Rigging/Safety discussion tolerance

[Marlow Wilson]

I never found the 'other' forum rules to be particularly restrictive with respect to rigging or safety issues but rather usually the responses to such questions were rather limited. I like to think that in this new section we could have some mature discussions about best practices as they relate to staging and rigging.



Control Booth recently amended their policy as quoted below.



What are the plans for this new forum?

Many have raised questions concerning our safety policy. The staff of ControlBooth have decided to institute a trial period of relaxation of current policy. The Internet is full of dangerous information about technical theater. The CB Staff have decided it is better to allow potentially dangerous topics to be discussed safely, rather than simply ignore them. By doing this, we ask the members of CB be responsible and police themselves. We will still edit any information that we consider unsafe. We ask if you see any unsafe practices being discussed you post the correct method and/or report the post. While we will now allow discussion on many previously banned topics, remember if you don't really know what you are doing, always consult a qualified professional.



The Safety Section in our TOS now reads:

Safety Policy:

Members of ControlBooth are ALWAYS encouraged to keep safety as a top priority. Forums are monitored by the CB Staff, but may not be able to react immediately. We reserve the right to edit or delete posts which we feel are unsafe, or discuss unsafe practices or materials. ControlBooth shall not be responsible for damage, injury or death resulting in any information posted on ControlBooth. When in doubt, always consult a qualified professional in person.

In order to add something to whatever discussion ensues, here are some useful links for the time being.



This, I believe, is the ultimate Rigging guide:

Available for a fair price here:

http://www.riggingbooksandprograms.com/intro.htm



This is a useful resource for actual tools and equipment:



http://www.sapsis-rigging.com/

 

[Charlie Zureki]

Re: Rigging/Safety discussion tolerance

Thanks for posting the link...brought back a lot of memories... RIP Harry! You crazy bastard.

Hammer

 

[Brad Weber]

Re: Rigging/Safety discussion tolerance

I won't say it is the optimum approach but a theatre tech site in which I participate has adopted the approach that you can talk about general concepts relating to rigging, pyro, electrical, etc. but not address ''how to'' issues on those topics. When someone asks how they can do something related to these the stock answer is to obtain the services of a qualified professional.

 

[TJ Cornish]

Re: Rigging/Safety discussion tolerance

I think there's some middle ground. Basic rigging of truss on towers (Genie's, L16's), hanging things like lights using clamps, and spansets and shackles aren't overly difficult to do safely. Discussing these things here is appropriate, IMO. Going much further than that - probably the standard answer of ''get a pro'' is the right way to go.