HEY! YOU!
You there, with the rigging bag.
You there, with the crescent wrench and fearless attitude.
You there, sporting the “supervisor” face but looking at your cell phone when motors are moving.
You there, new guy and new girl, who are googly-eyed at the awesomeness but should be watching their own backs and paying attention to the work.
The summer season of outdoor music and theatre has started, and no matter if you’re doing corporate shows, theatre, music, or art production, this post needs to serve as a reminder. Along with orgs like PLASA and the Event Safety Alliance, JimOnLight.com is doing everything they can to NOT have a summer like the last few we’ve had – and what I can do is provide a reminder of the hell that we as an industry have seen, not to mention the families of those killed in these accidents and disasters lately. If I might reiterate, what we do is entertainment; it may pay the bills, but if you see something less than safe happening or took place in putting something together that you might not feel 100% about once it was finished, SPEAK UP NOW!
YOUR DUTY: It is your duty to the safety of others and your own personal safety to keep your head in the game once you are onsite. This includes WEATHER concerns, Safety concerns,
To address an email I got from a guy out there who prefers to remain anonymous out there, who asked me what would happen if a person got fired for refusing to do something unsafe. My response was something along the lines of:
- You are probably working for a company that is a time bomb of fail waiting to happen — don’t be the fuse, and don’t feel bad about not wanting to die at work.
- Regardless of Fact #1, you should probably consult an attorney before you go thermonuclear. Most attorneys do so for free.
- Call people like OSHA, PLASA, USITT, anyone you can think of if something shady is going on. So you lose your job – don’t for a second think that the industry won’t be behind you for saving lives.
- You can file unemployment in a case like that – a company doing shady safety work will sooner than later be discovered, it would not be in their interest to fight your claim. But, your mileage may vary, and frankly, some people have better luck than others in life at these things.
- Feel good that you aren’t in that situation anymore, and get right back out there and find another gig if you lose yours. Do the right thing. Having deaths on your conscience is good for no human, no matter how little of a part you played in the process.
That’s my opinion, anyway. That’s what I’d do. An industry that won’t take care of people who keep it safe is not an industry anyone should participate in, regardless of the possible profits. Money is less valuable than lives.
Here’s a reminder of sacrifices have been made to further the standardization of safety in our business – please forgive me if I overlooked one close to you, all you have to do is email me and I will append this post.
APRIL 5, 2013:
RIGGERS, TAKE HEED: Houston Dean Williams slipped and fell to the stage floor while moving around a beam in San Antonio at the AT&T Center.
MAY 6, 2013:
A man was killed when a PA stack fell on him at a protest rally in Moscow.
APRIL 17, 2013:
Boston Marathon Bombings claim the lives of three marathongoers, wounding several dozens. Let’s not forget, this was at an entertainment function.
March 15, 2013:
A video wall came apart and fell on stage hands in Miami for Ultra Music Festival. No one killed, fortunately, but several people were hurt.
June 16, 2012:
1 dead, 3 wounded at a Radiohead concert in Toronto, Ontario.
December 15, 2011:
1 person was killed and 8 people injured when truss collapsed in Trieste, Italy at a Jovanotti concert.
August 19, 2011:
5 people killed and 70+ injured when a storm blew over a stage at the Pukkelpop Festival in Belgium.
Perhaps the worst of them all lately… August 15, 2011:
At the Sugarland show at the Indiana State Fair, a storm blew over an outdoor stage loaded with audio and lighting truss, killing 7 people and injuring 58.
May 13, 2010:
A young lighting tech in West Palm Beach fell to his death from a catwalk while working on a show.
July 27, 2009:
A Pepsi Battle of the Bands in Guangzhou, China experiences a huge, sudden storm that tips over LED screens and injures several dozen. Reports of people killed were removed from the web, so I think it’s fair that we can assume several people died in this accident.
July 16, 2009:
At a Marseilles, France tour stop for Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet tour, a stage roof collapsed, killing 2 stage hands involved in the load-in.
Let’s also never forget the Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake truss collapse in August 2003:
Just don’t forget. Also, don’t forget that you are responsible for yourself out there, and when you’re putting equipment together, keep in mind that your diligence will mean the difference between you and others going home on the bus and going home in the ambulance – or even worse, getting a ride home with the coroner.
Be safe out there, Road Warriors!
