Re: Another flying issue
The list of what's right is shorter: they don't appear to have modified the manufacturer's rigging of the boxes. Other than that - a non-exhaustive list would include:
- Non-rated truss
- "Custom" motor platform/mount
- Using a winch as a lifting device - no failsafe braking, what looks like 1/8" cable instead of graded chain, no traceable maintenance schedule, etc.
- not using lifting shackles, spansets, eyes, etc.
I'm curious what's below this picture - did they use dog chain to guy the "tower" to someone's car parked nearby?
Yep... truss rather than tower. I'd have to see if the truss is rated and certified for vertical use.
The winch mount doesn't *appear* to have any stays on the back side. The whole point of rigging is to transfer the load straight down, centered over the tower footprint. This thing appears to have no way of accomplishing that.
The winch DOES bother me, even if it doesn't hold the load. It's very likely not rated for overhead lifting and I'm pretty certain it's not rated for lifting over humans. Most rigging failures occur during movement, so the fact that they used 'biners to hold the load is a small comfort, as failure is more likely to occur when lifting.
Also curious about what isn't seen here. The cheeseborough clamp and horizontal pipe visible just behind the 3rd PA box makes me wonder if the tower is connected to the canopy frame to the left. I don't see anything that keeps the tower from falling forward.
Also missing are any obvious guy lines on the tower, outdoors and subject to wind.
Any time I see home-brew stuff like this it makes me wonder about safety. There are multiple reasons our industry has adopted certain ways of doing things, primarily revolving around not injuring or killing people. Profession engineering design, destructive testing of prototypes, traceable materials & fabrication certifications, and standardized rigging practices all came about because it's better and cheaper to do it right than get sued when the "PA farmer" (thanks, Dave Stevens, for that phrase) contraptions fail.