Are your bleachers sagging? Are you having trouble opening and closing your system? This is most likely because your cantilever frame arms are bent or damaged. Cantilever frame arms are vital to the life of your bleachers. They attach to the main frame essentially holding up each bleacher deck which makes it easier to open and close your system. If they start to bend or drag, the bleacher decks will start to rest on top of one another (as seen in the photo below) causing tension during operation and sometime stopping operation all together causing a continuous flow of premature wear to spread through your seating system.
What you should see is adequate space between the bleacher decks in the closed position as shown below.
As stated previously, your bleachers are installed to last the lifetime of your facility with proper maintenance and care. Part of that maintenance and care is making sure that your bleachers are used properly. We’re not saying that everyone has to sit quietly in the stands and limit the shifting of their weight though. Our bleachers are installed for the most fanatic fan – in the open position. In every O&M manual, you’ll see a statement similar to this one:
“Do not allow people to climb, sit, or stand on tiers other than the Flex-Row modules of the MAXAM system while closed.” And, “Do not leave any section or bank open without the Flex-Row modules being open at the aisle locations.”
– Hussey MAXAM Owners & Maintenance Manual.
Students and patrons climbing and/or sitting on the top tier of the bleachers while they are in the closed position is one of the main ways cantilever frame arms get damaged. If you need only a small section of seating, you can use your Flex-Rows if you have them, otherwise you should open the entire bank.
Another common problem we have seen is when people are sitting on the upper tiers in the closed position, they tend to want to jump down to the lower levels. This not only can be very dangerous for the person doing the jumping, but very bad for your cantilever arms and your bleacher decks. It will also be costly to repair since misuse of the system is not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. It’s best to be sure anyone using your system: Athletic Directors, Coaches, Maintenance, etc., is aware of these rules and guidelines because what may look like a cool place for students to sit could end up costing much more.
If you don’t already have warning labels or signs in place stating the bleachers should not be occupied in the fully or partially closed position, you should add them. If you are in need of these warning labels, you can contact us and we would be happy to get you what you need!
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