EDCON 2018: RIGGING
• Using equipment in ways that are not
appropriate based on their design and
the manufacturer’s intention. Frequent
culprits include “daisy-chains” designed
for specific climbing applications being
used dangerously in way that they should
not, and carabiners intended for loading
along one axis being “tri-loaded” to form
the root of a bridle.
Finally, there are three “big picture” items
that ACE Safety Consultants commonly need
to address as they work with Safety Program
member organizations and applicants. These
are:
INSPECTION AND RETIREMENT OF
EQUIPMENT
The stuff we use to rig with and hang from
will not last forever. It will wear out. It will get
ground down by harder materials. It will be
damaged by regular use, overuse, and misuse.
There is nothing wrong with this, but we need
to accept and deal with this reality by having
a regular practice of inspecting all of our
rigging system components and being ready
and willing to retire them when they are no
longer up to the job are asking them to do.
There is no one “right way” of approaching
this responsibility, but the most important—
and commonly overlooked—elements are: (1)
having a regular discipline and schedule of
inspections; (2) having clear inspection criteria
(based where possible on manufacturer
guidelines) and trained inspectors who know
what to look for; (3) documenting and tracking
the equipment and inspections.
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equipment, proper training, and prioritizing in terms
of money, time, and human energy – none of which
we ever have enough of. It doesn’t help that old-
school circus traditions accepted risk at a much
higher level than we do today. At an even more basic
level, it includes the simple commitment to never
work (or train) at height without someone else around
to help or respond in case something goes wrong.
EMERGENCY AND RESCUE PLANNING
When something does go wrong, are we ready
to respond? All too often the answer is no. ACE
Guidelines and ANSI standards require written
emergency response plans, available to everyone
involved, AND that the relevant people are trained in
the execution of those plans. This means taking the
time to rehearse foreseeable emergency and rescue
scenarios on a regular basis. These plans should
be based on a situational assessment of risks and
hazards: What could go wrong here? What do we do if
someone falls, or gets injured in some other way, or
gets stuck up in the air? We don’t like to think about
it, but we absolutely need to be prepared for bad
things to happen, and few of us actually are.
JONATHAN DEULL is a founding member of the Board of
Directors of Zip Zap Circus USA, a social circus organization
affiliated with the Zip Zap School of Circus Arts for Social
Change in Cape Town, South Africa. He is an ACE Safety
Consultant and member of the ACE/AYCO Safety Committee.
He has been deeply engaged for nearly two decades in the
study and practice of rigging for live entertainment, with a
particular emphasis on aerial performer rigging for circus,
aerial dance and theatre. He conducts training programs
around the US and internationally for circus schools,
universities, production companies, and other groups.
He is an ETCP Certified Rigger and an ETCP Recognized
Trainer, and serves as a voting member of the ESTA Rigging
Working Group that formulates rigging standards for the
entertainment industry.
WORKING AT HEIGHT CONCLUSION: IT IS UP TO US
We are frequently guilty of failing to adequately
protect ourselves, our colleagues, and our
students when working at height. Falling down
is something we really want to avoid, and while
we think a lot about falling during training and
performance, people are much more likely to
fall when they are working or thinking about
something else, like installing or adjusting a
stubborn piece of equipment. Good practices
include safe use of ladders, personnel lifts,
and other mechanisms, as well as consistent
and correct use of fall protection and arrest
practices as law, regulation, and thoughtful
common sense require. It requires proper These are only a few of the real-world pitfalls we see and hear about. So
far, we have been lucky as a community, since serious injuries due to rigging
failures have been relatively rare. But as aerial training and performance
becomes more popular and prevalent, more and more people are venturing
out into rigging-land without a full appreciation of the “how’s” and “why’s”
of rigging safely. Circus Educators have a special responsibility not only to
teach appropriate practices, but to model those practices. Our students
look at what we do much more than what we say. They will copy what they
see, frequently without an understanding of why a particular choice was
made. They naturally assume that, as professionals and members of ACE, we
are upholding a commitment to best practices. The ACE Safety Program is a
resource to help us do just that.
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