Disclaimer: This post was written by David Melvin, the newest member to Farnham Equipment Company. He oversees our Business Development and Marketing and shares his perspectives below. Day 1: There are a lot of good that come from “firsts”. First dates, first time to a movie theater, first time conquering a fear. This past weekend, I knocked out to “firsts”…
Champion Local Schools took advantage of Sourcewell, formally NJPA, pricing for their new Hussey Seating Company Telescopic Bleachers in the High School gymnasium. The home side bleacher features Hussey’s Xtreme Logo option with “Champion Flashes” while the visitors’ side features a signature logo option with “CHS.” Both banks feature Auto-Rotating Aisle Rails. Total net seating 998 with ADA…
Project Name: Ellet Community Learning Center High School Owner: Akron Public Schools Architect: GPD Group Construction Manager: Hammond Construction Contractor: Competitive Interiors Inc. Scope: Education Casework, Lab Casework, Telescopic Bleachers, Auditorium Seating Completion: August 2019 Stevens Industries educational casework is housed in the new Ellet CLC High School in Wild Cherry with accents of Sugar Cookie, Tangerine, Causal…
The new Warrior Center celebrated its grand opening this fall for Dayton Christian School Students. Prior to the new athletic complex, students were traveling up to 20 miles to play home games on other facility’s courts. As part of their $3.7 million, 20,000 square-foot center, Dayton Christian School invested in three banks of telescopic bleachers complete with Hussey…
It won’t be long until we’re moving indoors for Basketball Season, is your gym ready? Below are some of our featured telescopic bleacher and athletic equipment posts with maintenance and safety tips at the forefront. PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE: THE HOW-TO & WHY Given the right care, your telescopic bleachers will last generations, but it takes effort, care and knowledge on…
Project Name: Carrollton EVS New 6-12 School Owner: Carrollton Exempted Village Schools Architect: Lesko Associates, Inc. Construction Manager: Shook Touchstone Scope: Provide and Install Educational Casework Contractor: Beaver Constructors Scope: Provide and Install Telescopic Seating, and Auditorium Seating Completion: August 2019 Phase one of Carrollton Exempted Village Schools was completed in August 2019 with the grand opening of…
Project Name: Urbana PK-8 School Owner: Urbana City Schools Architect: Fanning/Howey Associates, Inc Construction Manager: Gilbane Building Company Scope: Materials & Installation of Educational Casework, Lab Casework, and Telescopic Bleachers Completion: August 2018 Urbana City Schools consolidated their Elementary School and Middle School into a new Elementary/Jr. High School with a grand opening in August 2018. The new…
Andrew J. Hunkins, LEED AP, Senior Project Manager at Corna-Kokosing contacted Farnham Equipment Company just days prior to the complete demolition of the old Groveport Madison High School, when he found out their Interkal Telescopic Bleachers were part of the demolition. He inquired of the possibility to remove the old Interkal Bleachers and have them stored for a…
Quick, show of hands – how many of you were at the original telescopic bleacher demonstration for the bleachers in your gymnasium?
In a group of 10, we’re lucky to have two hands raise up, sometimes one. This is by no fault of your own but it is our goal to make sure that you have all the information you need to safely operate your telescopic bleacher unit. This is one of many reasons we offer free Gym Safety Sessions, so we can not only review operation but we can also answer questions pertaining specifically to you and your equipment. While the below information isn’t as comprehensive as a Safety Session, we do want to point out some helpful tips.
Opening Your Bleachers:
Get Your Pendant Control.
Seems a little obvious, right? But I say this because only Authorized Personnel should be operating your bleachers, this means that your Pendant Control should be stored in a safe place that only those authorized can gain access to it. Opening and closing the bleachers may seem like a simple task, and to a point, it is – but you want to make sure you know what to watch for and that you’re taking every safety and operational precaution into consideration.
Before operation, you want to be sure that the area is clear of people, debris, and dust (see cleaning under the bleachers). You’ll want to check under the bleachers as well as the area the bleachers are opening to.
Once you’re sure the area is clear and you’re plugged in ready to go, keep your eye on the bleacher unit to be sure it’s opening correctly and that all banks are opening together, not skewed across the gym floor. Make sure you bleacher opens completely before detaching the Pendant Control.
Take the Pendant Control with you once you’ve opened the unit fully. Even if you plan to close them again, the last thing we want to happen is that you go under the bleachers and someone closes them not realizing you’re there.
When you’re done, put the Pendant Control back in its stored location.
Additional Set Up:
If you don’t have Auto-Rotating Aisle Rails (you should!), you’ll want to make sure every aisle rail is turned and properly secured for the safety of your patrons. A loose rail can be a major hazard for someone trying to catch their balance or worst case, some have pulled them out to use against another patron.
Floor to First Row Aisle Steps, if you don’t have them hinged (again, you should and we can do that for you!) you want to make sure to install each one properly before use. We’ve heard the debate several times, “but they’re a hazard!” Well, no. They’re not. The reality is, according to the International Building Code, if your bleachers were manufactured with removable first row aisle steps – code compliance dictates that you must use them.
These steps are designed to maintain varying height levels of steps to reduce trip/fall hazards because they were happening frequently (without the steps in place). If you have varying step heights on your unit and someone isn’t paying attention when they are walking up or down the steps, it is likely they could miscalculate their step and trip or fall. This trip and fall hazard increases your liability risk!
