Operating Hoist Remote

The aim of this page is to guide you through the process of using the remote to control the hoists. The topics we are going to cover are:

Using the remote to control the hoist
Operating the hoists via the Hoist Remote
Safety measures of the remote system.
Health and Safety when using the hoist.

Using the remote to control the hoists.

The lighting hoists and scenery hoists are motorised so they can be brought up and down using a touch screen wired remote. This is stored in a custom shelf towards the rear of the studio and is locked with a four digit code. The movement of the hoist presents a significant mechanical danger and to reduce any risk of people or equipment being hurt or damaged we have a strict rule for operating the hoists:

Under no circumstances should anyone be allowed to operate the hoist remote without supervision from an Technical Demonstrator or appropriately trained member of the academic staff.

To begin operating the hoist remote you will have to ask one of the TD team to unlock the remote for you. Once you have the remote unlocked you can start to operate the hoists.

Operating the Hoist via the Hoist Remote

To move a hoist up or down you need to do the following steps:

Press 'clear all', this removes any previous selections you may have had. We recommend doing this because it's quite easy to leave a hoist selected and accidentally move it without meaning to. To avoid any unwanted accidents we always start with 'clear all'.
Identify which hoist/s you would like to move. Each of the lighting hoists and scenery hoists is marked with a number. There are 34 lighting hoists and another 8 scenery hoists.
By pressing 'Select Hoist' you can choose one of the squares on the grid and then using the numerical keypad input the number of the hoist you wish to control.
We advise that you do not attempt to move more that three hoists at a time. This gives you enough eyes and ears to monitor the area under the hoists you are moving, making sure no-one or any equipment is going to be in the way when the hoist is moving.

Safety measures of the remote system

As mentioned there is a risk of severe danger when using the hoists. Over the five years that the studio has been operating we have had a few incidents where damage to equipment and set has occurred, and also accidents where people have been injured. These near misses and accidents have helped us shape the following safety measures that we expect everyone to implement when using the hoist remote system:

Under no circumstances should anyone, staff or student operate the hoist remote on their own.
No students should operate the hoist remote without having had the training session by the technical demonstrators AND being supervised by technical staff.
If for any reason you need to cut the power to the hoists and stop them moving you need to use the emergency cut off switch on the remote panel. This cuts the power to the hoists and stops them moving. The system will have to be reset by a member of staff and you should report why you had to use the electrical cut off switch.
When operating the remote control you should always have a clear line of sight to the hoist you are controlling.
You need a 'spotter' to monitor the area arounds the hoists that you are controlling. It is this persons responsibility to make sure no one walks under the hoists when they are moving.
Once the hoists are lowered everyone working around the lowered hoists are advised to wear hard hats (provided in the TV Studio). Some of the accidents we have witnessed have been from people walking into hoists that are lowered.
When you have finished rigging on a hoist raise it up as soon as possible.

Written by RW

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