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[Steve Cook]

I can't believe the Genies didn't snap. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlOV4IUAgJr/?taken-by=camp_euforia

[Tim McCulloch]

I can't believe the Genies didn't snap. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlOV4IUAgJr/?taken-by=camp_euforia

I'm surprised nobody had tarped the speakers and brought the roof in.  Weather like that comes with at least a few minutes of warning - see: Indiana State Fair, Sugarland roof fiasco.

This is how people get injured and killed.  There were some very lucky "campers" at this show.

[Dave Garoutte]

I can't believe the Genies didn't snap. 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlOV4IUAgJr/?taken-by=camp_euforia

That's why you use guy wires!  You can see it in the video.

[Tim McCulloch]

That's why you use guy wires!  You can see it in the video.

Yes, but it should not have been at trim in a storm.  I'd not rely on those lifts again until they were disassembled and inspected... and that's several hundred $$ each.  It's not a trivial task.

Just because it's still standing doesn't mean it "survived" in an operational sense; there could be stress damage to bearings & pulleys, twisting of the mast sections, partial failure of the wire rope, compromised braking system, bent forks, damage to the carrier etc.

A couple of years ago a local provider put up a sunshade roof for a little festival about 30 miles from here, guyed to a van bumper, a couple of street sign poles and some other dodgy attachments.  He bragged about it on social media as the 'toughest roof in town' after it was still standing after an overnight storm much like what we saw in that video.

Make no mistake, subject to the wind and water loading and without empirical inspection of each and every component there is no way to say it was safe the next day.

If one thinks doing roofs correctly is expensive, it's nothing compared to the cost of a lawsuit when the bargain-basement roof comes apart and injures someone or destroys personal property necessary for the artist to continue their tour.  The paltry $2million in liability will be gone before the lawyers submit final billing, let alone settling with the aggrieved parties.

[John Fruits]

Just for backstory, it was almost 5 years ago with the North Carolina issue.
JIMONLIGHT
This came up more recently HERE
One small detail, the NC stage was not using Genie Towers but Genie contractors lifts, one of the differences is that the Towers have larger outriggers, however from the pictures they weren't using ANY outriggers in NC. 

[Jeff Lelko]

I wonder if the moving lights survived too...

[Milt Hathaway]

Yes, but it should not have been at trim in a storm.

Dropping a roof (any type) removes the ability of the guy wires to do their job. It's much safer to get and keep everyone clear of the roof rather than remove the only thing keeping it in place.

[Steve Cook]

Sharing this because I’ve got a lot of questions, and it’s about a month until my rigging class. Tim, as always, you have done a great job of answering.
I don’t understand how it held. Probably 60 mph winds.
I agree that it was the right call to leave it up, and tied off. Apparently there was only a 10 minute lead time.

[Art Welter]

I don’t understand how it held. Probably 60 mph winds.

Steve,

From the look of the video, the winds were not reaching 60 mph in the stage area. 
Judging by the speed of the leaves and rain, the observer standing around, and audio appears about half that on average, about a force 7 (high wind, moderate gale) on the Beaufort scale .

60mph would put about 9.2 pounds of pressure per square foot on a flat "sail area". Towers, lights and roof, maybe 150 square feet tops, would put the side loading around 1362 pounds.
Pressure PSF=0.00256 x wind Velocity in mph squared.

At 30mph, pressure would be "only" about 2.3 pounds per square foot.
I won't ever try to walk around with a 4'x8' sheet of plywood in a 30mph wind again...

Art

[Craig Leerman]

Genie, or any brand of crank towers that I know of are not recommended by their manufacturers for use with roof systems.

For one thing, the fact that they are not rated for side loading and up loading makes them unsafe with a roof.

Another factor is that to guy the towers correctly you have to put loading on the tower, which reduces the safe working load. For most roof systems, especially those with an additional lighting load, the towers are already maxed at their SWL limits, even if they were designed for a roof ( which they are not)

Factor in a downdraft of a few MPH of wind hitting the large sail (roof tarp) and you may have exceeded the breaking strength of a tower or tower component.

If an accident or injury happens, insurance will not cover the incident as the towers were used incorrectly and not as designed. Manufacturers will not be held liable as their product was used incorrectly.

Anybody who uses crank towers to support an outdoor roof is irresponsible and putting people in jeopardy.

Anybody who works under such a “structure” is putting their own life on the line.

Roof systems need to be designed by an engineer and installed by a qualified or competent rigger.

[ProSoundWeb Community]