Dirty lenses. Need I say more?
I do a bit of work with a small lighting house in the midwest. The owner of the company is a nice guy who also wears the hats that say president, crew chief, account manager, and janitor.
Each winter I hear from him how slow things are and how he has no work for the guys in his shop.
Then, each Spring, I end up on a show with a bunch of his equipment…with last Fall's dirt on it.
This is happening right now in fact. I am sitting on a pile of lekos that are reading at about half of their normal brightness due to the layers of dust and dirt on their lenses.
My inevitable question – "What were you guys doing all winter, and why weren't these fixtures cleaned?" – evokes a lot of back pedaling and excuses.
The sad reality is that many lighting providers (small AND large) are not taking care of their technology. They'll send a piece of equipment out on shows for a year or more without giving it a proper once-over.
Hint: Plugging it in to see if it turns on is NOT what I mean by a proper once-over.
The reality is that the Goliaths of this industry did not get there by magically being able to buy a warehouse full of brand new equipment every year. They got there – in part – by squeezing every last dollar out of their bought-and-paid-for fixtures. And the only way that was possible was by taking very good care of them.
Preventative maintenance is ALWAYS cheaper than the alternative.
It also makes it a whole lot easier to impress your clients.
I have to go clean some lenses now. Oh, and I may have a phone call to make.
See you in the trenches of Technopolis, a place we call The Complex.
Phil
Technopolis Tech Question of the Week:
How do you handle preventative maintenance on YOUR gear? How is that accounted for in your rental and show costs? Let us know by replying in the comments below.
Every show and every day offers a new challenge. Often we deal with problems during prep, load-in, setup, and programming. Sometimes we’re still dealing with the same problems (or new ones) when show time rolls around.
‘The Show Must Go On’ is a regular feature that discusses the problems that arise during a show, and how we keep them from reigning on our parade in The Complex.
