RIGGERS 15th Feb 01

5. TANDEM MODIFICATIONS

A discussion paper concerning Tandem modifications from Bill Sharp had been previously circulated with the Agenda.

Mr Sharp had written his paper because of his concerns following an item discussed at the last meeting with regard to a Tandem clearance request, which had been dealt with under A.O.B.

The Committee then went on to discuss previous Tandem Modifications:-

In the past, most of the BPA Approved Tandem Modifications were either cleared for individuals or specific Clubs and Centres. The Rigging Committee agreed that many of these previous clearances could be made available for use by all, once the Rigging Committee had specifically looked at each modification in turn. To this end the following was proposed;

That any Tandem system owner could now incorporate ‘cleared for all’ Tandem modifications into/onto their system, without further approval from the Rigging Committee subject to the following conditions being met:

An appropriately rated rigger, (suitably qualified to approve the specific modification) must inspect and issue paperwork to the rig owner, stating that the previously cleared modification, is the same as the original clearance, is safe to use and is compatible with the ‘new’ system.

The exact particulars of the original clearance still stand. (If the original clearance was for a Vector 360 reserve into a Tandem Next container, then anyone with the appropriate paperwork can put a Vector 360 reserve into a Tandem Next container. There is no authority for putting the reserve into any other container unless previously cleared.)

Proposed by: Bill Sharp – Seconded by: Dave Prince

Carried

General Clarification

1. Not all previously cleared Tandem modifications have been cleared for general use.
2. All previous approvals for Tandem Main canopies into particular Tandem Container systems have been removed from the above Approved Tandem Modification list. The authority for this is as per BPA Safety Information Bulletin 1/2000.
3. Previously approved Tandem Modifications marked with ‘Cleared for all’ are now approved for use by all, subject to having the stated paperwork from an appropriately rated rigger. (Authority is the minutes of the Rigging Committee meeting Feb 2001)
4. Previously approved Tandem modifications marked ‘NOT CLEARED for general use’ are still only to be used by the person or organisation stated in the original clearance. It was thought that the items that were not cleared required better information than was readily available at present, in order to open up that particular modification for all tandem users. These items can still be cleared again in the future through the Rigging Committee.
5. Individuals/Centres etc who got the original clearance for the modifications from the Rigging Committee do not require the modification approval paperwork, as their particular authority is the relevant Rigging Committee minutes of that meeting. It would assist matters however, if these individuals could comply with the above paperwork in order to move towards one system.

FUTURE TANDEM MODIFICATIONS APPLICATIONS

1. Recently a Tandem Modification request was dealt with in a way that caused a lot of confusion. To stop this from happening in the future, it was agreed that the following points, most of which have been agreed in past Rigging Committee meetings, are to be adhered to when requesting clearances for Tandem Modifications.
2. Tandem Modifications will only be dealt with by the Rigging Committee if they are previously notified as an Agenda item. (This is to allow full investigation and research etc to be done, by all concerned prior to the meeting)
3. An official ‘Tandem Modification Application’ form is in the process of being made and hopefully this will be cleared at the next Rigging Committee Meeting. When it is properly available, all future Tandem Modification Applications are to use this form. The form will indicate the details required, and will have sufficient space available so that the modification can be properly explained and documented. This will allow that particular modification can be opened up to all tandem users without further recourse to the Rigging Committee.
4. Whenever possible, the applicant should try to bring the ‘modified system’ to the particular Rigging Committee meeting concerned. The item will not be formally inspected at the table, (this will already have been done) but it could be helpful with your request so as the riggers around the table, who are voting to clear your application, fully understand your modification.
5. If the Rigging Committee require further information or a further inspection/test jump etc, then the formal modification clearance does not come into effect until the requested further info etc is formally reported back to the Rigging Committee. Please do your homework.

The Committee thanked Bill Sharp for the work that he had put into this item.