Sound Policy Document

JKUAT CHRISTIAN UNION

SOUND AND LIGHTING SUB-COMM

21^st September 2017

JKUAT CHRISTIAN UNION SOUND EQUIPMENT POLICY

Purpose:

The policy serves to ensure safety of equipment and protect them from damaging actions JKUAT CU members and partners, either knowingly or unknowingly.

Scope:

The policy applies to JKUAT CU and members of the chaplaincy.

Responsible Party:

Media and Publicity Secretary and Sound and Lighting Director

POLICY

All JKUAT Christian Union’s sound equipment (comprising the public address, instruments and their respective cabling) shall be entitled to a proper sound equipment storage, proper sound equipment evaluation and repairs, proper transportation of the sound equipment and proper set-up, usage and set down of the sound equipment as outlined by this document and as directed by the Christian Union leadership
The Sound and Lighting members shall be directly responsible for the aforementioned matters as prescribed in the first paragraph of the Christian Union Sound Equipment Policy under the direction and the supervision of the sound team leadership.

I. Sound Equipment storage

The storage units shall be in the Christian Union office and in designated places within the office including a room and locking cabinets, and the Lecture Theatre office for, but not limited to the old set of sound equipment.
Pursuant to the first paragraph, the old set of sound equipment shall be any sound equipment NOT purchased under the sound project in the year the purchases were done.
The drum kit shall be stored as follows:
The breakables, which shall comprise sticks, cymbals including the hi-heart cymbals, snare drum, throne (stool) and the base drum pedal must be stored in the locking cabinets which are to remain locked at all times unless authorized to open by the Sound and Lighting director who shall also inform the Media and Publicity secretary or in any other way as outlined in articles III, V and VI.
The cymbals including the hi-heart cymbals shall be packed in their respective bags before being stored in the locking cabinets.

The shells, which shall comprise the bass drum, the floor tom and the rack toms shall be stored if possible in the locking cabinets and/or above wooden pallets/skids. They shall be carefully dismantled from the kit and stored in the prescribed manner WITHOUT stacking them one on top of the other.

The hardware which shall comprise of cymbal stands, drum stands and the hi-heart shall be carefully loosened and stored in the locking cabinets.
During the process of storage, the sound and Lighting members are to ensure that the supports and the stands of the shells are handled with care to avoid any drum breakages that may occur during storage whatsoever.
The microphone which shall comprise unidirectional, bidirectional and omnidirectional microphones must be packed in their respective casings and stored in the locking cabinets. Storing the microphones with heavier sound equipment needs to be avoided in every way to avoid any microphone damage.
The keyboard must be stored in a wooden box specifically designed for it and shall be carefully placed above the cabinets or on top of the floor but in a firm position free from falling, and in the event that there is no wooden box the keyboard shall be stored in its manufacturing box.
The keyboard stand, the microphone stands and the speaker stand if any shall be loosened carefully and stored in the locking cabinets.
The bass and lead guitars must be packed in their respective well-padded bags and stored in the locking cabinets.
The amp-mixer must be packed and stored in a wooden box designed specifically for it and shall be removed from the box only if it is authorized for use through the sound and lighting director.
The 32 channel mixer must be kept in a wooden box specifically designed for it and must be stored in the same wooden box and in a place that must be free from all possibilities of falling down whatsoever.
The 32 channel mixer must remain in its specially designed wooden box and must only be removed from the box during its use as prescribed under the article
The crossover, the feedback equalizer and the amplifiers must always remain in their respective rack-mount with each of the aforementioned equipment secured in its place AT ALL TIMES through rails or bolts during storage. The rack-mount must be kept in the designated room within the Christian Union office and the wheels locked during storage.
The speakers shall be stored in the designated room within the Christian Union office and the manner of storage shall be such that one is stacked on top of the other with a maximum of two speakers held above a single speaker. The speakers at the bottom shall be placed on top of wooden pallets to avoid unnecessary tear and wear of the speaker casing.
The sub-woofers shall be stored in the same manner prescribed above article I (I).
All the cables in tandem with the respective sound equipment must be stored in a wooden box specifically designed for the cables. The cables shall be WELL LABELLED depending on their use and the manner of storing individual cables must be such as is circular and tied with a cable strap to enhance longevity of the same.
All cables stored in the cable wooden box shall be for use in the Christian Union and NOT for personal use, therefore no personal cables shall be allowed in the wooden box nor the Christian Union cables lent out or given for personal use whatsoever.
The snake cable must be stored in its respective bag at all times.
The designated sound equipment room within the office of the Christian Union must remain locked at all times. The keys for the locking cabinets and the designated sound equipment room must be held and kept by the Media and Publicity secretary with a copy made available to the Sound and Lighting director.
Access to the sound equipment room shall be restricted only to persons authorized to access, by the Christian Union leadership.
The bass combo shall be stored on the pallets and in a place that shall hinder any unnecessary movements while in storage.

