Dirty Rigger and Crewsaders have tied up a deal for Crewsaders to be the official testing partner for Dirty Rigger products. The fruits of this partnership have resulted in the new SRT glove that is being launched this month.

The development process for the SRT glove started in August 2011. Developing a suitable update of Dirty Rigger’s Special Response Team glove has been a testing time. Designing and developing a new model to replace the SRT glove used by the Armed Forces, the Events Industry and other industrial sectors has required a fresh approach to development. 5 different designs tested on-site by Crewsaders have been put through their paces. The testing involved Crew Chiefs from London and Birmingham had to be comprehensive using a standardized feedback procedure. Each model was tested for more than 200 man hours in differing weather conditions, on different types of equipment and on differing jobs in order to maximize the testing of various design elements. A total of 1214 man-hours later and the new SRT gloves were ready for the final hurdle before being released to the marketplace.

A range of materials was strategically selected to provide exceptional durability and grip in all conditions. The palm and fingertips are made from 100% Daewoo International® branded suede synthetic leather.  This material was then treated and printed with an ultra-grip silicone layer on the finger tips and keys areas of the palm. The rear of the glove features an elasticated yet extremely durable material that provides maximum comfort over extended periods of wear. High-density absorbing pads and moulded rubber guards are integrated in key areas to reduce common hand injuries caused by impact. The SRT incorporates an all-black low profile finish making it ideal for tactical use and the events industry.

The British Standard EN 420:2003 multi hazard testing for abrasion, dexterity, puncture and resistance was a success. The result is the unveiling of the new SRT glove that has been put to the test on all sorts of events, on all types of equipment and in all types of environments. The finished article is a stylish and durable update on the original. Crewsaders Health and Safety Director Pat Fellows gave the glove his full backing. “70% of our onsite injuries are to hands. I am confident that being heavily involved in the development process of the SRT glove will ensure a significant drop in the severity and number of these injuries”. The glove is available to event professionals from Dirty Rigger this month.

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Voted as 3^rd  best company to work for in last year’s Fab 50 by Event Magazine. The competition is being run again this year. To all crew – recommend your company again for Fab 50.

Working for Crewsaders is great. Rates of pay, working conditions, excellent training courses, a great uniform that’s envied by other crewing companies and many of our clients, crew socials and the staff travel incentive make us one of the best to work for. So show your support and vote for your company.

Click on the Fab 50 icon below to have a look at the article in Event Magazine. In the article is a link to a short questionnaire. It will take 5 minutes to fill out. Everyone that fills out the questionnaire will be entered into a prize draw. Go on guys! You know we are the best!

As we move in to what is going to be one of the biggest and busiest years in the events industry, Crewsaders has committed to increasing its staffing levels to meet client demands. New opportunities are available at our crew bases throughout the country.

To launch the recruitment drive, Managing Director Jeremey Berryman explains what attributes a new Crewsader should have, and covers the benefits of being involved with one of the most respected suppliers to the events industry.

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Crewsaders sponsored Best Photography at the IVCA Awards 2012. The glitzy ceremony at Grosvenor House was attended by 800 international visual communication professionals.

Alex Reid of New Moon walked away with the Gold Medal for his work on Falcon & Associates ‘Connecting Minds, Creating The Future’ a promotional video for the United Arab Emirates current bid to host the World Expo 2020. You can tweet your congratulations to Alex on his win @newmoon

The Silver Medal went to Adam Etherington of TheFrameworks / Dassault Systèmes and the Bronze Medal went to Dominic Bartels and Simon Baker at Wilder Films.

You can see Alex’s fantastic film here:

Connecting Minds, Creating The Future

One of the biggest risks to event managers, technicians and event crew is the way in which they handle various types of equipment. Injuries related to the mis-handling of equipment account for the costs related to lost man-hours as well as productions falling behind schedule. As part of our information and education strand of Crewsaders communication strategy, we have produced an animated ‘Manual Handling for Events’ video to lower the risks involved when handling various types of event equipment.

This best practice training aid is aimed at new staff, as well as for experienced operatives that need a refresher on how to handle equipment. The script was written in consultation with a panel of our clients for two reasons. The first was that they wanted to be assured that Crewsaders were practicing safe working methods, and second that the video offered them an easy ‘show and tell’ training aid that could be used for their new staff on induction programmes.

The 9 minute video covers six main areas. The first section offers and introduction to manual handling and the way in which tasks should be approached in general. The rest of the video provides information on the handling of specific subjects – such as off loading, loading, flight cases, screens and flats – and best practice on how to handle equipment and other production items.

