Key Elements
Of Safe Structures
Almost every successful live event
shares the same key elements: affordable, profitable,
accessible, enjoyable, and safe. The last of these elements, safety, has become increasingly important in an
era of bigger stages, bigger crowds, bigger displays,
and bigger stakes. What makes an event safe can take
many forms, ranging from more security to food inspections to a well-developed emergency plan. No
matter what position you have in the entertainment industry, safety is a priority.
As a structural engineer working in the entertainment
industry, my contribution to event safety is to ensure
that all stage, tower, deck, and framing components
have been properly designed. Time-tested methods
of constructing safe event structures still hold true,
such as adequate ballast, sufficient member strength,
and properly executed emergency plans. However,
as events become bigger, faster, and more intricate,
our experience points to one element playing a more
important role in safe structures than any other: COMMUNICATION.
You may be thinking to yourself: “a structural engineer
is telling us that communication is more important than
math?” Yes. Without proper conveyance of information, the math does not matter. For example, let’s re-
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view a four post-concert roof of a non-descript nature.
The lighting designer develops a plan which includes
numerous moving lights and a suspended high definition video wall. In addition, sound cabinets are to
be hung from the downstage cantilever and the band
wants to place a large banner at the rear of the stage.
Sounds like a pretty standard set up for the average
show.
As the engineer, I am going to ask important questions such as:
• How much does each lighting truss weigh?
• How large are the video walls?
• What type of ballast is available?
• What are the ground surface conditions?
• Do you have other wind walls or sidewall scrim?
By now, these questions should be standard for an
event or a temporary structure build. However, it can
be surprisingly difficult to obtain these answers, and
they are often provided at the last minute.
Engineers are often expected to be capable of instantly analyzing a complex structure and providing their
client with an immediate response regarding the acceptability of what has been proposed or construct-