PLASA Standards Now Free!

I've been hearing that this was in the works for some time, but now it's official--all PLASA standards are now available for free download!  This is a great development. 

From the PLASA news release:

PLASA is thrilled to announce that all PLASA Technical Standards are now available for free download, thanks to a new alliance with ProSight Specialty Insurance. PLASA partnered with ProSight because they share in PLASA’s commitment to making sure that everyone who attends or works on an entertainment event, from a live show to a film shoot, goes home safely at the end of the day. This collaboration significantly impacts the industry by allowing those involved in the creation of entertainment events free access to standards that will make their lives safer and easier. ...
 To immediately start downloading your free Technical Standards, visit tsp.plasa.org/freestandards.

How Complex Systems Fail

Obviously, I'm fascinated by systems.  Bruce Schneier recently posted a link to a very interesting white paper by Richard Cook of the University of Chicago, whose research interests include, "the study of human error, the role of technology in human expert performance, and patient safety."

Here's his list, which has some interesting parallels to my own book chapter on "System Design Principles" (you can watch a free video for that chapter here).

  1. Complex systems are intrinsically hazardous systems.
  2. Complex systems are heavily and successfully defended against failure.
  3. Catastrophe requires multiple failures –single point failures are not enough..
  4. Complex systems contain changing mixtures of failures latent within them.
  5. Complex systems run in degraded mode.
  6. Catastrophe is always just around the corner.
  7. Post-accident attribution accident to a ‘root cause’ is fundamentally wrong.
  8. Hindsight biases post-accident assessments of human performance.
  9. Human operators have dual roles: as producers & as defenders against failure.
  10. All practitioner actions are gambles.
  11. Actions at the sharp end resolve all ambiguity.
  12.  Human practitioners are the adaptable element of complex systems.
  13. Human expertise in complex systems is constantly changing
  14. Change introduces new forms of failure.
  15. Views of ‘cause’ limit the effectiveness of defenses against future events.
  16. Safety is a characteristic of systems and not of their components
  17. People continuously  create safety.
  18. Failure free operations require experience with failure.  

I've often felt that systems take on a life of their own once assembled, and I found his paper, which is only a few pages long, a fascinating read.  You can download it here.

E-Stop Survey Results

We are updating and unifying our automation control systems at City Tech, and since we strive to model best practices in the industry, I put out a call for respondents to a survey asking questions about Emergency Stop (E-Stop) utilization in the entertainment industry. I was mostly interested in what was the most widely-used connector and control voltage, but (as often happens) I ended up learning something altogether different.  More on that shortly; let's go through the results:

Many automation systems are installed permanently, so I think that accounts for the "I don't use connectors" being the largest response. After that was CPC connectors, and 37.5% of the CPC respondents use 9 pins (apparently this is an older Fischer Technical standard, more on that later) 37.5% use 6 pins, and 25% use 4 pin (I know this is a Hudson Scenic standard, since we own one of their winches). The next most-widely used connector was  XLR, and 42.9% use 3 pin (which I wouldn't think is a great idea due to the potential cross plugging with audio stuff), 28.6% use 6 pin, 14.3% use 4 pin, another 14.3% use 5 pin.  Other connectors mentioned were Harting (2 responses), Lemo,  and PowerCon.  

While there isn't any sort of consensus on connectors, there was a clear favorite voltage:

Only one person was using AC, so 97.3% use DC.  This is in line with my recent I/O Voltage Survey, which you can see here.

Most people who have an indicator light on their E-Stop controls have it light up when the E-Stop is activated, killing power to the equipment:

72.97% of those indicator lights are Red.

It's a bit unfortunate that 40.54% of the respondents are not following any formal safety standards:

Since 86% of the respondents were from the USA, it's not surprising that those who did follow a standard used the NFPA standard.

But what was most interesting of all in the responses were two notes from Scott Fisher of Fisher Technical Services (FTSI) and Alan Hendrickson, professor of automation at the Yale School of Drama (one of my alma maters). Yale has already moved to and FTSI is in the process of moving to "Fail Safe over EtherCAT" (FSoE), an Ethernet-based safety system. From the EtherCAT Technology Group site:

The open protocol Safety over EtherCAT (abbreviated with FSoE "FailSafe over EtherCAT") defines a safety related communication layer for EtherCAT. Safety over EtherCAT meets the requirements of IEC 61508 SIL 3 and enables the transfer of safe and standard information on the same communication system without limitations with regard to transfer speed and cycle time.

