The rigging/counterweight system in a high school theatre is such a serious safety issue that it gets a full chapter all to itself in my High School Theatre Operations
book, but in response to the discussion here, here's some excerpts for you: THE COUNTERWEIGHT SYSTEM
The Counterweight System (or Fly System or Rigging System as it is interchangeably called) is potentially the most dangerous system in the theatre. Although mentioned intermittently in the Safety chapter, it gets its own chapter as well because of the seriousness of operating this system safely.
For a start, consider that you are flying hundreds of pounds of weight above the heads of people – children, in the high school setting - who have no hardhats on. What construction site allows that? Not only that, but during an actual performance, although the movements of the scenery have been choreographed and practiced, no one calls out any warning before hundreds of pounds of set pieces come flying down to the stage deck at a fast rate. The people (your students) below simply cannot be in the wrong place at the wrong time….
TRAINING
High school students – and anyone who will be operating the counterweight system - must be taught the theory and practices of operating the system safely. The operator is a part of they system. Whether a rope or cable fails or whether the operator fails, the system is compromised as a whole.
The fact that as soon as your student lays hands on a rope s/he becomes a part of the system, is pause for thought. For this reason, you must have a strict protocol about using the fly system, and although teenagers can actually be trusted to use the fly system safely (high school techies do tend to take ownership of the protocol), they must first be trained....
Not only does this counterweighting have to happen, but it has to happen in a specific order. It is very important to keep the majority of the weight on the stage side, so that when you load weight you load the sets or lights first, and when you take away weight you take away from the arbor side first. Each of these procedures is designed to ensure that a heavy weight will not come crashing down onto the stage where people may be standing. In addition, counterweight systems are generally built such that, while re-weighting, the lock can hold an imbalance of about 50lbs while re-weighting, but there are precautions you must take in order not to rely on the lock…
SAFE OPERATIONS
It's not only important to make sure your students go through the correct training, and have their parents sign a waiver form (see the Safety chapter) before they can operate the counterweight system, but it's also very important to supervise them at all times and to make sure they continue to follow the proper procedures. It's my philosophy that shows should be entirely run by students whenever possible, however there should always be a theatre technician present to supervise, even if it looks like on the surface that they aren't doing anything. As I often say, you don't send the babysitter home after the children are in bed...
RIGGING
But, how do the scenery and lights get on the pipes in the first place? There are specific techniques for attaching scenery to pipes with cables. Hundreds of pounds of weight is being hung above people's heads, so the proper procedures must be followed. I have always required that a rigging technician be present and in charge of weighting the fly system during set load-ins in high school theatres. I can't recommend strongly enough that you do the same. There is a proper technique and procedure for flying, and the following is a sample of a written procedure you should have in your theatre…
COUNTERWEIGHT SYSTEM VS. ELECTRIC WINCH SYSTEM
Most high schools these days have a counterweight system where the weight of the scenery or lights is counter-weighted with weights, which are moved by pulling on ropes. As you have read if this is not done correctly this can cause a very unsafe condition. For this reason some districts are persuaded by their insurance companies to install electric winch systems instead. Electric winch systems allow the user to move the pipes with the scenery and lights on up and down with the push of a button. They winch system is strong enough to hold huge amounts of weight, thereby eliminating the need to re-weight every time you add or take off another light or piece of scenery (although the winch can be "taught" what weight it is moving). More sophisticated systems come with a computer, whereby you can program "cues". For instance, if you need to prep for a show, you enter a cue number and all of the legs and the cyc come down in place at once. If you are doing a scene change, you enter a cue number and three pieces of scenery fly out and two fly in. Presto change-o.
On the surface, this may sound far preferable in the high school theatre setting. But I haven't met a high school theatre technician yet who thinks so. There are several negatives about an automated winch system. They include:
To program in, and execute, a cue needs only one person. In a high school setting where there are usually several students wanting to work backstage, this denies jobs to too many students.
Career and Technical Educational value is lost. The high school students haven't been taught and therefore don't learn about counterweighting protocol and rigging procedures and if they go on to work in another theatre – community, college or professional, most of which have counterweight systems - they could be put themselves and others in danger with a presumed level of training that they don't have.
Most older winch systems have a button that you must actively hold down in order for the pipe to move, however because it's so 'simple' to use, safety training is not adhered to.
In the newer winch systems with computers there is an auto stop built into the system, so that if a drape or pipe hits an object it automatically stops moving. The trouble is, it has to hit the object first. That object could be a student's head.
Electric winches don't know to stop when someone yells "Stop!". When a student is actively lowering a piece of scenery with a counterweighted rope system and a student on stage sees that it is about to hit something that was not meant to be there, the student on stage can yell "Stop!" and the student on the fly system can stop lowering the ropes in order to avoid an accident, or worse. If a student pushes a button on the computer screen of an electric winch system that student knows that the system will do what it's programmed to do. So even if that student has been trained to stand by the screen, they are not actively doing anything, or do not appear to be doing anything to other students. If that student is distracted (say by another student – like that would happen!), when the student on stage yells "Stop!" the student operating the screen may not be able to get to the control in time to avert the disaster.
