As helpful as they are to have, they do not finish the job. They do not address human error. As Adrian Forbes-Black of Columbus McKinnon points out, human error is one of the biggest safety risks of lifting.
One cannot blame a hoist for a fallen load that had slipped out of a choker hold. Poor-quality rigging is more important than poor-quality hoists.
I think the next step is consensus on rigging standards. Germany’s stage rigging trade association has started down this road with a code of practice introduced late last year.
But I would expect the industry has much farther to go, and might take some guidance from the industrial and construction crane industries.
Standards such as the US’s NCCCO for construction and industrial crane operators, or the UK’s Construction Plant Competence Scheme for riggers, might offer some helpful guides for the stage rigging market.
In the US, the insurance industry is starting to give customers discounts if their operators are NCCCO certified. And in the UK, major contractors will not accept riggers on their construction sites unless they bring their CPCS card.
Maybe a similar scheme would help improve safety in the stage rigging field.
