Unusual Rigging & Engineering LLC boasts ‘full house’ of NRC certified riggers

25th July 2022

Unusual Rigging & Engineering LLC in Dubai has set a new standard for entertainment rigging in the UAE with a commitment to ensuring all its riggers are NRC certified. Riggers Ron Lloveras, Ariel Santos, Rian Tabaldo and Tom Oliver recently completed the NRC Level 2 certification, Colin Silvers and Bhisma Ale are working towards NRC Level 3, with Abner Simbulas and Mark Reoja embarking on NRC Level2. The certification provides riggers with a means of demonstrating that they have attained a professional standard in general event rigging practices and provides employers and venue operators wit a benchmark to use when hiring, something which is increasingly important in the UAE as the region seeks to improve its commitment to health and safety in the industry.

Denis Bramhall, managing partner at Unusual Rigging & Engineering said: “We are so incredibly proud of our guys for the effort, commitment, and time they’ve put in to achieve their goals – not only the NRC but all the training offered to them by the company. To have a team of riggers who are all assessed to NRC standard is quite Unusual in the Gulf region, but it is becoming a requirement on more and more projects here and puts us at a distinct advantage when tendering for contracts.”

The team flew from Dubai to the UK where they undertook the NRC assessments. Robin Elias, NRC assessor commented: “The NRC is not a legal requirement for those carrying out rigging activities, however it is widely recognised across the event industry and endorsed by a growing number of employers and venues for general rigging activities. We were delighted to welcome the riggers from Dubai to the UK for their assessments and to see them return to work with their certifications under their belts. Health and safety standards in the Gulf region still have some way to go before they are as stringent as UK standards, but companies like Unusual Rigging & Engineering LLC are raising the bar; recognising the importance of investing in their staff. It’s encouraging to see that the NRC standard is becoming a requirement on more and more projects in the Gulf region where major players understand what training is all about.”

Denis added: “It’s our company policy to achieve 100% accreditation for all our rigging crew. It is important to us as a business, but we also feel it shows commitment to improving health and safety by providing professional riggers for all our projects. Companies must be willing to make a commitment to invest in their employees; not only does it result in having a better calibre of staff, which provides us with a competitive advantage over our competitors, but it also makes for a happier workforce and staff retention is higher too.”