II. Sound Equipment evaluation and repairs.

The Christian Union sound equipment shall be evaluated once every month and the manner of evaluation as:
All the equipment shall be assessed monthly and a proper record made by the Sound and Lighting members.
An assessment form shall be designed, for purposes of article II (a) part i, by the sound and lighting members which shall be filled during the prescribed assessment and filed in the Sound and Lighting file.

Pursuant of part ii above, article II (a), a copy of the assessment form prescribed shall be given to the Christian Union executive committee for review every month.

NO equipment shall be opened during the assessment.
Following article II (a), MINOR repairs in the nature of microphones and cable repairs shall be allowed and done after and/or during the evaluation process of the sound equipment.
There shall also be a monthly cleanup of the sound equipment including the instruments. This shall be a joint effort between the Sound and Lighting members and the instrumentalists in the music ministry, and a procedure for the clean-up shall be prescribed in the training syllabus and shall be adhered to.
During the cleanup as prescribed in article II (c), NO equipment shall be opened without authorization by the Media and Publicity secretary and through the direct consultation of the Sound and Lighting director.
For purposes of articles II (a), (b), the Sound and Lighting director, his/her assistant and the lead instrumentalist (if possible) shall be present. This is to aid accountability.
There shall also be an allowance for MAJOR repairs which shall include but not limited to speakers and sound electrical equipment repairs.
For purposes of article II (f), ONLY under the authorization of the Media and Publicity secretary through the direct consultation of the Sound and Lighting director shall the major repairs be made, and for the purposes of the aforementioned repairs, the persons tasked with the duty of repairs shall be persons who are qualified and licensed to operate sound equipment with a reputable and satisfactory working history.

III. Training and Practice of persons

There must be a sound training syllabus developed by the Sound and Lighting sub-comm.
There must be a mandatory, rigorous and meticulous sound training for the members of the Sound and Lighting sub-comm.
For purposes of article III (b), the period of basic training shall be within the first 4 weeks after the date in which the Christian Union commences its activities officially, and shall be organized by the Sound and Lighting director who shall inform the Media and Publicity secretary on the training plans.
The manner of the training prescribed in article III (b) shall be as;
A thorough theoretical training on sound and sound equipment as per the sound training syllabus.
A thorough practical training on sound and sound equipment as per the sound training syllabus.

Regular test evaluation to assess the training progress of the sound and lighting members.

For purposes of article III (d) part ii, there shall be an allowance to the access of the sound equipment and in every instance of access, the Media and Publicity secretary must be informed and thereof authorize access to the same.
For purposes of article III (e), the sound equipment must NOT be transported out of the Christian Union office unless authorized by the Media and Publicity Secretary.
As prescribed in article III (d), there shall be an allowance, on request and proof of need to the Christian Union executive committee, for an external trainer (persons well versed and equipped with the knowledge and experience in operations of sound and sound equipment, and who are not students of the Christian Union), who shall be appreciated by the Christian Union in manner agreed upon by the executive committee of the Christian Union.
Any person authorized to interact and use the sound equipment as prescribed in the usage as per article V;
Must be a member of the Sound and Lighting sub-comm.
Must have actively participated in the sound training as mentioned in the article III (b).
Any person other than the persons prescribed in article III (h) shall only be allowed access to the usage of the sound equipment, through the direction or allowance by the Sound and Lighting director.
The instrumentalists in the music ministry must undertake a basic training at the beginning of every semester at a date agreed upon by the lead instrumentalist and the Sound and Lighting director. The date shall be communicated to the Media and Publicity secretary and the Music director.
For purposes of article III (j), the basic training shall include but not limited to;

