Fall protection at live events does not prevent falls; it prevents the worker from falling to their death by arresting the fall at the point where the harness catches them. After an arrested fall, the worker remains suspended in their harness, often at height, potentially injured or unconscious, until rescue can be effected. The time between fall arrest and rescue is not merely uncomfortable: it is medically dangerous. Workers suspended in a harness after a fall can experience orthostatic hypotension, an abnormally low blood pressure condition that can lead to shock, or suspension trauma, injury resulting from hanging in a harness in a position that does not allow proper blood flow. Either condition can be fatal if the worker is not rescued quickly (Event Safety Alliance, 2013). A rigging rescue plan is therefore not an administrative formality but a direct life-safety requirement for every event at which work is performed at height.

The Rigging Rescue Plan

For all work performed at height, a rescue plan must be created (Event Safety Alliance, 2013). This plan outlines the procedures to rescue a worker from an elevated location and must be understood by all pertinent parties, not only the rigging crew. The plan must be communicated verbally during the pre-load-in safety meeting, which typically includes venue representatives, production and stage management, touring representatives, local emergency responders, event EMT services, security supervisors, and labor supervisors.

The rescue plan must include: methods of self-rescue, where possible and safe; assisted recovery performed by trained personnel on site; and the process for contacting local emergency responders. The plan must address the specific rigging scenarios anticipated at the event, including the heights involved, the equipment available for rescue, and the access routes to elevated positions. A rescue plan that exists only as a generic document unrelated to the specific event layout provides inadequate protection.

The Rescue Leader

A designated rescue leader must be assigned the specific responsibility of implementing the rescue plan. In the event of a rescue operation, the rescue leader must have the authority and means to stop all other work in progress. All other qualified persons present should act in support of the rescue leader until the situation is resolved or until emergency responders relieve the rescue leader and the support team of their responsibilities (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

The authority of the rescue leader to stop all work on site is not optional. During a rescue operation, the risk of additional workers being struck by falling tools, disturbed rigging, or rescue equipment descending from height is a secondary hazard that must be managed. Only by stopping all other activity can the rescue leader ensure that the rescue operation itself does not create additional casualties.

Rescue Equipment

A kit of rescue equipment must be available in a known and quickly accessible location at every event where work is performed at height. The kit must be suitably packaged and clearly labeled “RIGGING RESCUE.” This equipment must not be used for any other purpose and may include both general rigging gear and specialized equipment designed for the specific event or venue (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Event operators should not depend on borrowing rigging rescue equipment from riggers on the job. Riggers’ personal equipment will likely be in use when a rescue is needed and may not be appropriate to the specific rescue operation. A dedicated, inspected, and purpose-packaged rescue kit ensures that the rescue leader and support team can begin operations immediately upon identifying an emergency without having to locate, borrow, or improvise equipment.

Local Emergency Responders

During pre-production, when local emergency responders are briefed, everyone should be informed of and familiarized with the venue and the planned rigging operations. A rescue plan cannot depend solely on public safety emergency responders for rescue because time is critical; the activation of a rescue plan should first involve trained and qualified personnel located on site, in addition to notification of local emergency responders (Event Safety Alliance, 2013). It is recommended that any time an injured or incapacitated worker is suspended in a harness, public safety assistance be immediately summoned, even while on-site rescue operations are simultaneously activated.

Where feasible, such as in a fixed venue, rescue operations training and drills should be conducted periodically to minimize the time required to activate and perform a rigging rescue. Rescue plan practice must involve all persons who would participate in an actual rescue, not only the rigging team; a rescue that requires production staff, stage managers, or venue personnel to perform specific tasks during a rescue must ensure those persons are trained and practiced in those tasks before the event opens.

Riggers in the Emergency Action Plan

Riggers are integral to several elements of an event’s emergency action plan. In weather emergencies, riggers are often required to lower wind walls, backdrops, or other suspended elements during high winds, rain, or other emergency conditions. The supervising rigger must therefore be included in all relevant meetings regarding event emergency planning and must be reachable at all times during event operations (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

No employer can require workers to work in hazardous conditions; emergency action plans must therefore consider the safety of all event staff, not only the audience. Demobilizing an event in progress can take substantially more time than fully evacuating an audience, which is why organizers must prepare and discuss scenarios well in advance. Tough decisions are never easy, but they are considerably harder when they have not been considered in advance. Event organizers and safety coordinators must be kept informed of all developing conditions that may require execution of any part of the emergency action plan. The production rigger or their agent should be present on the job site at all times during an event; in the event of severe weather or any other scenario requiring rigging crew action, a production rigger capable of making decisions and a sufficient number of riggers standing by to carry out the emergency action plan are essential (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

The Rigging Plan

The rigging plan is a document, typically a set of engineering drawings, that identifies the location and magnitude of the loads to be applied to the event’s support structures. The accuracy of this data is the responsibility of the production, act, rigging vendor, or touring event entering the venue. The plan must be submitted to the venue in advance so the venue can verify that all locations and loads can be accommodated. This verification must be performed by a qualified person, preferably a licensed professional engineer familiar with the venue’s structure. The complete plan must be available to the venue supervising rigger or other supervising person for review before rigging work begins (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Generic Versus Venue-Specific Plans

Rigging plans can be generic in nature, with only the production elements drawn and no indication of the overhead supporting structure, or they can be detailed and specific to both the production and the venue. Generic load plans, typical for touring productions, require a reference point or datum (usually indicated by 0’–0″ on the drawings where the downstage edge of the stage intersects with the stage’s centerline) to locate the rigging within whatever venue the production occupies. With this datum established, the organizer and the venue can determine where the production will hang in the structure, and the structural engineer can then determine whether the venue’s structure can support the rigging loads and how those loads must be distributed (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Required Plan Content

The rigging load plan must include and clearly communicate the location and maximum magnitude of all loads to be attached to the supporting structure. All markings on the plan should be clear and unambiguous as to their maximum loading, hoist capacity, and any other pertinent loading information. All loads must be accurately identified for each rigging point; load figures should include the weight of hoists and an allowance for typical rigging cable lengths (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

The plan should also indicate by illustration and label what specific equipment is suspended at each point: lighting, sound, performers, or scenic elements. The final elevation or “high trim” of all elements should be indicated. Each diagram in the rigging plan should carry information in its title block regarding drawing number or other identifier, date, source, author, and the author’s qualifications and/or licensure (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Dynamic Loads

A dynamic load changes in direction or degree of force during operation. Dynamic loads are typically associated with video screens, scenic elements, or lighting elements that move during the presentation, causing the total load to change as the loading elements move in relation to the rigging points. These load changes can produce significant variations in the structure’s overall loading and can lead to an unsafe, overloaded condition. If accurate information about dynamic loads cannot be obtained through pre-production documentation, load measurement equipment such as dynamometers or load cells must be employed. Any dynamic rigging loads must be analyzed and monitored in use by a qualified person (Event Safety Alliance, 2013).

Onsite Changes to the Rigging Plan

Even when the rigging plan has been submitted and assessed in advance, changes often occur during installation. If changes are required in the rigging plan during installation, the production rigger and the responsible venue representative must be consulted. Depending on the nature of the change, consultation with the structural engineer of record and the designer of the original rigging plan may also be required. Common examples include situations where a direct vertical attachment point (a “dead hang”) is unavailable, requiring a bridle configuration that introduces horizontal forces on the supporting structure; the introduction of supplemental support elements such as spanner beams and sub grids; and rigging in non-standard venue locations, such as over auditorium seating, that may require specific structural analysis (Event Safety Alliance, 2013). Bridle configurations and any secondary structural elements must be specifically analyzed and approved before loads are applied.

Conclusion

The rigging rescue plan and the rigging load plan are complementary documents that together address the two most consequential failure modes in event rigging: the fall of a worker and the failure of the structure supporting suspended loads. Neither plan is optional, and neither can be improvised on the day of the event. The rescue plan must be developed in pre-production, communicated to all parties, staffed with trained and equipped personnel, and practiced where possible. The rigging load plan must accurately reflect all actual loads including dynamic loads, be reviewed and approved by a qualified engineer familiar with the specific venue, and be available on site throughout the event. Together, these documents represent the foundation of a rigorous approach to rigging safety at live events.

References

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). 29 CFR 1926.502: Fall protection systems criteria and practices. OSHA. https://www.osha.gov

Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.). 29 CFR 1926.32: Definitions. OSHA. https://www.osha.gov

American National Standards Institute / Entertainment Services and Technology Association. (2012). ANSI E1.4-1: Entertainment technology — manual counterweight rigging systems. ESTA.