Total Structures' Pioneers Outdoor Stage Roof Workshop

This March, Total Structures' hosted its first ever Outdoor Stage Roof Workshop, focusing on aluminum temporary stage roof systems. The primary objectives for this event were safety, education, and to promote discussion within the industry on the correct use of such structures.

This invitation-only workshop, targeted solely toward owners and users of Total Structures outdoor stage roof systems, covered topics including: system design and engineering, rigging fundamentals, fall protection concerns, equipment inspection and maintenance, and wind and weather hazard preparations.

Held near the company's headquarters and factory in Ventura, California, this workshop was attended by 45 industry veterans, representing 22 companies, from countries as far away as South America, all working in the outdoor event field. The three-day workshop presenters included Jeff Reder, self-confessed roof geek and principle at Clark-Reder Engineering; G. Anthony Phillips, an ETCP qualified rigging instructor; and Adrian Forbes-Black, vice president of Total Structures. However, the most important contributions to the event came from the attendees themselves. The open discussions held during the workshop, as well as over group lunches and dinners, allowed attendees to share approaches, policies, and experiences gathered over hundreds of collective years in the industry.

With topics ranging from "The history of truss" to "What does that engineering report really tell us?" the curriculum was designed to create a level base of fundamental information from which discussions could continue throughout the workshop and well into the early hours in the host hotel's bar. After last year's tragedies, the conversations were obviously dominated by concerns for the safety of crew and event attendees, with everyone looking to be part of an event season free from emergencies.

"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. 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."

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. Forbes-Black added: "There is always more to be done in the name of safety for our industry. 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."