Paul Chase, President of Safety Systems of America, Inc., and Michael Braddell, Sales and Marketing Director of the SpanSet International Group, talk about the people who work high above the ground to prepare our sports and entertainment shows.	Kew Gardens (50k), London.

ther than employees in the construction industry, probably no worker is more exposed to fatal falls than those that help bring us our musical concerts and sporting events. In arenas and amphitheatres, stage riggers crawl along steel trusses high above the performance stage to set pick-points for lights, sound systems and video displays. In open-air stadiums, workers climb light towers in order to maintain the lighting needed for night time events. On the roofs of enclosed stadiums and arenas, workers expose themselves to falls while maintaining roof surfaces, clearing snow and washing windows.

 

Fall Hazards in Arenas  and Stadiums Most modern indoor arenas have rigging steel that is as much as 35 metres (115 feet) above the arena floor below. When a musical concert or stage show prepares for an upcoming performance, upriggers and downriggers work in teams, hanging the lights, speakers and video displays that are a part of modern rock concerts. The upriggers must walk or crawl along the roof trusses and interconnecting steel beams that form the rigging grid above the scoreboard.    This worker (55k) is protected  from a fall from the roof by a  horizontal lifeline system.    These multi-purpose enclosed arenas are used for indoor sports, trade shows, conventions and musical events. Some modern arenas are designed to be works of art, with architectural features like exposed structural members, curved glazing and unusual roof profiles. All of these effects require additional maintenance and cleaning. Open-air arenas have lighting systems, scoreboards and speakers mounted on tall support structures. Canopy roofs over the upper level seats require maintenance and sometimes provide access to the lighting trusses. Several North American baseball parks now have closable or retractable roofs. These special roof structures have mechanical systems that need to be inspected and maintained. Regulations and Standards The European Parliament introduced its first safety at height directives in the early 1990's. Since then, safety at height legislation has been introduced in all the major industrialised nations around the world. In Europe, pertinent regulations include EN 795:1996 and EN 353-1:1992. In Australia, safety at height rules is encompassed in the standard AS 1891.2. The Canadian fall protection standards are covered under CSA Z259.2. In America, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have divided safety regulations amongst various segments of the workforce, most notably between construction and 'general industry'. On the construction side, OSHA have enacted regulations that require "each employee on a walking/working surface with an unprotected side or edge which is six feet or more above a lower level (to) be protected from falling". This regulation, 'CFR 1926 subpart M' has been used as the universal standard for all American workers while OHSA continues efforts to develop specific regulations for fall protection in general industry. The American Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 includes a statement that has become known as the 'General Duty Clause'. The law says: "Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognised hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees...." This provides a catch-all for safety officials to issue citations and levy fines in any workplace where they notice a recognised hazard. Continued failure to provide protection is called a "wilful violation". Wilful violations can result in increased fines and even criminal prosecution. With regulations in place all over the world, why are many stage riggers still working without fall protection? In general, when solutions to fall hazards are seen to be infeasible or impractical, safety officials sometimes overlook violations to the regulations. However, with today's modern fall protection systems, infeasibility can no longer be used as a legitimate excuse for failing to provide protection.

  

What is Available? There are many different types of fall protection systems available to the owners of today's sports and entertainment venues, including catwalks and platforms with guardrails, temporary horizontal lifelines, safety nets, and permanent horizontal lifelines. Of these systems, safety nets and permanent horizontal lifelines best meet the needs of stage riggers and roof maintenance workers.    Buildings for public assembly (41k)  often have architectural features that  require maintenance workers to  travel on uneven surfaces.    For stage riggers, safety net systems can provide what is called 'passive' fall protection. Passive systems do not require the active assistance of the user to be effective, in other words, they are there, performing their safety function, whenever the workers are on the rigging grid. There are drawbacks to nets, however. The presence of the net makes setting the pick points more difficult, since the points must be rigged through the mesh. In America, nets also require periodic dynamic testing. For rigging grids, many times a system of horizontal lifelines can be the most rational solution for controlling fall hazards. Since the rigging grid is composed of a series of intersecting straight members, horizontal lifelines can easily correspond to the rigger's walking path. The lifelines are normally connected to the vertical truss members, placed about head-high above the walking surface. The lifelines are anchored to the structure at the ends and also supported at intermediate points. The intermediate cable supports help reduce anchorage forces on the structure and also minimise downward travel of any worker that may happen to fall, making rescue quicker and easier. In a properly designed system of horizontal lifelines, the worker wears a full body harness, which is then connected to the horizontal lifeline with either a shock absorbing lanyard or self-retracting lifeline (SRL). Some horizontal lifeline systems, such as the ManSafet system from Latchways, (supplied and installed by Safety Systems of America and the SpanSet International Group) have special proprietary components that allow the workers to travel the entire length of the line without having to detach and re-attach at intermediate cable supports. When properly designed and installed, a horizontal lifeline system will permit the worker to attach to the system before he or she leaves the protected catwalk or platform. Once the riggers get used to wearing harnesses, they can work faster, with more confidence and with more concentration on the job at hand. The Complete Package Approach Owners of sports stadiums and arenas must remember that the design and installation of any system of horizontal lifelines or safety nets requires specialised knowledge and training. In America, for instance, the standards insist that only qualified persons be involved with designing and installing horizontal lifeline systems. One should avoid a piecemeal approach when purchasing an engineered fall protection system. It is better to select a provider that can deliver a complete package that includes design, equipment and installation (see box above). It is important to hire a full-service company, one like Safety Systems of America or the SpanSet Group. This type of firm can handle all the above aspects and can supply them in a complete package. Stage riggers and roof maintenance workers at sports and entertainment venues are exposed to substantial risks. There are a number of fall protection systems available today that can help reduce those risks. Select a full-service vendor that understands all the important design aspects, can provide a variety of solutions and can install what they provide.  Paul Chase, P.E., CSP is president of Safety Systems of America, Inc. He is a registered professional engineer and a Certified Safety Professional with extensive experience in structural engineering, rigging applications and fall protection systems. Michael Braddell M.A. is Sales and Marketing Director of the SpanSet International Group. The complete package includes... Overall layout and design, including the number of exposed workers, common travel routes, and required work tasks. Consideration of rescue methods for a fallen worker is important. Detail design, including strength of the cable or net, strength of connections to the structure, the capacity of the structure to take the new loads. Roof applications also need attention to water tightness details. Preparation of a detailed set of installation drawings that can be reviewed by the owner and his engineer. Supply of all lifelines, nets, attaching connections and properly selected user equipment. Coordinated installation of the nets or lifelines. Training of the users on proper use, care and maintenance of the net or horizontal lifeline system. On-going follow-up services including inspection and additional training, when needed.

 

  

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