LTM present CM Lodestar course in SA

04 March 2008

DWR Stages Motor School

 

Article and photos courtesy of Louise Stickland

 

 

DWR Distribution staged a 2 day CM Lodestar Motor School in conjunction with UK-based motors and rigging specialists Lift-Turn-Move (LTM).

 

DWR import all their CM Lodestars via LTM. DWR’s Duncan Riley says, “I was delighted to offer this opportunity for interested people to learn about the internal workings of the CM Lodestar and we were very honoured to have John Jones and Dave Ward of LTM to come and present the course”.

 

The cost of the course was 1900 ZAR per person, and DWR could have easily filled the 18 places three times over! “I thought there would be a good response” says Riley, “But even I was surprised by the scale of the take-up and interest”. 

 

 

Company representatives and individuals travelled from all over the country – including from Cape Town, Durban and Sun City to attend, representing all areas of the entertainment industry including concert touring, corporate events, theatres and live entertainment venues.

 

The motor schools took the standard format of 16 places – with a couple of extras squeezed in!  They were presented by LTM’s Dave Ward, who did the bulk of the technical talk, while Jones weighed in with anecdotes and some snappy one liners to keep everyone amused.

 

It provided the usual no-nonsense hands-on practical look at the Lodestar motor – an extremely popular product in the South African market – providing a comprehensive overview of the hoist. It also familiarized attendees with the operational theory, design philosophy, safety aspects, internal workings and trouble-shooting methods involved.

 

 

It was the first time most people had been offered the chance to completely strip a hoist down to its component parts – and then re-build and operate it, in the process unravelling the mysteries of the machine!  A full set of manuals and course notes were also provided and eagerly devoured.

 

Riley continues, “Industry based education is not readily available in this country and that’s why there is such a huge interest in it. This is the widest audience yet to be offered Motor Schools, and from my point of view the more people who are familiar with first line maintenance, the better.”

 

 

LTM’s John Jones taught his first South African Motor School in 1999 at Gearhouse and has returned 3 times since then to do Motor Schools. He says, “I really enjoy the energy of South Africa. The thirst for knowledge here is incredible, and it’s great to see such a wide cross section of people wanting to take their technical knowledge and understanding of such an important part of the industry forward”.

 

The motors for the DWR school were provided by MJ Event Gear, which has bought all their Lodestars from DWR.

 

George Gilfillan, rigger from Stage Effects says, “John and Dave were excellent presenters, they had a real rapport with everyone and made everything very clear and understandable. They answered questions really comprehensively, and the technical knowledge we all gained will be invaluable in our work.”

 

 

Molatelo “Zeeks” Sebatjane, Rigging Manager from MJ Event Gear says, “It was really informative and I learnt loads. I am really confident about working on the motors now.”

 

Herman Wessels, a rigger from MGG commented,  “It was awesome! It was really valuable to learn all about the electrics and mechanics of the machine and how to carry out maintenance on site.”