Beckhoff EtherCAT I/O seems especially popular in our industry, and they have a safety terminal range as well.  Being a big proponent of anything over Ethernet (I did write a whole book on the topic, after all), that seems to be the most flexible approach.  If it's affordable, that's likely going to be my choice, but I'll know more when I get a chance to research further.  

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond!

Show Equipment E-Stop Connector and Voltage Survey

At City Tech (where I teach) we are in the process of unifying all our automation controls. Being a school with a mission of serving the industry, we try to adopt industry best practices as much as possible.  Previously, I surveyed the industry to see the most popular I/O voltage.

Now, I'm looking at Emergency Stop (E-Stop) control for show equipment.  If you work with this kind of gear, please take two minutes and fill out this survey before 10am NYC time Friday, December 7.  Thanks!

I will post results here on controlgeek.net

Geeking Out in Orlando at IAAPA 2012

Back in November, I went down to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) show in Orlando.  I try and go to this show every few years, and if you've never been, it's definitely worth a visit. At the show, you can buy anything you need for an amusement or theme park, everything from pizza machines to garbage cans, and from high tech attractions to bouncy castles.

Robot fish!

Crazy new rides that really don't look like that much fun:

Monkees!

This Vortex Tunnel walk through was simple but amazingly effective.  I literally could not keep my balance unless I looked directly to at the moving wall.

Here's Entertainment Designer's 10 best booths of IAAPA 2012.

Thursday night, Jim Janninck and I had our first ever controlgeek.net geekout at IAAPA (we had one last year at Infocomm).  We had a good turn out:

If a bomb went off at the George and Dragon, the show control industry would have been decimated.

And I even gave away a copy of my book!

Afterwards, 14 of us went and played miniature golf next door:

Jim and I plan to do another geekout during Infocomm this year, hope to see you there!

Lumiere Animatronic at Enchanted Tales with Belle, New Fantasyland, Disneyworld

While in Orlando at IAAPA, New Fantasyland, which opens on December 6, was in previews at Disney's Magic Kingdom Park, so we checked out the new Enchanted Tales with Belle "meet and greet" attraction.

This is really a participatory show for kids, but anyone interested in show technology should check it out to see what is probably the most advanced animatronic character ever built--Lumiere:

I've seen the mechanism behind that black curtain, and it's pretty impressive.  I hope Disney will put that out publicly (but I do commend them for putting this video up!)

Here's a bit more background on the character from the D23 (Disney fans) conference:

Note that the flames in the CGI character aren't holding vertical the way the real character does.

controlgeek.net geekout at IAAPA in Orlando!

It's time for the first ever IAAPA controlgeek.net geekout!   Jim Janninck and I are organizing a little get-together during IAAPA; all are welcome.  We will meet at 7pm on Thursday, November 15th at George and Dragon Pub, 6314 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819. 

At about 9pm, we will likely head over to either Fun Spot go Karts  or the Orlando Grand Prix  depending on the group's interest.

I will post updates on twitter.

See you in Orlando!

Low-Voltage I/O Voltages Used for Entertainment Control

We're looking at revamping and unifying some of our low-voltage control systems here at City Tech--the systems we use in the Gravesend Inn, for E-Stop, mechanical effects, sensors, and other similar interfaces.  Since we want to model best industry practice as much as possible, I put out a survey here and on the Show Control Mailing List.  The 24 respondents (from more than 10 countries and some major players in the industry) had one pretty overwhelming favorite: 24VDC.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to do the survey!

I/O Control Voltages Survey

Well this is the "control geek" blog, after all...  Years ago, in our Gravesend Inn haunted hotel, we started adding pneumatic effects on a shoestring budget. I needed a low-voltage driver for electromagnetic pneumatic valve coils, and since an AC transformers (in those days) were cheaper than decent DC supplies,I just ran everything on 24VAC. That also had the side-benefit of less problems with inductive kick-back spikes, etc.

So now, the show has grown enormously, and over the winter we'll be revamping the system. I'm wondering, what's the most widely used I/O voltage? As a school coupled tightly to the professional market we want to follow industry practice as much as possible. So, of course, I made a survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7BXXMML

Anyone who works with this stuff, please take this survey before noon on Friday 10/5. It will only take about a minute to fill out. I'll post the results when I get them tabulated!