# What is the best occupational safety course for theater technicians?



## HollyRawls (Oct 18, 2012)

Hi all. My theater is looking into getting some kind of occupational safety training. We have looked at the courses offered by OSHA, but am not sure what would best suit our needs. We have a scene and paint shop on site, electrics, fly loft, stage and shop spaces, permanent staff as well as overhire carpenters and electricians, etc... Has anyone else dealt with this? Does OSHA "get" what we do here or is there an alternative (accredited) training program for general safety?


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## ruinexplorer (Oct 18, 2012)

This will take several courses to build a comprehensive safety program. First of all, you should take the OSHA classes (the 10-hour is good for supervisors, but the administration who will be establishing protocol will need more). Since what we do spans two different parts of OSHA, you will need training in General Industry as well as Construction. Then, after you have completed these courses, you will have a better idea of your individual needs. Since you say that you have a fly loft, I would recommend taking Jay Glerum's rigging course as he details a lot about maintenance of a system and establishing training. Depending on the involvement of your staff with the electrical systems, you may want to consider having the person responsible take a NEC 70E course. You should also have someone involved with understanding general assembly safety. How big of a staff do you have? Do you have total jurisdiction over your space; do you lease it or have a partenership?


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## cmckeeman (Oct 18, 2012)

I work with a company based out denver that could do safety training and inspection for the fly loft, message me if you want the contact details so you can talk to them about what they could do for you.


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## JLNorthGA (Oct 20, 2012)

I taught OSHA safety courses for a while. There are a couple of ways to proceed. The first is to do what ruinexplorer suggested and take a few courses and "design" a general curriculum.
I hadn't really thought about it for theater though. Here's a few points to address.

Electrical safety - including lockout/tagout, 
Fire safety
Chemical safety
Chemical storage
Protective gear and personal protective equipment
First aid
Etc.

New hires would probably have to take a 40 hour course (or equivalent). You would then need refresher courses on an annual basis. It won't be cheap. Even the "canned" computer programs are quite pricy - though they generally are less expensive that having an instructor come in.


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## neotrotsky (Oct 21, 2012)

My question is what kind of certifications do employees get once they complete the training? The certification incentive may be what it takes to get crew where I work interested in signing up for an OSHA safety course and give my director more incentive to get the funding from the higher ups.


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## ruinexplorer (Oct 21, 2012)

It's not a certification, but a certificate of completion. Employers are required to provide their employees with the knowledge necessary for a safe work place. This does not necessarily require them to send each individual employee to an OSHA safety course, but many smaller companies will have one person take the "train the trainer" type course so that he/she can then come back and train the rest of the staff. 

One of the best ways to have the higher ups get a safe facility is for them to volunteer for an inspection from OSHA. When that happens, the inspector will not give out any fines, but will give the facility a written document of what they need to do to have a safe facility. Many employers don't want to do this because they fear that they are inviting in Big Brother instead of looking at a way to ensure the safety of their staff. Also, many facility administrators are worried about the costs involved with making their facility safe. In reality, most of what needs to be done takes labor and that is all (organizing MSDS, proper use of extension cords/relocatable power taps, not storing things in front of circuit breaker panels, etc). It would likely take someone more versed in our industry to come in and verify things such as the locations necessary for fall protection and the systems required.


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## JLNorthGA (Oct 21, 2012)

neotrotsky said:


> My question is what kind of certifications do employees get once they complete the training? The certification incentive may be what it takes to get crew where I work interested in signing up for an OSHA safety course and give my director more incentive to get the funding from the higher ups.



What ruinexplorer said - you get a certificate of completion.
OSHA courses were "encouraged" for industries (and people) working with hazardous materials or in hazardous situations. If you have a training program up and running (and documentation) and can show that employees have completed the courses - you often get breaks from your insurance company.

Another thought - have a "safety audit" - not necessarily an OSHA inspection. It won't be inexpensive - but if you live near a major metropolitan area - it will probably be somewhat reasonable.


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## ruinexplorer (Oct 22, 2012)

To get yourself started, use this checklist as many parts apply to our industry.


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