July 29, 2005

Tempting Fate

I think I talked about personel lifts in the past... Am I going to go back and find out... No...
I just read an article telling of a stagehand that got hurt pretty badly because the personal lift they were in tipped over. As is so often the case in the world of production, the lift was being moved, with the bucket extended. That means that either the outriggers were not screwed down to the floor, or that they had been removed completely. Naturally someone at the scene said the floor gave way, but since there was not gaping hole in the stage, that doesn't really work... Now, I didn't see the lift, so I don't know the exact model, but it was specified that it was a Genie brand lift. With very minor exception (I've never actually seen on anyplace but a catalog) all of the Genie brand lifts (AWP type personal lifts, we're not talking about other types) Have lots of warnings on them specifying injury or even death if you move the unit extended, or work without outriggers. Hell the machines are wire such that you can't raise the bucket unless the outriggers are inserted, and screwed down. Are there ways around that?.. Naturally, stagehands being the creative people they are, have found any number of ways to defeat those safety features, because they are a huge pain in the ass when you're trying to get something done... Am I going to tell you how to get around those features?... Not bloody well likely... (It is a crime to defeat the safety interlocks actually)
Have I gotten around the safety features?... Sure... Do I still do so?... Very seldom. We have switched to using scaffolding far more frequently than using the single person lifts. The scaffold I have is quite small, but is very comfortable at the heights we commonly work at. (around 15' ceilings) I've used that scaffolding at 25' levels, but never as a single tower, and never on wheels, at that point, I have tie in brackets to attach the scaff to whatever building I'm working on. (usually I use those heights for house repair, and roofing projects I end up doing on the side) At any rate, a 10' tower of scaffolding, on wheels, with the appropriate cross bracing is massively more stable than a personal lift at those same heights. You also have the ability to get right up against whatever you are working on, and can have multiple people involved in the process. That's not needed for much of the lighting, but then we put 2 people on top, and double the speed at which the work gets done, with the same number of people on the ground crew we would have for a single person lift.
Toward the end of the last busy season, we also started renting a small scissor lift rather than a personal lift. It costs us lots more to do so, but after a few shows, we feel the added safety, plus the increased efficiency of that lift will make it a break even swap out. The small scissor lets two people work in the basket, has a cantilever section so you can project the basket over an obstruction, and has the ability to lift heavy objects like speakers, video displays, or lightboxes up to their hanging points in a very controlled, safe way.
Back to the accident though... The accident happened for the same reason it always does. History, and cheapness... Historically, stagehands have always used lifts that way. Accidents always happen to someone else because the people using the lift are being "careful". I have been as guilty as any other stagehand in thinking that... The problem is we work in a pain in the ass environment that means the safety features of the lift are frequently in the way, and always slow you down... That leads to the cheap part... A single person lift may cost around $5000 for a nice unit... A scissor lift will run you $10,000 for the smallest and simplest... Naturally there is variation in those numbers, but that's a very good average. (we just priced several brands of both types a couple months ago) Scaff would run you around $500 for every 5' of height, so to be equivalent, the lifts go to 20', so $2000 for scaffold... Production departments never get enough money to begin with, so getting 10 grand rather than 5 grand is rough.. Scaff is an option, but its typically a pain to set up every time you need to make a quick change in the air... Storage is also an issue as nobody wants to loose any space backstage. The personal lift takes up less than half the space needed for a small scissor... Weight is an issue too. Scissors are really heavy (making them very tip resistant) but some spaces can't handle that... A personal lift can be as little as 350#, but typically 500# is normal... If you are looking at renting as you need them, We pay almost 2.5 - 3 times as much for a scissor as a personal lift...
What it really comes down to is that the people using the lifts need to stop using them wrong. Yes everyone wants to get the job done, and not miss a deadline, but at what cost to themselves... Once the stagehands make that stand then employers, and production houses will figure out a way to either extend the time they have to get the project done, or find the money to get the right equipment... Once they're stuck with that increased cost across the board, then the companies hiring them will simply have to foot the extra cost associated with that additional measure of safety and sanity... Yes, production companies can choose to swing the cost themselves as we're starting to do, but that can be a rocky road... Its hard to justify eating in to the bottom line when the odds of an accident are really low (1.5 lifts go over in the average year across the US. Countless lifts are in constant use every day of the year)
Realistically, looking at the cost saving isn't going to get that guy his legs back... Get the right gear.

