The lay of a rope refers to the direction of the twist of the strands which compose it – if a combination of directions is used the rope may be regarded as having a low rotation, i.e. in normal operation the rotational effect of a rope moving over a pulley is minimised.
A walkway above the stage which may be in a fixed or suspended position, on which lights are hung and from which they may be maintained or modified.
The live end of a rope is the load bearing end in a termination, such that it directly carries the load of the hanging. The dead end is the returned section of rope coming out of a termination and as such has no direct load applied. The phrase ‘never saddle a dead donkey’ is used by theatre practitioners to remember which way round a Crosby termination ‘dog’ should be applied to a rope.
A secondary brake on a winch in direct line with the winch drum, which holds the load should the system fail.
Axes that move simultaneously and are linked together to maintain their relative position. These can be locked by position, velocity, torque or physical linkage (see also ‘Free groups’ and ‘Safe groups’).
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998