Safety Resources Page Resources for professional instructors, teachers and police officers "Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself." Dave Brown is strongly committed to safety in the workplace, on the film set and in law enforcement. As a safety professional he considers it important to bring the message to as many people as possible. Resources for Film Production When firearms are used on film sets, there are numerous safety and legal issues which must be considered. Regardless of the size of the budget, filmmakers have an obligation to protect the safety of their cast and crew. This means using skilled experts to handle the firearms, train cast members, brief crews and set up gun scenes. Not only is it important to protect everyone's safety, it is also important to let people KNOW that the firearms are being handled professionally. Read the myths about firearms safety on film sets that have developed over the years. For a guide to the universal procedure for safety-checking a gun, see the PROVE Method. For a view on the 'armorer' and why that term may be outdated, see What Is An Armorer. Accidents can happen when attention is divided between tasks or when people don't have the necessary knowledge to protect themselves and others. For a review of the circumstances leading to a tragic accident on a film set, see The Death of Brandon Lee. Every workplace has unique hazards. At a film safety conference in 2002, Dave discussed how every worker should have the basic knowledge to recognize, assess and control risks in their own workplaces. He wrote an article for the international publication IATSE Bulletin on Risk Assessment which is now available here. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE) is strongly committed to safety. On their IATSE Safety Bulletins Page, they have an extensive series of safe work practices in the industry. IATSE Local 856 applied for and received a grant from the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba under their Community Initiatives and Research Program to increase safety awareness in the Manitoba motion picture industry. At a press conference on January 30 2006 to anounce the recipients of the 2006 grants, Dave Brown was invited to represent the members and speak at the conference. Resources for Police Officers As a firearms training specialist, Dave brings a unique perspective to the role of police trainer. He uses his experience in competitive shooting and a background in stress psychology to discuss what officers will experience on the street. He emphasizes safety in training, simplicity of skills and a better understanding of how the human body responds to sudden stress situations. The PROVE Method. is a simple procedure for safety checking any firearm and should be universally adopted by every police agency in the world. When followed, it will prevent training accidents with firearms and will keep officers alive so that they will be able to one day utilize the skills we are training them to use. Working with replicas and fake firearms on a film set is one thing but when police officers encounter replicas on the street, it is a different matter. For an overview of what a 'replica' is and why it may be dangerous, see the Police Officer's Field Guide to Replicas. Police shotgun training has sometimes lagged behind advances in modern police handgun training. For a view of how to reload a shotgun quickly and reliably under stress, read the Shotgun Speedload article as it appeared in the January 2006 issue of Law Enforcement Technology Magazine, one of the world's largest circulation police magazines. Resources for Teachers Workplace accidents happen disproportionately to the youngest or newest workers. One organization that seeks to do address that is SAFE Workers of Tomorrow. Volunteer speakers visit high schools in Manitoba to talk to kids about workplace safety and hazards in the workplace. These presentations are done at no cost to the school. If you would like a personal presentation from Dave Brown, please contact SAFE Workers of Tomorrow. For teachers outside Manitoba, Dave Brown developed a teacher's guide for introducing kids to topics in workplace safety by using scenes from an action movie as a way to capture their interest. Please contact Dave if you would like more information.
		Training Workshops  |   Motion Picture Services   |   Feature Articles Safety Resources    |   Photo Gallery   |   Home Page  Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada