Mitch Hefter, right, almost always talks to a full house when he shares his knowledge about electricity. He will be one of the presenters in the two day Electrical Workshop at the USITT Annual Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Photo/Tom Thatcher

Mitch Hefter
Engineering Commission

The Engineering Commission has put together a wide variety of informative and educational sessions for the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo this March in Phoenix.

First is a two-day Electrical Workshop. The Engineering Commission has presented an Electrical Workshop at LDI each year since 2001, and presented workshops at the 1991 Conference in Boston and 2001 Conference in Long Beach.

This Professional Development Workshop is designed to give participants an understanding of electricity, accepted methods of power tie-in, use of portable power feeder system, and associated topics including the National Electrical Code, NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces, necessary Personal Protection Equipment, and how to avoid accidents and injury when using electrical systems and equipment.

The 2006 event at LDI was sold out, so here's a chance to hone electrical knowledge and skills in Phoenix for half the cost! Participants will receive a copy of NFPA 70E.

Can't make it to this PDW? As part of the Conference there is a session on Basic Electricity which will give a small sample of the workshop.

One other session on electricity deals with Personal Protective Equipment, recent changes in understanding and regulations, and NFPA 70E.

Stump the Electrician is back with some different panelists and information on the upcoming 2008 edition of the National Electrical Code.

If electricity isn't your thing, how about rigging and automation? Jay Glerum will present another informative session on rigging in the theatre. Alan Hendrickson will present an Introduction to Automation session to provide a greater understanding of how the characteristics and specifications of machinery components is essential for their selection and use.

Electricity and automation not quite right for you? Jim McHugh will present information and tools for predicting the interaction of light and pigment in Understanding of Color. Or there's Organizational Culture and the Safety Process, a critical part of an organization's operation.

Do you want to combine elements of all of this? Cirque du Soleil will hold two sessions: one to talk about its complex automation and acrobatic rigging, with the top priority of basic principles of safety and reliability; the second session will address career growth opportunities and the need for relevant training programs.

There's no forgetting about control protocols but there's no session on USITT DMX512. This year, the session will focus on the recently approved Architecture for Control Networks standard (ANSI E1.17), more commonly known as ACN. DMX512 probably will be mentioned, so participants won't have any withdrawal symptoms.

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