Rope Assemblies in Royal Albert Hall project
- Details
Ian Redding, technical supervisor at the Royal Albert Hall explained: "While there were no incidents that triggered the need for these rails, our technical team are always striving to ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to the safety of our performers, crew and audiences. The challenge was to design and create something that could work for our stage, but at the same time, not to look too intrusive.
“It also had to be strong enough to withstand the weight of an average person. We had a round, scaffold size connection on the off stage edge but we were using square handrails, produced by Steeldeck on the stage extension pieces. These handrails don't always fit back in perfectly every time so it was clear that we needed the length of these braces to be adjustable. We discussed this in one of our team weekly meetings and someone mentioned that we should look into getting some Doughty kit. We already have a supply of Doughty arms that will get used to rig lighting and this was something a bit similar."
Ian got in touch with Rope Assemblies, one of Doughty's UK distributors who suggested browsing the catalogue of items online, where Ian found something similar to what he needed (an adjustable pipe coupler). Ann McCorkell, technical manager at Rope Assemblies said: "Ian identified a product that could potentially work for him, that, with a few alterations would work perfectly for the venue. Dan Phillips at Doughty then worked with Ian to develop the idea further."
Dan explained: "We exchanged several detailed emails where I presented Ian with some of the possible options. He then supplied us with photos and measurements and we got to work on getting something down on paper that he was happy with."
The bespoke piece of kit ticked all of Ian's boxes. "It is certainly a major improvement over the rope option and we believe that the sightlines to stage are definitely improved. The customer service from both Doughty and Rope Assemblies was top notch.”
(Jim Evans)
