Ground rods may be a mystery to some, but we are here to explain the magic away.  Let’s discuss the purpose of ground rods and how the NEC and live events industry deals with them.

We will be mainly focusing on “temporary” installations in “Theaters, Audience Areas of Motion Picture and TV Studios Performance Areas, and Similar Locations” (NEC Article 520)

On November 23, 2014, Augustin Briolini, the lead singer of a band called Krebs, was on stage in Argentina and committed a deadly act.

There are two kinds of people in the entertainment industry: those who take responsibility for their own safety and training, and those who believe that safety and training is somebody else’s problem.

I was once working on a film set when a feeder transformer began behaving badly. A supplier had dropped off a generator and the transformer, and after they were both connected and energized, but before any load was even connected, much less turned on, the transformer was humming loudly. In my experience, that could mean one of two things:

Let’s start off with “Color Codes”:

We will discuss the requirements that pertain to North America. North American standards are somewhat straight forward, however European standards vary by country and effective date. European standards will not be discussed herein. The information below is based on The National Electrical Code (2014 NEC).

There are agencies, governmental bodies and authorities having jurisdiction that must be dealt with when bringing equipment into and for use in Europe. There are very specific equipment requirements that you must be aware of.

There are a multitude of testing procedures and manufacturing parameters that prescribe how equipment is to be manufactured and tested.  Equipment is to be tested & listed, and must be used for the purpose intended.

There is, I believe, a misapplication of the electrical code that mandates GFCIs be used “on stage”. The possibility of misuse and damage to conductors and equipment is not likely, for temporary theatrical equipment & wiring.