The video has now been incorporated into Crewsaders induction programme. It will prove useful for the wider events industry as all technicians, production staff and crew involved in production process (especially those that are new to the industry) will benefit from this training aid.

Crewsaders are proud to sponsor the award for Best Photography at the International Visual Communications Awards 2012. The awards dinner and ceremony will be to held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London on Friday 23^rd March. The Best Photography category highlights the best examples of film or video photography that promotes excellence in business and public sector visual communications.

The IVCA is the largest professional body that represents the visual communications industry in Europe. The annual IVCA Awards celebrates the associations’ commitment to promoting best practice and creativity in the visual communications sector through its comprehensive awards scheme. Crewsaders Managing Director Jeremey Berryman was keen to support the sector as “so many of our clients are involved in one way or the other with creating visual content for the events and media industries. I saw this is an opportunity for us to say well done to the creatives and innovators who underpin the internationally recognised image and reputation that the United Kingdom has as a leader in this sector”.

The incentive trip was a week to remember. Fourteen Crewsaders spent the first week in January at the Royal Cancun Resort in Mexico.  The days were mostly filled with lying in the sun around the various pools supping Tequila, Margarita’s and other exotic drinks. There were also bursts of energy with rounds of beach volleyball, water volleyball and surfing. Night times were filled with visits to restaurants and nightclubs in the resort.

Quite a few activities were also organised. Deep-sea fishing, individual power boat excursions into the local Mangrove jungle as well as a cultural tour of Tulum, a Mayan archaeological site were included to give the Crewsaders a unique experience. All the guys commented that this had been a trip of a lifetime. What a great trip!

Crewsaders Olympic themed calendar has been a massive hit with the events industry! So much so that an extra print run was necessary to meet the demand for our calendars.

The hype all started with the release of the YouTube ‘Making of The Calendar’ video. So far there have been over 1300 hits on the CREWSADERSTV channel since its release in late November. Views are climbing on a daily basis.

There have also been numerous articles in Event magazine on the calendar. A link to the video and some of the calendar shots has been featured in the three separate articles published by the magazine. The calendar was also chosen as their news ‘Pick of the Week’ in second week December 2011.

Comments from the industry have been generous. A PR guru involved in the industry called it an amazing campaign that has firmly put Crewsaders at the forefront of the crewing services sector in terms of brand recognition. A well know marketing professional commented “what a great idea”.

The response to the campaign has been overwhelming. The Twitter traffic on the subject has also been very encouraging with requests for calendars coming in on a daily basis. Compliments on the models have been flying around Twitterverse. The reach of tweets has topped 28 000 followers.

The campaign has not only satisfied the company’s objective of putting Crewsaders at the forefront of the crewing sector. It has also satisfied one of the company’s CSR objectives, that of promoting and nurturing talent within the company. The producer, photographer, videographer and the models are all company people. They had a great time making the calendar and seeing the fantastic response to the end product. All in all the entire calendar project has been a great success.

There are rumours circulating in the events industry about what will happen in 2012. ISES UK believes that rumours need to be qualified and challenges to the industry noted. The essence of these rumours is that the supply chain and its elements (venues, equipment, skills and infrastructure) will experience new challenges due to an unprecedented increase in demand. This is envisaged over the summer of 2012 when a summer packed full of events, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Cultural Olympiad, Olympic and Paralympic Games are taking place. However, there is also talk that some of the organisations in the supply chain are planning remedial actions in order to face these challenges in the lead up to and over the Olympic period. This is based on investment and strategic management arrangements in order to increase the capacity of the various elements within the supply chain.

The research proposes to explore the perceptions of the various stakeholders that make up the event supply chain. This includes organisers of Olympic events as well as other event organisers, before and during the period of increased demand (June to September 2012). The research is focused on identifying what actions have been taken or are intended to increase supply capacities. It is envisaged that this research will inform decision-making by the UK events industry on how to face the challenges resulting from bottlenecks in the supply chain and the actions that may be taken to avert these bottlenecks.

The research will take into account soft and hard measures that are being considered or already being implemented by the industry. Soft measures for example, may include recruiting temporary skilled staff, setting up new event management and staffing companies, which require little investment. Hard measures may include major investment considerations in venues, AV, sound and lighting and other event associated equipment. Part of the supply equation that also needs to be considered, is what happens once the Olympics is over, and how the supply chain will adapt to decreasing supply-side capacity in a sustainable way.

The International Special Events Society UK Chapter and Crewsaders are conducting the joint research project. The research is based on a robust methodology that will utilise a comprehensive survey as well as in-depth interviews with leading figures in the industry. The survey is going out to ISES UK members and industry professionals in early December 2011. The interviews will also take place in December 2012. The results of the research are to be published in the New Year.