An introduction to sound
Trim/Gain/Level
Aux controls
EQ controls
Channel levels
Sub mixes
Monitors
Sound amplification

Controlling feedback
The members of the Music Ministry shall also undergo a basic training at the beginning of the semester. This shall include but not limited to;

Proper handling and use of microphones
Stage set up and positioning
Monitors and voice monitoring

For purposes of practice, it must be restricted to the members of the Christian Union and in which case the old set of sound equipment, as defined in article I (b), shall be used and in the event of the need to use the new sound equipment, the Sound and Lighting director together with lead instrumentalist shall agree on such a matter and authorization MUST be granted, upon recipient of the request, by the Christian Union executive committee through the Media and Publicity secretary.

IV. Transportation of the Sound Equipment

The transportation of the sound equipment may be referred to as locomotion and shall include the movement of the sound equipment from their storage room in the Christian Union office to the venues prescribed and authorized for their use as well as a mandatory return for the same to the storage room after their prescribed use.
There must be a provision for an equipment trolley specifically designed and made, to be used for the transportation of the sound equipment.
For purposes of the use as prescribed in the article IV (b), it shall be restrictive on the particular sound equipment and the quantity of the equipment to be transported at any given time on it, and shall this shall be determined by the Sound and Lighting director at all times apart from the equipment mentioned in article IV (d).
The use pursuant of article IV (c), shall therefore be limited on the type of sound equipment to be carried on it and the restricted sound equipment shall include;

The keyboard
The breakables and the shell components of the drum set kit
The guitars
The Mixing consoles
The amplifiers
The crossover and the feedback equalizer

The 32 channel mixer shall be transported in its specially designed wooden box and shall always be carried at its handles with two people as directed by the Sound and Lighting director.
The crossover, the amplifiers and the feedback equalizer must always be transported in the rack-mount.
The amp-mixer, whenever authorized for use, shall be transported using its specially designed wooden box and in the manner as prescribed in article IV (e).
The keyboard must always be transported in its specially designed wooden box or its manufacturer box.
The guitars must be transported in their respective well-padded bags which must be worn in a proper manner by persons authorized to carry them as allowed by the Sound and Lighting director.
The cables and the snake cable must be transported in their specially designed wooden box and bag respectively. NO cable shall be allowed out of the Christian Union office unless through the specially designed wooden box or by the consent of the Sound and Lighting director.
The microphones must be transported in their respective casings.
The speakers, the bass combo and the sub woofers shall be transported by the equipment trolley or by hand, and if by hand, it must be done by carrying either of the aforementioned equipment by persons not less than two and as directed by the Sound and Lighting director. NONE of the aforementioned equipment is to be carried on the back or the shoulder of any persons authorized to carry them.
The bass combo as mentioned in article IV (l) shall NOT be dragged along the floor during movement, such shall be avoided at all cost.
The drum set kit must be dis-assembled and shall be transported as follows;

The breakables that comprise sticks, cymbals including the hi-heart cymbals, snare drum, throne (stool) and the base drum pedal must be handled with care during the transportation and carried by persons authorized to do so by sound and lighting director.
As mentioned in article IV (n) part i, all the cymbals shall be transported in their respective bags and the snare drum by one person allowed to transport it by the Sound and Lighting director and who must ensure that the snare drum is carried by folding both hands around its circular sides during the transportation.
The shells that comprise the bass drum, the floor tom and the rack toms shall be transported by one person each, and the manner by which the aforementioned equipment shall be transported is by the folding of both hands around the circular sides of the equipment during the transportation. There shall be NO stacking of the equipment mentioned during transportation.

For the safety of the mentioned equipment in article IV (n) part iii, the persons carrying the equipment must NEVER transport or be allowed to transport the equipment by holding them by their supports and stands nor carrying the equipment by their backs and/or shoulders whatsoever.
The hardware that comprise of cymbal stands, drum stands and the hi-heart shall be carefully loosened before transport and handled with care during transportation.

V. The set-up, usage and the set down of the Sound Equipment

The sound equipment shall be set up after the transportation of the equipment in manner that shall be prescribed in the sound training syllabus and/or as directed by the Sound and Lighting director and by the help of the Sound and Lighting members.
The set up as prescribed in article V (a), shall be done in a manner that is to;

Facilitate well balanced, clear, audible and good sound to for the worship of God through praise and worship sessions in the Christian Union services, fellowships and authorized events.
Facilitate well balanced, clear, audible and good sound to be monitored back to the music ministry and the lead singer on stage, and the same shall apply to the preacher/speaker of the word and any persons allowed to minister by the Christian Union constitution and the executive committee during the Christian Union services, fellowship and authorized events.

Facilitate well balanced, clear, audible and good sound to be amplified to the church members and attendees during the Christian Union services, fellowships and authorized events.

For purposes of articles V (b) parts i, ii, iii, the Christian Union fellowships, services and authorized events shall be that which is described in such a manner by the JKUAT Christian Union constitution and/or that which the Christian Union executive committee allows, directs or authorizes on matters aforementioned.
1. The set up as mentioned in article V (a), shall be completed 10 minutes before the time designated for the start of any of the Christian Union services, fellowships, and authorized events as directed by the Christian Union executive committee, so as to allow a pre-sound check of all equipment present.
2. The pre-sound check mentioned in article V (c), shall be done under the direction and the supervision of the Sound and Lighting director.
3. The usage of the sound system and equipment shall be at the Assembly Hall and any other venue that is authorized by the Christian Union executive committee, and this shall be used in and during the Christian Union fellowship, services and authorized events as prescribed in meaning laid out in article V (b) part iv.
4. Any use apart from that which is mentioned in article V (e), shall be prohibited unless in the case of borrowing, and whose provisions be as described in article
5. There shall be specific provisions for the usage of the Christian Union sound equipment as prescribed in article V (e);
The persons to handle the sound equipment and system during the usage must be persons prescribed under article III (h)
The sound equipment must be used in accordance with the prescribed training as mentioned in articles III c, e, g, j, k, l.

The 32 channel mixer and/or the amp-mixer shall be positioned above the rack-mount or on top of a proper table, that shall be free from unnecessary shaking, during set up and use, and a 1 meter radius shall be maintained around the sound desk to allow for free and necessary movements of the Sound and Lighting members.

The switching on and off of the sound equipment shall be as prescribed by the training syllabus, however the 32 channel mixer and/or the amp-mixer shall always be last equipment to be switched on and the first equipment to be switched off.
The cable connections for the crossover and the feedback equalizer may be done beforehand to enhance smoothness during set-up.
The speakers shall not be stacked one above the other during usage and set-up unless authorized by the Sound and Lighting director.

The 32 channel mixer and/or the amp-mixer channels, the amplifiers, the snake cable, the speaker cables, the connectors, the microphones and their respective cables shall be well labelled and well accounted for before, during and after their use.
The 32 channel mixer and/or the amp-mixer must be handled with care and any kind of clipping within the 32 channel mixer and/or the amp-mixer must be avoided and prohibited at all cost.

The microphones must be handled with care and must NOT be dropped or allowed to fall onto the ground during their use or set-up.
Any microphone cables or input cables into the mixer shall NOT be disconnected from their respective microphone or microphone channel within the 32 channel mixer and/or amp-mixer while in use unless the respective microphone channel or input channel is muted.
Every input cable allowed into the mixer shall be form the snake cable unless otherwise as authorized by the Sound and Lighting director and any plugging in of two input cables in one input channel shall be avoided.

