The Musikteater in Vejle, Denmark is a busy - primarily - receiving theatre with a 1200 capacity flexible main auditorium that can be fully seated in a traditional set up or have a standing configuration. The venue also hosts corporate and private events, and the technical team co-ordinate production for a month long outdoor summer entertainment season in the park. They additionally provide technical production for the nearby Spectrum Conference & Sports Centre, which is also run by the city.
Musikteater’s investment in Kinesys products started around 6 years ago, explains technical manager Tor Futtrup, who has been working there for 13 years and initiated this move with a first purchase of ten 3.25 tonne Kinesys LibraCELL load measuring shackles and the Kinesys LibraBASIC system.
The Libra shackle pin is designed to work with the globally recognised Crosby safety bow shackle and the LibraBASIC power supply is a straightforward and cost-effective method of monitoring LibraCELLs.
This was especially helpful for checking the weight loading during concerts explained Tor as their roof point loadings in the main hall are around 700Kg.
The Kinesys products were supplied by Herning based sales specialist Light Partner, Kinesys’ Danish reseller, and with whom the Musikteater has enjoyed a long and successful working relationship.
For the summer outdoor work, it was important to keep a check on the truss loading under the roof system – so they started using the system for this as well.
The Libra system was extremely useful and successful, so the next Kinesys purchase took everything up a level with an 8 channel DigiHoist controller, K2 motion control software and LibraWIFI – which allows the DigiHoist device to broadcast load cell information via a wireless network. An inbuilt firewall ensures that only Kinesys data is transmitted on the Libra network so load data is fast and secure,
The sophisticated and intuitive K2 programming environment displays real moving objects as realistic graphic representations in proportion to the stage space. Offering numerous safety features and extensive user-feedback, multiple devices – winches, chain hoists, LibraCELLs, etc. can all be connected and monitored.
At the same time the Musikteater was converting its main stage fly bar system from manual to automated flying, so more LibraCELLs were also purchased, giving them a comprehensive Kinesys load monitoring system that can be used anywhere.
“Our main motivation was safety” explains Tor, “We need to know reliably what is happening on all the points in the ceiling in the theatre, and also for the external shows and concerts in the summer. It has been invaluable and we are delighted with the system”.
He adds that the LibraCELL shackle is “neat and convenient and designed (it directly replaces the pin) not to lose any headroom on installing the rig”.
They find being able to programme both the upper and lower limits of a weight sensor on the DigiHoist controller very useful, and a feature they use on all the fly bars on a big show.
There has also been interest from other sources, including locally based rental companies who have hired and used it to help produce show health & safely documentation and also bands and artists using the Musikteater for rehearsals have been able to accurately establish the weight of production elements like video screens before they hit the road.
As well as being impressed with the functionality and ease of use of the Kinesys elements, Tor mentions that Light Partner was an important factor in the decision, with their excellent backup and after-sales support as a reseller.
Photo by Louise Stickland