UK Purple Guide Revision Draft Open for Comment

The UK's guide to event operations and safety, also known as HSG195, has been under revision for the past half year, and the committee's work is now available for public input.  The open comment period will last until the end of October 2013, after which all comments received will be reviewed for integration.

Covering both legislation and good practice, this new guide has been designed to alert and inform both event organizers and suppliers to the practices and issues that need to be considered when events are being organized. The contents are not designed to be prescriptive, and those using this guide should undertake risk assessments and evaluations that are appropriate to evaluate the specific requirements of the unique events they are planning.

The Purple Guide to Health, Safety and Welfare at Music and Other Events (Draft) can be found here:

www.thepurpleguide.co.uk

NAOSH Week

NAOSH Week occurs every year during the first full week of May and is aimed at raising awareness about occupational safety, health and the environment and safety, health and engineering professions. The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) joined with the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) and partners in Mexico to promote safety awareness in North America during NAOSH Week.

You light up my life, er, ah, Hardhat!

Hard hats are great, but they don't offer a lot of options for attaching headlamps. We work in near darkness many places in the theatre, and holding a pen-light in your mouth for any length of time can result in drooling all-over yourself and the flashlight - not mention the yech factor of where it may have recently been.  The typical elastic band type headlamps that hobbyist wear won't stay-put because the elastic band will slip across the slick surface of the hardhat and fall off at the most inopportune time.  Securing your flashlight to your hardhat frees-up your hands for more productive work.

Streamlight Rubber Strap Mount on firefighter's helmet, and Streamlight Clip Mount (inset).

Streamlight, makers of industrial strength flashlights for fire and rescue teams has a good solution:  The Haz-Lo Helmet Lighting Kit.  In includes a clamp bracket so you can secure the flashlight to the helmet rigidly with a pivoting mount, a rubber helmet strap with holes you can thread the flashlight through, and a 3AA LED flashlight with a tail cap type switch.  The clamp bracket has a captive screw so you won't be loosing those tiny parts.

More info at:  www.streamlight.com/en-us/product/product.html?pid=283

A pair of these lights provides redundancy and doubles your work light to 240 lumens, each running 6-1/2 hours.  Remember:  It is still a good idea to safety cable the flashlight to your hard hat, and safety cable you hard hat to your gear belt.

LOTO also means - Test Before You Touch

As a part of Electrical Safety Month, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFi) has published a safety flyer addressing the need to test an electrical device BEFORE you stick your fingers or tools in to work on it.  Just because you THINK it's OFF, doesn't necessarily MEAN it's OFF.  To mix a metaphor and paraphrase our favorite Star Trek character:
      Measure Twice - Live Long and Prosper!

Get the Test Before You Touch safety flyer here for reprinting and distribution to your crew:  http://esfi.org/index.cfm/pk/download/id/10818/pid/10272

Or you can order the pamphlets for a nominal charge at:  http://esfi.org/index.cfm/pid/10693

There is a free Test Before You Touch safety video that can be watched online or downloaded at:
http://esfi.org/index.cfm/pid/10847 and scroll down to: ESFI "Never Assume" Safety Series

Or you can purchase the "Never Assume" DVD here:  http://esfi.org/index.cfm/pid/10683

 

2014 NFPA 70 - NEC is now available for Pre-Order

The NFPA announced that the 2014 NFPA 70 - National Electric Code can be pre-ordered with a 25% discount if the order is placed before July 10, 2013.  The code book won't ship until later in the year, and you won't be billed until it ships.

For more info, visit: www.nfpa.org/catalog/product.asp?pid=PRE70&order_src=D299

Electrical Safety Month Reminder - LOTO

There is a great safety poster available for download at the Energy Facilities Contractors Group (EFOCG) Health and Safety web site:

Get it here:  www.efcog.org/wg/esh_es/docs/Elec_Safety_Month/2013/Permanent Tagout.pdf

May is Electrical Safety Month

Let's place a little extra emphasis on electrical safety this month.  With the end of the school year for many, and the beginning of the summer festival season for others, may is a good time to get your house in order.

Electrical hazards can appear in many work spaces around the are theatre plant (yes, it is a factory, we make a product, we produce goods, and a few bads).  Some of the most common electrical hazards I see around theatres involve power outlets, extension cords, and the interface between the cables and the item they are connected to (i.e. - failed cable grips).

Be sure to use Lock-Out / Tag-Out (LOTO) procedures so the equipment behind the cover plate is dead before you go poking around with a screw driver.  All it takes is one slip and you can come in contact with live parts!  It is better the circuit be dead than you!

Broken connectors present a very serious hazard because they can lead to miss-alignment of the power pins / blades, which can result in the live parts shifting and coming in contact with the cover plate.  This electrifies the cover plate (if it is metal) and may trip a circuit breaker.  The unseen danger may be that the plate and/or connector are not properly grounded.  If they are not grounded, you might be the easiest path to ground that the electricity seeks-out.

Broken or missing cover plates present a similar danger.  This allows small items like fingers and screw drivers to to come in contact with live circuits.  Where larger openings are present, larger items like music stands, microphone stands, and chair legs can fall-over and come in contact with the live wiring.

In the example at the left, the receptacle is missing the cover plate AND was a ungrounded connector.

Some facilities favor stainless steel covers for their look and durability, some use plastic (typically Nylon, but other formulations are available).  The Nylon cover plates are particularly durable in that the Nylon material flexes a bit without breaking, where other plastics tend to be more brittle and shatter when stressed.

It's not just the power receptacles on the wall that need to be audited - remember to check floor pockets, receptacles inside cabinets, and on ceilings, too.