outside of the theatre process know how it really works.  This is the exception.  When it comes to safety - everyone has to know and understand.

Don't stand there and tell everybody that your theatre is safe.  It's not.  This blogger sees brand new theatres that are constructed unsafely all of the time, and few new facilities come with any significant amount of operational safety training - everybody just brings their old bad habits with them and go on with little or no thought as to how they might make cultural changes to their work process.

In the 70's, the phone company ran a series of advertisements that said: "To communicate is the beginning of understanding."  The theatre plant is a perfect example of how important this is.  Maintenance workers need to access equipment and understand what is 'special' theatre equipment and know when they can work on it, and what is 'off limits' so that only specially qualified personnel are brought in to service it.  Good examples might be:

• Dimmer Racks:  The air filters need to be cleaned regularly.  This may require that the power to the dimmer rack be disconnected because there may be live electrical parts within.  Chasing-off the cleaning crew and then not having the filters serviced may cause the dimmers to overheat and malfunction, or even catch fire.  At a minimum, it will shorten the life of the equipment.  This applies to the air filters for the workspaces around the theatre, too.  I've seen clogged air filters and air grilles in follow spotlight rooms, on stages, in dimmer rooms, and on dimmer racks - all preventable if the theatre staff would engage with the maintenance staff.
• Stage Rigging:  Equipment must be inspected regularly by qualified personnel.  Most janitors and building maintenance crews are NOT trained or experienced enough to perform this task.  The maintenance of the stage rigging falls into this category.  The oil field rigging, construction rigging, or ship rigging backgrounds that some maintenance workers might have may be of some use, but without a knowledge of theatrical systems and how they are used, the resulting 'fixes' may be dangerous, incompatible with the theatrical operational needs, or aesthetically undesirable.
• Fire Curtain, Smoke Vent, and Fire Doors:  Inspections and maintenance present challenges similar to the Stage Rigging.  Corrections that are not compatible with Fire Codes, Theatre Operations, and the Audience's enjoyment of the presentations must be prevented through the use of knowledgeable people.  Hire a consultant of you need one - this is where your Risk Management Department and or your Safety Office may be able to assist in securing the necessary funding.

Finding a balance with safety equipment provision policies, cost deferrals, and training budgets can only be achieved if the various participants can speak openly about the needs of their buildings and operations.  It also requires that the administrators truly understand and acknowledge just how dangerous a theatre plant is.  They care about bad brakes on buses, broken playground equipment, football helmets, and toxic fumes in the chemistry lab - why should your performing arts venue be any different?

Blogger Norman Marks on the Sustainable Business Forum site has a series of articles that help to explain GRC:  http://sustainablebusinessforum.com/node/59561

Crowd Management Must Be Proactive, Not Reactive

For whatever reason, celebrity appearances seem to bring-out the hysteria in fans, photographers, and sometimes even in those assigned to protect them.  Current pop icon Justin Beiber seems to fill that role today, as a string of appearances has left many injured in his wake.  Perusing the internet will reveal numerous press items that describe crowd management issues that should not have occurred.

In Santiago, Chile, Justin was to stay at a hotel prior to a local appearance.  His trip was delayed a day, but the crowd outside the hotel didn't know it.  Something triggered them to believe he was on premise and they pushed past a weak perimeter to swarm forward and overwhelm the hotel staff.  The event was captured on tape by someone in the hotel.

 

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At an autograph signing appearance in a Macy's department store, an undercover policeman perceived the throngs of fans to be a threat, and attempted to move Mr. Beiber away.  Due to lack of security coordination and the plain clothes dress of the policeman, the private security company and Mr. Beiber fought-off the policeman thinking he was the threat.  Eventually, the policeman identified himself and charged one of the private security guards with interfering with police business.  The charges were later dropped.

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A recent appearance in Norway on May 30, 2012, lead to Oslo police nearly declaring a state of emergency as tens of thousands of teenage Bieber fans descended on the city, mobbing the streets.

Mayor Stang said it got so chaotic that he had to hide behind a tree at one point to avoid getting trampled.

After 49 teenage girls were injured in the fandemonium, and 14 were taken by ambulance for emergency care, Oslo's mayor launched an investigation into the near-catastrophic event.  No one was seriously injured, but Mayor Fabian Stang complained: "I have already called on the Emergency Planning Agency to examine the entire event from the planning stage to its implementation. We have to find out what went wrong and why it happened.  No state of emergency was ever declared." Camilla Bjorn, a VGTV reporter in Oslo, told E! News. "However, there has been a ton of critique towards official police and Universal Music [Bieber's label] because they were not prepared.  They had not taken into consideration the chaos that could occur."

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When you have guest appearances of pop stars or controversial people, it is vital that security and crowd management be closely coordinated and advised of the types of behaviors that might manifest themselves.  Review of prior event issues with the celebrities' advance team is helpful, as they can help local officials to better understand what to expect.  There can always be a gap in perception between older administrators and younger fans, and between city or state officials and those parties that may hold strong emotions about issues related to the celebrities, whether they are artistic, political, or even criminal (hooligans bent on anarchy or property damage or theft under the cover of crowd chaos).

