Topics included system design and engineering, rigging fundamentals, fall protection, equipment inspection/maintenance and wind/weather hazards. The workshop also covered the history of truss and how to decipher the data in engineering reports.
Presenters included Jeff Reder, a principal at Clark-Reder Engineering; G. Anthony Phillips, an ETCP-qualified rigging instructor; and Adrian Forbes-Black, vice president of Total Structures.
The attendees, who represented 22 companies involved in staging outdoor events from as far away as Colombia, also contributed to the event, sharing insights during open discussion periods and outside of the classroom, over lunch and dinner.
“After what happened last year here in the United States as well as in Europe, it was clear that we needed to sit down with our customers and make sure they knew where to get the information they needed to make the proper calls at shows,” said Forbes-Black.
“Fundamentally, I believe that ours is a safe industry, however, that doesn’t mean we can’t do things better,” Forbes-Black continued. “That is the reason my company felt so strongly, and put forth the resources to make this event happen as early as possible into the new event season.
“We are very aware that there are a number of training schools being offered by our competitors already, however, we felt that the training being offered needed more focus in order to have the required effect and hopefully show the outside world that we are reacting to what happened last year, hence our decision to primarily focus on the outdoor structure sector for our first residential event.
“We also have to congratulate our customers on spending the money and taking the time and effort to attend, which really proves what a professional bunch of users we have in our family of Total Structures’ roof owners,” Forbes-Black added.
In addition to the formal sessions and discussion forums, the event’s presenters were available throughout the workshop to discuss concerns and specific questions with attendees. To help customers see the evolution of the equipment, Total Structures staff built a complete roof system at the training facility. The demonstration of the latest iteration of the Total Roof design gave attendees the chance to see first hand how the accumulated experience of our designers and customers has improved the approach to building safe temporary structures.
The workshop was sponsored and supported by Columbus McKinnon, Dirty Rigger Gloves and Accessories, their local distributor, Gig Rat, and Skjonberg Controls who all provided representatives and product to aid in the instructional process.
“There is always more to be done in the name of safety for our industry,” Forbes-Black said. “It is the hope of everyone in attendance, and the team at Total Structures, that this event will mark the beginning of a bigger dialogue among the people responsible for outdoor events, and will reduce the chances of another tragedy occurring to any of us. Based on the positive feedback from this inaugural event, I am pleased to say that Total Structures will be organizing more educational events for this portion of the industry so please look for announcements about additional Roof Workshops, coming very soon.”
For more information, please visit www.totalstructures.com.
