SINGAPORE – Peter Bretherton, technical manager of staging for the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, said the Ron StageMaster 6000 (RSM) wireless load monitoring system has eliminated a lot of guesswork since it was installed at the performing arts complex in April 2008. The 15-acre complex, situated along Marina Bay near the mouth of the Singapore River, takes its name from the nearby Esplanade and includes a 1,600-seat Concert Hall and a 2,000-capacity Theatre for the performing arts.
"Our system of 16 load cells has been used for the monitoring of loads in most of our venues, indoor and outdoor," said Bretherton. He credited the RSM 6000 as a "useful tool that gives us the ability to know what is going on in our rigs," with "no guessing, or calculating, regardless of the type of production or the rigging methods being used."
The system has also proven to be a good fit with a growing emphasis on safety. "Esplanade places great emphasis on OH&S, so as health and safety plays a constantly-growing part of our daily lives, the RSM has shown to be a versatile and accurate aid by giving us information we have not had previously," Bretherton said.
"Our RSM 6000 has been used in a wide range of applications from monitoring loads in our roof truss system, checking the tensions in guy lines, establishing and monitoring loads in human flying systems, determining how heavy "that" set piece is before it is hung and even checking the weights of flight cases before shipping," Bretherton added.
"I have also used the system on several occasions to assist in the designing and testing of complex load-sharing systems," he continued. "The accuracy of the RSM allows you to test on a smaller scale, to be certain of the loads, forces and methods, before moving up to the real thing.
"The RSM 6000 gives our riggers easy access to the information they need," Bretherton said, "and the wireless system saves time by not needing to run cables, and finding the wrong connection has been made. You just put the cell in line, on the point you need, and RSM does the rest.
"We plan to use the RSM 6000 in training courses to show how loads are distributed," he added. "This system has increased our safety as well as the knowledge of the actual forces at work in our daily rigging activities."
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