Posted by Backstage at 10:51 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 28, 2005

Parts Ordering in the 21st Century

Its the summer, and we're closed for the most part... Not because we're rolling in cash, but because our clients don't seem to do a damn thing then... At any rate, it lets my partner and I do other tings we need to do...
We vacation to re-gain our sanity from the 7 months of hell proceeding the summer.
We catch up on personal projects, which is now a never ending list for me as a homeowner.
We get to clean and re-organize the shop. (this year we picked up a new warehouse, so we're slowly getting that set up, and equipped properly)
I get the time to fix all the tools that have developed issues during the busy season. Usually that's pretty minor stuff, because if its major, then the tool gets tagged out, and either fixed, or replaced during the busy season since we need almost everything to work all the time.
This year the list is as follows:
Switches on 2 sanders.
Alignment plate on a belt sander
Bearings if possible on 2 circular saws (we already replaced them, but if they're salvageable, I will)
Blade washer on the miter saw
Guides, bearings, and adjustment knobs on the radial arm saw

All in all pretty easy stuff except the radial arm saw which will be easy enough, but you need to be very patient and careful...

So off I go to the parts lists... Pour over the exploded views, write down huge part numbers (bigger than some of the parts required), and get the lists together... I try to check online for updated parts lists and numbers for whatever it is I'm dealing with, and the manufactures have gotten pretty good about keeping that information current... Now, you can order almost all the parts you need online... Used to be you would go to the local service place and talk to some crusty old guy that knew the gear inside out, and you always had faith in getting it right... Now if you do that, you seem to have to pay a premium for everything, and the guys aren't so old and crusty, mostly they're young idiots that you need to tell to pull up their pants and buy a belt... So I moved from the old way to getting all the info myself, and calling the factory direct to order parts... That was great for a while too... The people taking the orders didn't know the machines, but they knew part numbers, and almost every one was friendly and as helpful as could be expected... Recently, I spend more time on the phone tree than talking to the rep, and I seem to have to get transferred around a lot. This year, I find that almost all the manufacturers I need this year have an online parts department now... How bloody convenient... While speaking to a human is nice at times, there is something nice about typing in the part numbers, and finding uot right away what the cost, and availability is... The system works so well, that I was able to cross reference back to a compatible part from a different saw (same manufacturer) since the one I wanted was back-ordered for a month...

Every now and again someone seems to get the technology right....

Posted by Backstage at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 27, 2005

Here we go again...

We got an email a week ago or so telling us about a show. That's not abnormal really, though not so common in the summer... What this one was about was the show we did last winter down in Miami... This coming show will be in a different town down in Florida. I knew the show wouldn't go back to the previous site as I threw out the set back in early July... They picked the new space based on some criteria set after last years event... I don't know much of it, but this is what I know... They needed more power in the room to be able to handle the gigantic lighting package they had last year. (never mind that it was so massive the event coordinator made them take 75% of it down before the meeting started since it didn't work with the subdued theme) They wanted a space that would work well for projection... They wanted a space that would visually work rather than having to build a room inside the room... They wanted to be the only event in the space at that time so they felt important....
Where are we going?... Naturally I'm not going to tell you, however... The ballroom in question is hideous... Its worse than what we had to cover p last time... (hey, works well for my bottom line, but it doesn't make sense...) The room is loaded with huge chandeliers, and the ceilings are low, so projection is screwed... This hotel is about as old as they get in terms of Florida resort towns, so I can pretty much guarantee that there isn't enough power in the room... That also guarantees that the freight elevators will be fairly small, though I can't be sure right now... Small freights lead to more parts, and therefore more expensive scenery...

I can see its going to be a lovely December and January again where we don't get to sleep until mid February...

Posted by Backstage at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 26, 2005

Where does it stop...

Incidently, I'm not dead yet... Still no phone or cable wire in my house to run internet... The whole thing is coming along quite nicely, and I imagine that I'll get around to the phone/cable/network wireing in the next couple months...

But that's not why I'm here today...

I'm sure I'm not the first to mention this, nor will I be the most impassiined, and really I wouldn't even be effected... I don't smoke, never have, don't want to, and really pretty much hate the idea... HOWEVER, the New Jersey legislature has no business trying to make it illegal for people to smoke INSIDE THEIR OWN CARS!!! I didn't verify these stats, but they sound about right... 0.9% of accidents are caused due to smoking in one form or another... The radio show I was listening to quoted 30% of the accidents studied being caused by people adjusting the heating/cooling/vents... I'll bet there's a higher percentage of accidents caused by things like hot coffee, radio adjustment, eating, applying makeup, and reading the newspaper while driving than the smoking percentage...

Stop harassing the smokers!... They're going to apply for minority status soon, and then they'll get all kinds of federal protection... Worse yet, endangered species status and they'll get to claim large areas as "habitat" and I won't be able to go to my favorite pub any more as I might be intruding on their domain... If they want to smoke in their cars, let them, they're not effecdting anyone outside the car... Geesh...

Posted by Backstage at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack