The new TPSA (Technical Production Services Association) Council held a Rigging
Imbizo in Northriding, Randburg on 22 September, to brainstorm with various
members of the live entertainment industry about adopting a rigging standard
throughout the country.
The Imbizo provided an open platform for all who attended to give their opinions
about possible options regarding these rigging standards.
Many of the attendees emphasised the importance of taking responsibility, when it
comes to safety standards at temporary rigging for live events and similar
functions. The main idea seemed to be that responsibility needs to be defined and
taken for what is done specifically.
The benefits of having a basic standard, as well as certified members at various
levels of training, in order to regulate excellence and levels of expertise was
another hot topic of the day.
According to Lighting Division Manager of Electrosonic, Bruce Schwartz, the more
people get involved in this initiative, the faster everything can be established.
“We did not have this meeting today to push any kind of agenda onto the attendees,
but rather to get a better understanding, from all aspects, of what the industry
wants and to create and move towards a sort of standard and a sort of training,’ he
said.
Executive Director of SACIA (Southern African Communications Industry), Kevan
Jones, there has been a lot of positive feedback from most participants of the
Imbizo.
“Our intention was to engage with industry on how best to create a level playing
field with regards to event safety and particularly rigging standards in the live
events industry. It is very evident that some sort of Best Practice Guide that sets
out acceptable industry standards is needed. While SACIA will publish the Guide, it
needs to be crafted with input from a broad range of stakeholders, including
engineers, safety officers, venue owners, rental houses, technicians, associations,
metro councils and EMS services,’ Jones said. “Creating this guide will now become
a priority of the TPSA Council and undertake to drive and implement it in the near
future.’
