The pros and cons of doing your own rigging maintenance.

Ask Uncle Bill is a recurring column in Stage Directions that wants to answer all your rigging questions. Think of it as a print edition of the “Stump the Rigger” session at USITT. Got a question you want Bill to answer? Email him at bills@stage-directions.com.

Do you have to be a certified rigger to do maintenance on a manual counterweight fly system? I’m a new TD at a small theatre, and my boss has just informed me that one of our first tasks is going to be re-roping all the existing counterweight line sets in the rigging. I don’t know the last time it was inspected, and I agree the ropes for the line sets should be replaced, but … Should we be doing this?

All counterweight systems require maintenance. How much is needed depends a lot on the age of the system and the type of use it gets. A system less than 15 years old that is used only for in-house productions will require less maintenance than an older system that is used in a road house. Typical maintenance items involve tightening bolts, wire rope clips and adjusting rope locks. The road house may often kick sheaves, so going back and making sure the blocks all line up properly is important. If you still have manila operating lines then the maintenance requirements rise to a whole new level. While using a certified rigger to conduct the maintenance is not a requirement, it certainly doesn’t hurt. The certified rigger has demonstrable skills that someone without the certification may not.

Before you run off and re-rope your linesets on your own, I would strongly recommend that you have an inspection done on the entire rigging system. You did mention that it’s been a while since the last inspection. It may be that there are other problems with the system that are more important than the operating lines. Assuming you do not have an unlimited source of cash you might want or need to prioritize the problems and take care of the more pressing ones first. An inspection might also find that the reason the operating ropes need to be replaced has nothing to do with the rope itself. There could be an alignment or abrasion problem that changing out the ropes simply won’t fix. You don’t want to spend all that money replacing the lines only to discover you have to do it again in 4 or 5 years, right?

Using a certified rigger or a company that provides inspectors who are ETCP certified is a very good idea. Conducting a thorough inspection requires a lot of experience on the part of the inspector. Not only are they looking for existing problems, but also, and sometimes more importantly, they look for potential problems. As it takes a certain amount of years to acquire the work experience to just take the ETCP exam, it follows that those who pass the exam have that experience and have learned from it.

I’m not certain I would want an in-house staff to change out the operating lines on a counterweight system. First off, there’s the experience factor. Using a system doesn’t automatically mean you know how to change one. There are issues with the work that operators may never encounter and those issues might present a problem. One of the most common problems with a rope installation is when the line is run on the outside of a spreader bolt, usually the spreader on the offstage side of the headblock. If you’re scratching your head wondering what a spreader bolt is, then maybe you should sit this one out.

A respected installation company will have a crew that is well versed in running lines because they’ve done it many times. An installation company with certified riggers on their staff is even better. By using certified riggers the company is demonstrating its willingness to hire people with experience and identifiable skills.

There’s also the issue of insurance. If you do the work on orders from your boss, then you, the boss and the theatre will be assuming all the liability for that work. Are you insured for this sort of thing? Is the theatre or your boss? You might want to check into that before you get started.

I think the best scenario for this project is to get a reputable rigging company, one that carries all the insurance, to provide an ETCP-certified supervisor and then hire you and a couple of your staff to do the work. That way everyone’s covered, you get professional work, it saves the theatre a few bucks and maybe you’ll learn something.

Bill Sapsis is a rigger, company president, and founder of Sapsis Rigging, an internationally-recognized leader in the design and installation of stage equipment. He is a current member of the ETCP Council and Chair of the Rigging Working Group for PLASA NA.

“Ask Uncle Bill” is a quarterly feature in Stage Directions. Questions about rigging can be sent to bills@stage-directions.com.