Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1993 - 52

rated at a value of three and a less experienced crew rated at five. The assessment
of the touring company is based in three
general categories: professional, experienced amateur, and inexperienced (or
unknown). The highest risk is assigned
to inexperienced personnel and the lowest to professional companies, over a
range of two to four.
Task is the actual work conducted during the event. All production activities
from the take-in to the load-out are considered. Because of the markedly different work situations between preparations and performance, these twO
periods are considered separately. Of
these, the take-in, set-up, and load-out is
usually the riskiest.
The technical preparation for an
event is considered in terms of being
basic, average, or difficult. Risk values
range from three (basic), four (average)
ro five (difficult). In making this determination the TO considers the anticipated degree of technical difficulry for
the event as a whole, or perhaps in some
rare situation, a single activiry. Considerations include such vatiables as: the
rype of event (concert, theatre, etc.), the
size of the production, unusual tasks,
and specialry skills required.
The performance is generally a safer
period. Planning and rehearsal greatly
reduce the risks. Bur because the house
staff may not have the luxury of
rehearsal, a risk assessment is made
based on the technical requirements of
the performance. The range is one
(basic), twO (average), or three (difficult). Considerations include the general
rype of activity or performance and specialry activities or situations. For example, a scene shift made during a blackout
may be riskier than one made under
work light behind a closed curtain, particularly if a rehearsal is not possible.
The assessment is usually made as a
whole for the performance, unless an
unusual single situation justifies a higher
rating.
Planning is an area often overlooked in
terms of safety. Certainly a well-planned
event runs smoother and can prevent
those emotional encouurers often experienced when the contract technical
rider doesn't quite agree with the acrual
situation. But more importantly, qualiry
planning contributes to a safer work
place. The CCC matrix considers planning as being good, adequate, or poor. It
is rated from one to three. Qualiry planning should include as much information about the event requirements and
50

1993 WINTER

TD&T

venue as possible, detailed scheduling, a
clear sequence of events, the personnel
requirements, who's in charge, material
or equipment requirements, and safety.
Time is another important variable in
safety management. The CCC matrix
divides time into twO sub areas. The first
is the amount of time available to complete the work required. Haste not only
makes waste, but it's also an accident
looking for a place to happen. After considering the anticipated work load and
the time available the TO assigns a value
of one (generous time available), twO
(adequate time available), or three (limited time available).
The second consideration of time is
the duration of the work call. Because
the CCC crew are part-time employees
most of them work another full-time
job. A rypical crew call means working
beyond a 40-hour week, and being
physically a little tired increases the risk
of accident. A call of four hour or less
receives a risk value of three, four to
eight hours receives a four, and more
than eight hours is rated as five.
Conditions, the specific working conditions for an event, are evaluated in three
sub areas: crew rest, size of crew, and
equipment. Crew rest is considered as
both a marter of how many hours of
sleep the crew may have had the night
before and in terms of possible cumulative effect. The CCC risk values range
from twO through fOUL The touring
crew should also be considered if any
information is available about their
tOuring schedule.
The numbet of petsonnel required is
the second condition evaluated. Generally, the larger the crew, the greater the
risk of an accident. Shows requiring 10
people or less are assigned a risk value of
one, 11-20 people a value of twO, and
21 or greater a value of three. This consideration is based solely on the size of
the crew. Their skill level, experience,
and supervision are considered elsewhere in the matrix.
Equipment tends to receive the greatest emphasis in safety, though in my
experience it is usually a human mistake
which causes most mishaps. Nonetheless, equipment is important to safery.
The equipment safety assessment
includes: the maintenance condition of
all equipment used (venue and tOuring);
special safety equipment availability
(safery belts, steel-tOed shoes, etc.); conformation with applicable codes (fire,
electrical, OSHA); and the correct piece
of equipment or tOol for the job. Once

known, the design and construction
quality of tOuring scenery should also be
consideted. (Let's face it, we've all seen
productions so poorly designed they
were a menace to anyone erectIng
them.) Again, evaluation is generally
considered as a whole. It is rated as three
(good), four (adequate), Ot five (poor).
Supervision is the last major area of consideration. Qualiry supervision can have
the greatest influence on overall safery.
Safety is ultimately the supervisor's
responsibiliry. But safety responsibiliry
does not StOp with the TO. It extends
throughout the otganization and
includes any crew membet charged with
supervising any task. The evaluation
considers the supervisory experience and
technical knowledge of all personnel
who will be supervising (TO, stage manager, department heads, or team chiefs).
The assessment is divided between the
venue and the touring company. The
CCC retains primary supervisory
responsibility for all events and as such
the matrix places high values on the
Center's supervisots. Valuation is three
(most experienced), four (some experience), or five (linle experience). Company supervision is valued as twO (professional), three (some experience), or four
(no experience or unknown).

Sensitivity Analysis
Sensitiviry analysis is a method the TO
can use to test possible corrective actions
which will lower the tisk. Once the TO
has carefully considered all the safety
issues for a specific event, the matrix is
completed and tOtaled. Analysis of the
results provides twO important pieces of
information. First, the general safery situation becomes clear. If the tOtal value
places the likely risk in the "caution" or
"high risk" arena corrective actions can
be taken. The second is the identification of those areas which most significantly impacted the overall rating.
Areas given high risk values should
receive primary corrective efforts. After
considering possible corrective measures
the TO reconsiders the risk and assigns a
"new" value. For example, an equipment
rating of five, because of poor maintenance on key equipment, could be lowered with the repair of that equipment
or perhaps the rental of replacement
equipment. The matrix is again tOtaled
and compared to the total range. This is
repeated with all higher risk areas until
the total risk assessment is acceptable to
the TO. The specific corrective measures identified in this sensitivity analy-

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1993