PLASA Rigging Conference 2016

Held on the first day of the PLASA show, this unique conference attracts over 150 practitioners, managers, engineers, safety professionals and policy makers from around the globe. 30% of its delegates attending from 20 different overseas countries, it has a truly international flavour.

Rocky’s keynote presentation looked at his career as a rigger and the influences from his early life that shaped it. “I feel very lucky indeed to have been invited to speak at this year’s conference,” he said. “I enjoyed being there, not least to renew old acquaintances and make new ones.” Pulling in some of the heavyweights of the industry, Chris Higgs focused attention on this year’s hot topics, which included Chain of Command, a discussion chaired by Mark Surtees from Outback Rigging exploring the employment relationships that exist in staging a show. Also featured was news and update on the National Event Lifting Certificate, the NRC and trainee rigger scheme, and the progress of making CWA 15902 into an EN through CEN committee TC433.

There followed a look at the world of flying PA systems from Britannia Row Productions; and Onward and Upward about the complex discipline of performer flying, presented by Unusual Rigging’s Robin Elias and supported by a panel of performer flying specialists including Sally-Ann Dod, Adam Searle, Mark Ager from Stage Technologies and aerial performers Robyn Simpson and Alex Poulter.

“The conference is now firmly established as an annual event in the rigging industry calendar,” said Chris. “It’s always a difficult call, but I hope that this year’s subjects were as well received as in previous years and that everyone got plenty from it and from the networking opportunity the conference also presents.”

The conference was complimented by a tour of the roof space and rigging facilities of the Royal Albert Hall which delegates enjoyed on the following morning.