Pushing the Limit will be presented by Abigail Mathews, who co-founded Momentum Engineering in 2005. Abigail has been involved a wide range of projects from small, bespoke architectural jobs to multi-million pound mixed use development schemes. In recent years she has specialised in the sports, venue and entertainment sectors, and has worked closely with production teams and specialist rigging contractors on the engineering and delivery of a variety of temporary structures and events.
The session will break down the confusion that can arise when safety factors are raised in the industry. The very mention of them can often create anxiety about the failure of materials or worries about compliance with regulations. Abigail's session will consider a range of situations and discuss a structural engineer's approach to determining an appropriate factor of safety for a given application and why this may conflict with traditional lifting safety factors.
Previous announcements revealed that the one-day schedule will feature a keynote speech from Bill Sapsis, an update about the International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging (ICoPER) from Lori Rubinstein and a session about the revised Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations, led by Michael Anderson, group head of health and safety at Earls Court & Olympia Group. For The Piece Rather than the Rigging, Alan Bartlett will discuss the integrity of the scenic items riggers are often asked to lift, while Hoffmann Fördertechnik's Matthias Müller will consider the role of the chain hoist as the industry's workhorse in Raising Your Game.
The conference programme, which is being curated by Total Solutions' Chris Higgs, will conclude with a summary session from Unusual Rigging's technical director, Robin Elias. Robin, who opened the conference in 2013, will chair the closing question and answer session in his unequivocal style. Drinks will be served just prior to the closing session.
Places are still available but due to the event's popularity this year it is essential to pre-register at www.plasariggingconference.com. The delegate rate of £190 plus VAT includes refreshments throughout the day, lunch and networking drinks at the close of the conference. Attendees have the opportunity to join the PLASA Riggers' Forum on Sunday 5 October and to visit PLASA London 2014 from 5 - 8 October, which, like PLASA Rigging Conference 2014, take place at ExCeL London.
(Jim Evans)
