Strike to Storage

• At the end of a production, all lighting instruments must be taken down from all positions in the theater and stored in a proper facility. With the exception of "work lights," no instruments should be left hanging in position or left lying on the floor backstage or in the shop. Instruments should only be stored on pipe racks in a hanging position and by their C-clamps.
  
  

Triage Now, Not Later

• As instruments are being removed to storage they should pass through a triage center, where technicians examine the instrument for any maintenance needs. Set up a test dimmer circuit for checking instrument lamps. Blown lamps or lamps that are yellowing (indicating impending failure) should be replaced with fresh lamps. Instruments that are found to have other visible problems, like bent shutter ears, a loose three-post connector block, very tight side adjustment handles or a loose C-clamp bolt should be set aside for immediate attention. Make all the necessary repairs before storing the instruments. Mark any "sick" instruments with a label for future reference if the triage session will not be completed that day or by the same crew.
  
  

Check Electrical Connections

• Inspect the connector blocks or plugs. Two and three post connector blocks should be tightly screwed shut. All of the block screws should be present. The brass posts should have a little "wiggle" to them, but not a lot. The lead wires coming out of the block should not be exposed; make sure the insulation covers lead wires. If the ground prong on an Edison plug was knocked off, replace the entire plug head.
  
  

Handle Lamps Properly

• Instrument lamps get extremely hot during use. If bare fingers touch a lamp, the residual oil left on the lamp will heat up and cause the lamp to blow. You will literally see a bubble formed in the lamp glass or the burned-in outline of a telltale fingerprint on a lamp that has been mishandled. At over $80 each for some lamps, blowouts like this are a waste of resources. Change lamps only while wearing clean cotton gloves or use the packing foam that came with the new lamp to serve as a barrier between the lamp and the fingers.
  
  

Blank Slate Condition

• Rack instruments so they can be pulled from stock and used immediately. The only instruments that should be hung in the rack are those that are ready to go without any repair or modification. Remove all gel frames and file the color gel sheets. Pull out all the shutter ears to the fully opened position. Use the side knobs to straighten out the instrument so it is facing barrel down. Check for any safety cable; if a cable is missing, replace it immediately. Remove any gaffer's tape on the cables or the connector block. Remove any labels to avoid confusion in the future.