Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1996 - 15

T,wo years ago during a
tour stop inMemphis, a
stagehand becomes exhaustedwhile climbing
up a 40joot wire rope
ladder to his truss spot
on the lighting truss,
Unable to continue
climbing up or climb
down, he eventually
lets go andfalls to his
death on the cement
floO/:
Lastyeal; at a stop
on the 1995 Billy joel/
Elton john tOUl; another stagehand climbing a wire rope ladder
misses a rung near the
top and falls, But this
time, he only falls
about afoot before his
retractable lifeline stops
him, He regains his
footing on the laddeJ;
unharmed

JIIustrations by Steve Nelson

hen working high above the arena floor, riggers are constantly aware that just one slip,
one little mistake can result in a careel~ending (even life-ending) fall. No mistakes are
allowed, niess, that is, the rigger is connected to an engineered fall arrest system,
This article is a brief introduction to fall protection in tlle entertainment industry,
Two systems will be exanlined that address different kinds of fall hazards, One is a P01~
table system for protecting stagehands as they climb up to and then move across lighting
trusses, The other is a permanently installed system for protecting riggers while they are
working in the high steel of an arena,
The truss system used in the REM, show was developed by Stage Rigging, Inc.
(owned by co-author Rocky Paulson) in conjunction with Surety Manufacturing and
Testing, a company specializing in fall protection equipment The fall protection system
in the high steel at the Gund Arena was designed by Fall Arrest Systems, Inc. using
ManSafe fall protection components,
Aresource list-books, OSHA publications and contact information for the companies mentioned in tltis article-is provided on page 19,

W

WORKING WITHOUT A NET
For many years, state and federal regulations have been in place which require adequate fall protection in the workplace, nfortunately, in the entertainment business,
most employers have been unaware of, or unconcerned about, their liability should a
worker fall and get injured, To compound the problem, most stagehands have been unaware of the availability of fall protection equipment (other than mountaineering gear
which is generally innapropriate for fall protection), But things are improving: fall protection systems are starting to appear on the lighting trusses of touring shows and some
large venues have recently installed permanent fall protection systems,
For the past twenty years or so, since touring shows began hoisting lighting trusses
up on inverted chain motors, the stagehands who work aloft on the high steel and on the
flown trusses have pretty much been responsible for their own safety-rel}~ng on
strength, good balance lmd luck Recently, many riggers and lighting teclll1icians have
begun using some of the safety gear used by rock climbers: a seat harness, wltich is worn
at all times when aloft, is secured by a lanyard to any convenient building steel whenever
the worker feels insecure, Tltis is obviously better than notlting, however, when the
worker is moving (up a wire rope ladder, along the truss, or along the high steel), he or
she is unattached lUld thus once again dependent on strength, good balance and, oh yes,
luck, to keep from falling,
Afall protection system cobbled together using mountaineering gear is clearly inadequate, In the past 25 years, since the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health
Act of 1970, a great deal of research and practical experience using fall protection in a
multitude of industrial workplaces has led to advances in fall protection geill' and system
design, In addition, OSHA regulations have been updated (most notably the 1994 Safety
Standards for Fall Protection in the Construction Industry) and industry consensus standards have been adopted like the ANSI Z359, I, So today, even a relatively small induslIy
like rock 'n roll touring has no excuse for not taking the appropriate steps to protect
workers from accidental falls,
TD&T

WINTER

I

996

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1996