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/

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

Well, it seemed obvious to me...

A cruise ship passes a small desert island.  Everyone watches as a ratty-looking bearded man runs out on the beach and starts shouting and waving his hands.

"Who's that?" asks one of the passengers.

"I have no idea," replies the captain. "But every year we sail past and he goes nuts."

Why don't we see the obvious?  Here we have a brand-new facility where the sound folks have commandeered the paint storage cabinet from the scene shop and hauled it to the control booth so they could lock-up their microphones...

On the other extreme, these folks have re-purposed a wooden book case to store flammable paints and solvents.

Let's think about our actions so we can be safer this year!  Ask yourself: "Why are we really doing this?" before you act.  Get to the root cause of the need so you can choose the best and most appropriate solution to a problem, not just the quick path to a 'make-do' remedy.

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"

Save Your Canadian Bacon

www.actsafe.ca is a great web site to visit.   actsafe  is a leader in promoting workplace health and safety in British Columbia’s performing arts and motion picture industries. This site has a monthly Safety newsletter, Library resources, Training courses, Posters, and much more.  This information covers a wide range of safety topics.  Good info regardless of your nationality!

Things that go Bump in the Dark

Boom-Boom, Out Go The Lights! (Stray Cats covering Pat Travers covering Little Walter)  Well, that's what happens when you bonk your head really hard (yet another reason to wear a hard-hat!).

Maybe this will help:  Knuffi (www.knuffi.com) soft edge bumper guards are a product that is available in both  Photoluminescent  and  Fluorescent.  These foam wedges, angles, and rounds are designed to fit over beam edges and around corners.  They have self-adhesive tape backing so that you can peel-and-stick them to clean surfaces.




You can get these from:

American Permalight (https://americanpermalight.com/safety-bumper-guards/), or

Knuffi. (www.knuffi.com)

These create a personal crumple zone around low-lying beams, shelves, brackets, conduits, air ducts, or other junk stickin'-out around the theatre.  Don't be bonkin' your noggin'!

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.

Zombies are key to workplace safety.

Slippery floors, hot cooking equipment, heavy lifting, loud noises and working alone are some of the dangers teens face as they take that first job or seasonal employment. These are not too dissimilar from the hazards encountered in a performing arts environment.  These dangers can lead to fatalities and serious injury if workers are not aware of them and how to protect themselves against being injured on the job. To help teens stay safe at work, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) launched an interactive online computer game called “Don’t be a Zombie at Work” and to illustrate how occupational safety, health, and environmental professionals are key to staying safe.

Located at http://www.dontbeazombieatwork.org, the ASSE game is free and features the imaginary evil “BodgeDab” industries. Players find themselves helping their co‐workers avoid becoming a “zombie” by finding tools and information from professionals to stay safe on the job. The game involves a mysterious corporation that has just moved into a large city, led by reputed evil boss Damballa Bokor, and opening businesses all over town. At the same time, the people working at these establishments are becoming “unnatural” ‐‐ zombie-like. And the "virus” is quickly spreading among all workers. The player’s job is to move through these establishments ‐ a restaurant (Club BodgeDab), a warehouse, and an office to save the workers by undoing the workplace hazards. This will save the zombiefied employees and create a safe work environment. If done successfully, the player moves to the final challenge ‐ BodgeDab headquarters and a showdown with Damballa Bokor.

Throughout the game Elle, an ASSE professional, is working undercover to help stop BodgeDab industries and inform the player of the dangerous and underlying dangers of BodgeDab industries.

Just a call away, Elle and a team of safety professionals provide the player with clues on how to prevent workplace hazards, save the zombies and stop the dreaded BodgeDab industries.

In addition to Elle and the safety professionals, the player has several tools that can be moved to a tool box / inventory to fix the hazardous situations in each level. Instructions are provided throughout the game as are quizzes.

The “Don’t be a Zombie at Work” game, developed by ASSE members, is another tool ASSE has created and made available to its members and the public in an effort to prevent workplace injuries and fatalities. The other free young worker tools include the “Be Safe At Work: Tips for Teens” book mark and the brochures titled “Important Workplace Safety Guide for Young Workers” and “Preventing Roadway Crashes” available by contacting ASSE at customerservice@asse.org , by calling 847‐699‐2929 or downloading them from www.asse.org/newsroom in the press kit.

In 2007 a total of 117 teens under the age of 18 died from work‐related injuries and another 77,000 teen workers were hurt badly enough to end up in hospital emergency rooms. Nationally, about 230,000 teens suffer work‐related injuries, with most of those injuries occurring in the retail or service industries, according
to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Overall, close to 6,000 workers die from on‐the‐job injuries and 4.4 million more suffer from injuries and illnesses in the U.S. alone.

Founded in 1911, the Des Plaines, IL‐based ASSE is the oldest and largest safety society. Its 32,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members lead, manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in all industries, government, labor, health
care and education. For more information please go to www.asse.org/newsroom or to http://www.dontbeazombieatwork.org.