The standard path for any sound signal shall be but not limited to; from the input into the 32 channel mixer and/or the amp-mixer, then through the output in the aforementioned, then into the feedback equalizer, then through the crossover and into the amplifier which shall then be amplified to the speakers and sub woofers or as otherwise directed by the Sound and Lighting director.
Any output cables shall NOT be disconnected from the mixer while they are in use, unless the mixer is off or the cable is first disconnected from the feedback equalizer or the crossover or the amplifiers and in such a case the aforementioned equipment shall be off or set to their minimum gain levels.
The bass guitar shall not be plugged directly into the 32 channel mixer and/or the amp-mixer, but shall be connected to the mixer through the bass combo and the bass guitar shall never be used without the bass combo at any given time.

There shall be an allowance to the crank up of the volume of the speakers and the sub woofers during their use, and in doing this there must be taken into consideration but NOT limited to; the speakers’ and amplifiers’ watt ratings and the speakers’ power ratings.

For purposes of safety and precautionary measures of article V (g) part vi, the unnecessary crank up to the volume is to be prohibited and a threshold level for the aforementioned ratings shall be used at all times, as prescribed by the sound training syllabus or the Sound and Lighting director.
There shall be an allowance for the looping of speakers, however this shall be done under the direction of the sound and lighting director and in doing so the power and watt ratings of the speakers to be looped must be considered.
There shall be zero tolerance for feedback during the period of using the sound equipment.
The guitars shall be handled with care and after their use they shall be placed at their respective guitar stands and later on packed in their well-padded bags for transportation and storage.

Immediately after the usage of the sound equipment, the first order of business shall be a proper set-down of the sound equipment and subsequently transportation and storage of the sound equipment shall be done pursuant of articles I and IV respectively.

VI. The borrowing of the Sound Equipment

There shall be an allowance for the borrowing of the sound equipment but this shall be restricted ONLY to the chaplaincy of the University.
Pursuant to article VI (a), the terms and conditions shall be as follows;

The borrower shall give a 7 day notice of his/her wish and intention to borrow any or all the sound equipment, through an official letter dated, signed and addressed to the Chairperson of the Christian Union through the Media and Publicity secretary
Any lending thereof, must be discussed and approved by the Christian Union executive committee who shall in so doing consult with the Sound and Lighting director on the following issues but not limited to;
1. The state of the borrowed sound equipment
2. The value of the borrowed sound equipment
3. The expertise needed to operate the borrowed sound equipment
Following article VI (b) part ii, there shall be a sound equipment requisition form that shall be signed and stamped by the chairperson of the Christian Union and the Media and Publicity secretary and which shall be designed by the Sound and Lighting sub-comm. and filed by the aforementioned sub-comm.

The borrower of the sound equipment and system shall be held liable or responsible on any part or whole of the equipment or system if damaged, lost or missing in the course of the term of borrowing and this shall be verified and decided upon by the Christian Union executive committee including the manner in which a reimbursement, a repair or a replacement shall be done.

On return of the sound equipment and system, there shall be an assessment on the state and condition of the borrowed equipment by the Sound and Lighting sub-comm. in the presence of the borrower, and a report shall then be tabled to the executive committee through the media and publicity secretary for an update and/or a review of the same.

The Penalties

Any person that operates or handles the sound equipment in a manner that leads to breakage, loss or damage in whole or part of the equipment and system, shall be held liable and shall be required to pay for, replace or reimburse the Christian Union subject to;
An agreeable amount reached at by the Christian Union executive members and/or
An agreeable action reached at by the Christian Union executive committee that shall be resultant to any action done as prescribed in article VII (a)
Any person found mishandling the sound equipment and system shall be subject to a stern warning and afterwards if repeated, shall be barred from any access of the equipment for a specific period of time as may be deemed fit by the Media and Publicity secretary