Event Safety Insights Issue One | Fall 2016 | Page 43

SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETY

Load Cell Rental Ltd .

By Colin Luke
Editors note : Every issue , Event Safety Insights highlight companies , products , and services that contribute to improved safety within the live event industry . All features are for informational purposes only , and should not be construed as an endorsement by the Event Safety Alliance . To be considered for a future issue , tell us what you ’ re doing at info @ eventsafetyalliance . org

Like many companies , Load Cell Rental ( LCR ) was conceived not through divine inspiration , but simple necessity . Founded in 2012 by Production Manager Richard Young , Load Cell Rental provides load cell hire and weight report services to the live entertainment industry , and was initially launched to fulfill a personal need .

“ I was in the UK building a set for a tour , and needed 70 cells to weigh every point of the rig . I could get 20 cells from one provider and 30 cells from another , but there was no one provider that could cope with even a medium sized rig ,” explained Young . “ Most of the cells available had not been tested or calibrated in the previous year , and were not the fool-proof answer I was looking for . So I decided to purchase the cells myself .”
With an initial acquisition of 70 Motion Labs Cells , Load Cell Rental was born . However , the service soon evolved from equipment rental into full-service installation and weight reporting . According to LCR Senior Project and Operations Manager Colin Luke , the addition of report services has been integral to the company ’ s growth .
“ The concept of the weight report service was created in response to a request for staff to assist installing the load cells and produce a report . A scrap of paper was not going to suffice , so we developed a formal report format which included a certificate for each truss , each independent structure in the rig ”. The service was soon offered to a wider audience of production managers , and over the last four years Load Cell Rental has worked for some of the biggest names in the business . Demand is growing year on year as the use of load cell technology starts to become the normal method to ascertain show weights .
Continues Luke , “ The service has great integrity , in that our only objective is to report accurate weights back to the production team in order for them to make changes to ensure they are safely within limits . In the event of an incident , the service will demonstrate using due diligence in ascertaining actual weights from calibrated load cells rather than relying on calculations . Can you honestly say you have done everything that is reasonably practicable if you rely on calculations alone ?”
“ It is not all about the weight ,” adds Richard Young . “ We sometimes need to make minor adjustments to
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