Weebles Wobble - But They Don't Fall Down

What better time to talk about Ghost Lights than during the Halloween season?  One of the prime reasons to have a Ghost Light on your stage is to prevent accidents.  Stages have places you can fall off of like trap openings and the front of the stage, and they have plenty of things to bump into and trip over, or at least bust-up your face or shin real good.  Ouch!  Halloween scars that are permanent.  Just what every aspiring actor needs.

One of the most common reasons for not having a Ghost Light is that they aren't commonly available from theatrical supply houses.  All of the Ghost Lights I've ever seen have been cobbled together by well meaning shop craftsmen. The problem with this approach is that whenever you manufacture something you assume the liability for it as well.  When you combine this with poor electrical knowledge and make-shift adaptations the results can be electrically hazardous as well as physically hazardous.  So where is the safety in that?

I was at the local big-box hardware store the other day and I noticed this gizmo:
Item 212004, Model GL600 (www.lowes.com/pd_212004-337-GL600_0)
[Update 2015-08:  This product is no longer available.]

Lowes sells it under their Utilitech brand (made by Cooper Lighting), it is UL and CSA safety listed, fairly inexpensive, and most of all, pretty darn indestructible.  The unit has a weighted base that houses the fluorescent lamp ballast, and incorporates a groove around it to wrap-up the cable when it is not in use.

The case is plastic and has a tie loop at the top if you need to hang it up for storage or suspend it. The clear plastic tube that house the lamp acts as a container to keep broken glass off of the stage should you give it a really significant whack.

Fortunately, the unit does NOT come equipped with a lamp (yes, this is a GOOD THING).  When you outfit it with a lamp you can choose the color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI, or Ra) so that it doesn't clash with your other work lighting, and if you elect to beef-it-up a bit you can install a hard-use lamp like those made by ShatRShield (www.shatrshield.com/catt8page.html)

This unit uses less than 40 Watts of power and lights-up a pretty good area around the stage, so pop one out onto the proscenium line so nobody has to grope in the dark and fall off into the orchestra pit.  That's a dangerous fall to make unexpectedly, and many people over the years have been killed or received career-ending injuries this way.

And a note about the Energy Nazies:  There is always some well-meaning but oblivious-to-the-safety-implications individual that feels compelled to turn-off every light they find glowing.  For a  Ghost Light  to be effective, it must be left ON.  You have to twart them at their game.  What can you do?  Post a sign at both the on/off switch on the Ghost Light AND at the end of the cord(s) that supply the power.  Be polite, but be firm.

 "I want you to meet my little friend." said Al Pacino's character in Scarface.  This will confuse the energy Nazies for sure:  Add a  photoluminescent  tube over the lamp.  This will continue to glow for about 40 hours after you remove the power from the lamp - so it will give any stage marauders a bit of a chance see where they are going should the power go off (or be switched off).  The Lumenite® Light Sleeve is a semi-translucent,  photoluminescent  sleeve that fits readily over new or existing fluorescent tubes.

 

More Luminite info here:

www.lumenite.biz/shop.php/light-sleeves/c_12.html

Do you really want to keep it safe and confuse the Energy Nazies?  Add an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to the Ghost Light.  At only 40 Watts power draw, a small UPS will keep the lights on for hours.  If you use an LED based lamp, then the darn thing could glow for a day or more.

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.

Hemp House Rigging - The 'old fashioned way'

Dawn Wilfong, 24, works the fly rail and hauls a piece of coiled rope during a performance of “A Christmas Carol.”  (c) 2010 Photo by Thomas Slusser (For The Virginian-Pilot)

Check out this great story about one of the few remaining active rope rigging houses.  http://hamptonroads.com/2010/12/behind-scenes-wells-theatre-rare-find

This wooden pin-rail is in a theatre built in Texas in the 1920's.

One of the most common scenarios this blogger sees is equipment like this that has never been serviced in 50-70+ years.  The Loft Blocks are sometimes made of dry-rotted wood or sand-cast pigiron, either of which could fail under load without notice.  The ropes need constant review and regular replacement, too, as they weaken with age and abrasion.  As you can see in the second picture, the facility operators in this building don't understand the concept of counterweighting the batten loads, so everything is stage-heavy.  The battens are dead-hauled (bull-dogged) up, and if the tie-off fails or the fly crew looses their grip, then the batten and load will will come crashing to the stage.

Other potential problems are retro-fitted belaying pins:   I've found rebar, conduit, gas pipe, broom handles, steel spikes, and other odd items used in place of the correct items.  Some hemp-house facilities are 'hand-me-down' theatres that started-out as the High School Auditorium, then was the Middle School, and is now part of the Elementary School facility.  Not only is the equipment MORE DANGEROUS, but it is located where young children not familiar with the hazard potential can pull-out the belaying pins and/or untie the rope lines.

It is extremely important that the operators and staff fully understand how the fly system works and what safety precautions must be taken when loading and operating the system.