Flex Row Operation. If you have Hussey Seating Company Bleachers, be sure you know the proper way to open and close Flex Rows. Hussey has a great Flex Row video along with several tutorials here: Hussey Seating Company
If you have a Safety-End Closure Curtain (they’re great for school spirit AND more importantly restricting access to the understructure of your bleacher unit), you want to make sure it’s securely attached.
For many, this is all of the set up you need, for others you may have additional guard rails or accessories. Make sure they properly installed and all hardware is tight.
Closing Your Bleachers:
This is where you backtrack. Make sure your aisle steps are removed and stored. Most aisle rails can be left in the proper in-use position or you can turn them. If you’re turning them, again make sure all hardware is tightened. Get your Pendant Control from its stored location. Check under the bleachers for debris and dust that may impact properly closing your bleacher unit. It may seem impossible for things to fall through – but you’ll be surprised at what you might find. Check the surrounding area so that it is clear for closing. As you are closing the unit, be sure that, again, your eye is on the unit and that it is closing consistently.
We’re noticing more and more districts and facilities are putting up reminders regarding operation of their bleacher units to keep safety at the forefront. By focusing on safety, you’ll also be focused on operation which will increase the longevity of your equipment.
Let's schedule a Free Gym Safety Session
Given the right care, your telescopic bleachers will last generations, but it takes effort, care and knowledge on your part. Just like your car needs an oil change, your telescopic bleacher needs preventative maintenance to ensure proper operation.
We mentioned previously that our number one care tip is cleaning under the bleachers. Here are a few others to add to your list:
Hardware: Loose and missing hardware. This one is pretty basic, you want to make sure the hardware throughout your unit isn’t damaged, rusted, missing, or loose. This goes for the understructure, aisle rails, guardrails, seat components and so on. Your hardware should be looked at on a regular basis during normal operating procedures. If you see something wrong you should fix it or have it fixed to prevent additional damage to the components that it is holding together.
Missing or Damaged Row Locks: Row locks are an important component of all telescopic bleachers. They are needed to prevent one row from closing before it is intended to be closed to stay in the proper sequence. There are many people out there that work on bleachers that say it is ok to just take the row locks off if they get damaged if the bleacher is powered. This is not the case. The typical damage is from unauthorized people going under the bleachers, tripping on the row locks and bending them, causing additional problems. This also happens to some manufacturers’ interlocking guide rods. When you catch them with your foot and they pull out, the structural frames are no longer interlocked together and it creates a problem with guidance and structural support.
Damaged Seats: Cracked, damaged, and loose seating can cause an unstable seating surface for your patrons and can cause a cut hazard with sharp edges and splinters. Baseballs can break the faces of Wood Planks/Riser Boards and the faces of Plastic Seat Modules. People stomping on the tops of seats can break holes in them also. When either one is broken, there are sharp edges that can injure your spectators. These items should be repaired. Loose hardware on seats can also cause someone to fall resulting in personal injury and liability.
It’s also worth mentioning:
Bent Cantilever Frame Arms: Are your bleachers sagging? Are you having trouble opening and closing your system? Your cantilever frame arms being bent or damaged is one of the most likely causes. Your bleachers are installed to last the lifetime of your facility with proper maintenance and care. Part of that maintenance and care is making sure that your bleachers are used properly. We’re not saying that everyone has to sit quietly in the stands and limit the shifting of their weight though. Our bleachers are installed for the most fanatic fan – in the open position. In every O&M manual, you’ll see a statement similar to this one:
“Do not allow people to climb, sit, or stand on tiers other than the Flex-Row modules of the MAXAM system while closed.” And, “Do not leave any section or bank open without the Flex-Row modules being open at the aisle locations.”
– Hussey MAXAM Owners & Maintenance Manual.
Students and patrons climbing and/or sitting on the top tier of the bleachers while they are in the closed position is one of the main ways cantilever frame arms get damaged. Another common problem we have seen is when people are sitting on the upper tiers in the closed position, they tend to want to jump down to the lower levels. This not only can be very dangerous for the person doing the jumping, but very bad for your cantilever arms and your bleacher decks. It will also be costly to repair since misuse of the system is not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.
What does it impact? Cantilever frame arms are vital to the life of your bleachers. They attach to the main frame essentially holding up each bleacher deck which makes it easier to open and close your system. If they start to bend or drag, the bleacher decks will start to rest on top of one another causing unnecessary friction during operation and sometime stopping operation all together and causing a continuous flow of premature wear to spread through your seating system.
What to do? If you don’t already have warning labels or signs in place stating the bleachers should not be occupied in the fully or partially closed position, you should add them. If you are in need of these warning labels, you can contact us and we would be happy to get you what you need!
It’s best to be sure anyone using your system: Athletic Directors, Coaches, Maintenance, etc., is aware of these rules and guidelines because what may look like a cool place for students to sit could end up costing much more.
If you need only a small section of seating, you can use your Flex-Rows if you have them, otherwise you should open the entire bank. You also have the option for a secondary locking system for partial seating.
For example, with a 15-row bleacher, you can set a secondary locking system on the bleachers to open only 8 rows of seating and still be locked safely in the open position. When in this position, you can incorporate a top closure to cover the seating rows that are still in the closed position to prevent people from climbing, sitting, standing and storing things on telescopic bleachers while in the closed position. See how Botkins Local School District does this with their telescopic bleachers.
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