My IATSE local posted this story. It is nice to see a positive story about Stagehands.
As an Automation person I can say Equipment that is correctly specified, programmed, inspected and maintained can be very reliable...however this is rarely the case and MANY theaters bite off more than they can chew. Including many smaller spaces and a few in NYC. Automation can be incredible but few people take the time to fully understand the implication of automating the entire playing space. Just my two cents.
I am currently running a show with an 18,000 pound set piece that moves throughout the show and is a show canceller if it does not. I programmed it carefully and set up a very specific inspection and maintenance plan....and most of the tech team think I am a pain in the ass regarding that. We just celebrated our 1,000th show without ONE lost to automation.
As a side note we have lost about 50 shows to casting because we do not have swings...hmm.