Continuing our Safety Series is a quick look into how we approach weather and safety. We produce a number of outdoor events, from street teams and mobile marketing that may have 10×10 EZ-Up tents all the way to 7 city blocks of major engineered structures.
Over the years, we have seen so, so many mistakes. I see this a lot on a personal level with the smaller tents- ZIP TIES are not structural!! I have seen the smaller tents zip tied to 5lb hand weights etc.
Image via Flickr by artistmac
I have also seen major accidents (Sugarland, the recent GP sailing accidents, etc). At an airshow we produced we subcontracted a raising roof grid structure from a local midwest vendor. This just happened to be the Sugarland stage that had the tragic accident less than a month later. What we saw when we rented this was a concern all around.
Why use water ballast? Because we know the weight of water. at 8lbs a gallon, this is an easy and mobile way to weigh down your structure. What else? Stakes at 36-48″ depending on your engineering diagrams as well as concrete blocks that are weighted are all useful methods. We stay away from “found” methods onsite (e.g. attaching to something found onsite).
Also, we have a HWAP policy. When we deploy large structures we have a set plan that is approved in advance. This includes a scale of wind speeds and actions that we employ when those speeds are reached. There is NO discussion onsite, just implementation. This ensures that there is no delay or waffling to “see what happens” or trying to keep a crowd nearby so the event isnt cancelled. This is intended to ensure Life Safety comes first,
HIGH WIND ACTION PLAN (HWAP) Wind Ratings:
20MPH: Safety team is assembled and on alert (within 5 minutes) and remains on alert until wind stays below 25MPH for 30 minutes.
25MPH: Wind wall and backdrop are lowered to stage level and secured. Backdrop to be removed within 10 minutes.
30MPH: Remove all fabric panels to create an open structure. All panels removed within 15 minutes.
40MPH: CEASE ALL SHOW OPERATIONS. Evacuate audience members and crew except HWAP personnel. Do not lower roof, do not climb structure.
67.5MPH: Evacuate all personnel from within the vicinity of the structure and do not return until winds fall below 40MPH.
We also employ a meteorology team out of Oklahoma when we produce large-scale events and build outdoor structures. This gives us access to an extended forecast, real time lightning awareness as well as windspeed and rain activity. We have an on-call meteorology team that we have access to in order to evaluate any issues that come up throughout the event.