One perceived positive feature about an automated winch system is the ability to create "cues", where several pieces of scenery and/or drapery can fly in and/or out at the push of the button. However, consider a situation where a show is in progress and a crew member leaves a piece of scenery, say a desk, in the wrong place during the previous set change. The next set change comes along. The operator pushes the button and several pieces of scenery fly out while a some fly in. Suddenly a crew member realizes that a wall that is flying in is going to hit the desk. He yells "Stop!" over his headset to the winch operator. The winch operator quickly pushes the stop button. In a situation where a counterweight system is in use, the crew member flying in that particular wall can stop, while the remaining crew members can keep flying their set pieces and drapes. The desk is moved, and that wall continues to fly in. The audience notices nothing amiss. The show goes on. In the same scenario using an automated winch system, when the stop button is pushed all pieces of scenery stop flying in and out. The whole set change is put at a halt. This disrupts the flow of the play. A crew member manages to move the desk and the winch operator can continue the set change cue, but by this time the audience is now drawn into the situation and drawn away from the 'magic' of theatre.
System failure. One high school I'm associated with had a full winch system installed in their new theatre. Within the first two years of its operation the computer system failed several times requiring service. A well maintained counterweight system can last decades.
Again, even though the counterweight system may be perceived as more dangerous to an insurance company, I've never met a theatre technician who is in agreement with that perception. Occasionally more convenient, perhaps. But safer? No.
The system I like the best is a combination, where the light pipes are on a winch system and the scenery pipes are on a counterweight system. One theatre I worked in had a combination system like this and it seemed to work very well. It allows the lighting technicians and student crew to move instruments around quickly without having to close the stage in order to re-weight every single time. Also, during a show, it's very rare that a light pipe has to be brought down to the stage deck. Hanging scenery usually takes up the whole stage during the process regardless, and scenery is being moved in and out during the course of a show. So the counterweight system employs more students and, with a properly trained crew, is actually safer than a winch system.
Again, a student crew member actively working the ropes on a counterweight system can see a hazard about to happen – say an actor walks under a piece of scenery that is being flown in – the student crew member operating a counterweight system would see the actor moving and stop the scenery before it hit the actor on the head. A winch system would only stop itself once it sensed it had already hit something.
INSPECTION
One of the two best ways to optimize safety is to make sure that anyone operating the fly system is properly trained and/or supervised, has turned in a signed liability waiver form, and follows the proper procedures. The other is to make sure that your fly system itself is inspected at least every couple of years, whether you have a counterweight system or a winch system.
A fly system inspection includes a visual inspection of the accessible components of the system (although some parts may be virtually impossible to view if they are above a grid that is close to the ceiling of the fly tower). The inspector will do a physical check of the system to assess if there are any hazardous conditions that might compromise the safety of those operating the system and those on stage while it is being operated. They should fully raise and lower each line (rope) to determine the condition of its functionality, and to look for things such as whether the ropes are frayed, determine the condition of the blocks, cables and other parts, and determine if any lines are out of weight. The inspector should then present your theatre with a full written report, which will recommend any repairs or replacements, and also recommend any preventative maintenance.
I am not a theatre safety expert, and this book can only recommend, not replace safety training in a high school theatre. If you want some specific hard-core information about rigging safety you should contact a professional company such as Stagecraft Industries on the west coast (www.stagecraftindustries.com) to come out to do a safety inspection, or check out websites such as
www.plasa.org.For more in depth information about codes and accepted standards in the rigging industry as a whole – such as ANSI 1.4 2014 about manual counterweight rigging systems – check out
http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/published_docs.php." And to add to George and Mark's posts, the reason that there isn't enough room to fly out a piece of scenery without the bottom still being visible, is that architects and school administration think they are trying to save money by building a "3/4 Fly Tower" instead of a full fly tower. It not only saves on materials for that extra few feet of building, but fire codes say that with a ¾ fly tower you are not required to have an automated fire curtain, but with the full fly tower you are. So, money saved? A+. Functionality? F!------------------------------
Beth Rand, EBMS
Educational Lighting Designer
School Theatre Operations Coach
www.PRESETT.org- LIGHTING INSTITUTE FOR THEATRE TEACHERS - ONLINE MINI COURSES (ask for complimentary syllabus)
- HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS ONLINE COURSE FOR TEACHERS (ask for complimentary syllabus) - NEXT COHORT STARTS FEBRUARY 18!
- HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS BOOKS and COMPLIMENTARY ARTICLE DOWNLOADS
- THE ECLECTECH SHOPPE
beth@PRESETT.orgWestminster, CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-07-2019 16:11
From: Billy Houck
Subject: Rigging System
Quick clarification: are you talking about a fly tower or rigging over the audience area?
Original Message------
I would recommend checking with your code officials on any fire curtain requirements, just to be safe, easier to check than to be wrong or take for granted
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Jerry Onik
V.P. Theatrical Supplies and Equipment
Omaha NE
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