Did you know that there are thousands of pounds of equipment moving overhead on most stages? A theatrical flying system may be the only place where heavy loads are raised and lowered over the heads of students and the public. This helps you produce great performances, but there are real risks of injury backstage. In most cases, this potentially dangerous equipment is often operated by untrained students. There have been backstage deaths due to failures to operate equipment properly.

What sort of program do you have for managing these risks? Your sports program, science labs and shop classrooms also have serious risks, and there's usually a safety program to reduce those risks. Is there a program to train your students and staff working backstage? Do your safety and maintenance plans include your theatre's flying system?

Typically, they do not. Yet, the stage is one of the most used spaces in a school and frequently has large groups of students on the stage. Here's what you can do to reduce these risks:

1. Manuals - Obtain the operations manuals from the equipment manufacturers or visit www.riggingsafety.com for generic flying system manuals.
2. Training - The students and staff using the backstage equipment need to be t rained in safe operating procedures. Keep a log of who's been trained, and don't let anyone else operate the equipment.
3. Inspection - Your flying equipment must be inspected and maintained annually by a qualified theatre technician. This technician can also provide your staff with training.
4. Fire Curtain - Make sure your fire curtain is also inspected annually to ensure that it will close properly in case of fire.

Your stage should be one of the focal points of your school. Let's make sure that it's also safe and well maintained for everyone.