USA - One hundred Broadweigh wireless load cells took to the main stage at the Miami Ultra Festival this year when more than 165,000 people attended to watch the likes of David Guetta, Eric Prydz and Calvin Harris perform.
The event, located in the Bayfront Park, Downtown Miami was produced and designed by Technical Arts Group (TAG). Load Cell Rental was brought on board to work alongside Kevin Mignone, CRO, TAG and Matthew Hannon, head rigger with the main task of weighing the rig on the main stage.
Ian Barrett, project manager, Load Cell Rental comments: “Our main task at Ultra was to monitor the weights of various structures during the build and to ensure that the roof beams and hoists were not overloaded. We have worked with TAG and Matt Hannon on other projects and they were already aware of the Broadweigh brand so they were happy for us to use the kit we felt was most appropriate for this event.”
He continues: “We used 100 4.75 tonne wireless load cells, two base stations and two laptops. Thanks to their ease of use, installing the cells took no more than two hours and, during the build there were a few changes which resulted in motors being moved. Thanks to the wireless load cells, it was really easy to transfer them to a new position without having to re-route cables.”
Broadweigh proved its worth on a number of particularly challenging aspects of the set up. The design of the rig, the load bearing capabilities of the temporary stage and the process of building and flying the different sections of the rig meant that, at times, the weights on the roof beams were close to the maximum allowable weight. Live monitoring of the weights ensured that the structure and hoists were not overloaded. Additionally, the confined space on stage and the offshore winds also added further complexities which were overcome by using the Broadweigh kit.
Ian concludes: “It’s all about safety first, reducing the risk of harm to the audience, the performance and the crew. Using Broadweigh’s wireless load cells to monitor what’s going on above the heads of thousands of people provides complete peace of mind that the people who have turned up to enjoy a fantastic event, can do so, knowing that their safety is our priority.”
