I have been looking for advice on the use of tallescopes in the theatre for rigging lighting etc and the information is in some areas confusing and in others pretty thin. The HSE say that moving a tallescope while the platform is occupied is in contravention of the WAH regs and ABTT say that it is possible to do this if their safe system of work is adopted. In this case I would say that the HSE's view should be deffered to as they are the enforcing authority, although any comments would be interesting. The area I think the advice is thin concerns any rescue plan should the person on the platform need it. ABTT say it is difficult to put a plan in place but no more than that and there doesn't seem to be much else apart from an article I read which suggests clipping the operative to the lighting bar and if he needs rescue raise and then lower the bar to the ground with the operator attached. This doesn't seem suitable so any suggestions would be much appreciated.

i will refer you to this thread of conversation which itself has links to other sources. http://www.blue-room.org...earch=1&#entry340580 Bear in mind it is a discussion forum with a wealth of opinions and views. Some correct. Some probably not. I'm prettty sure you meant it would be a contravention of PUWER rather than WaH. Also theatres are generally enforced via local authority rather than HSE although a LACORS was issued to guide LA's to enforce the HSL research into this piece of kit. If i am recalling the circumstances correctly. I don't believe the use of tallescopes is limited to one argument but it is certainly a major factor. As a person who has spent many happy hours in the basket of a tallescope i can definately confirm that climbing in and out is thoroughly exhausting when you have a complex focus of 400-500 lights which depending on the lighting designer could take 8-10 hours. Including lunch and tea breaks you would probably find yourself climbing a ladder nearly 200 times. Now that is breaking WaH. Alternative forms of access depend how lucky you are in your particular theatre. Fixed gantrys are rare, many cherry pickers or scissor lifts too heavy for the flooring, standard scaff towers too big.....and so on. Rigging to the bars is generally done at low level i.e. stage floor level and the bars raised to trim height where they will be focussed. This latter task occasionally involves having to remove the lighting unit for replacement but otherwise causing instability by leaning out with a load is unnecessary. The question about stability and environment.... Tallescopes have outriggers which are generally fixed (rather than demountable) to the sides of the 'scope'. Surfaces are generally flat and small stage rakes can be countered by the adjustable (and lockable) wheeled feet. Using them on stairs would be foolish but not impossible. If the stage can stand the weight of a person on a trapdoor then it can stand the weight of a 'scope'. Obviously there are other considerations on use of trapdoors and leaving them open. Anyone using the scope would be propelled by a number of ground crew who would keep them under control whilst the 'scope' was moved. Distances travelled at any one time are usually 3 or 4 feet at a time so are short and easily controlled. Rescue can be a problem but clipping to a bar still not would help get anyone out of the basket. How do we suggest someone gets rescued from a ladder? A similar conundrum with the added complication of the basket. A lighting bar used for suspension of equipment would be subject to LOLER on an annual basis and thus could not be used for rescue purposes. Paying to have them re-certed every six months just in case they need to be used for rescue is highly unlikely given historically tight budget margins in the theatre industry (big westend shows excepted). I have never heard of a single case of someone having to be rescued from a tallescope basket and undertaking work in that position generally requires being fit, awake, trained etc. The balance of risk, would, to me, suggest they are safe to use in certain circumstances and under the right conditions. I hope this helps to explain some of their use and reasons for using them

Beaten to it!!

Thanks for the replies so far. I agree LOLER for the bar as a rescue device but agreed entirely impractical. This is only my opinion and from experience, on ladders, is that the risks from climbing up and down ladders for long periods seems greater than the risk of a fall from turning over a tallescope being moved properly, by what factor I could only guess at. I'm sure the argument that the time at maximum risk is less while moving the manned tallescope than it is while climbing up and down continuously has been used before, the resultant likely injuries being the same with the exception of the risk from the falling tallescope on workers below. Paul, I am advising the theatre company as part of an annual review of health and safety. The theatre is handling the management of all work at height etc very well and we discussed the use of tallescopes and in particular the conficting advice from ABTT and the HSE's stance. I haven't yet discussed this with an EHO but suspect that they may well concur with the HSE. The theatre has adopted a policy of not moving the tallescope while the platform is occupied because of the HSE's stance. I suspect that other theatres move occupied tallescopes regularly without the benefit of sufficient staff or a save system because it's done against instruction. We further discussed a rescue plan as the risk of a worker becoming unconcious after suffering an electric shock was considered (I did almost knock myself unconcious while working 2 floors up on a ladder in my youth). My final conclusion was that in the absence of any meaningful advice from the manufacturer or any really feasable plan the worker / manager would just take the chance and hope the situation never occured.