PERG News: March 2018

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

PERG News: March 2018

| PERG News: March 2018 |

Dear PERG Members and Associates,

In this Issue:

Harry Box,

Manager of the ESTA Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG)

PERG’s General Membership Meeting at NAB – Are You Coming?

| PERG News: March 2018 |

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the PERG General Membership Meeting! If you plan to attend, please RSVP. The meeting is open to members and non-members. It is a great opportunity to relax and have a beer with other rental owners from all over the US, Canada, and the world, who come to Las Vegas for this enormous conference.

As usual, we host a social hour starting at 4 pm. The program will start around 5:15 and will include some presentations which should be very interesting. In this year’s lineup, Marius Ciocirlan, co-founder and SEO of ShareGrid and Daniel Gurzi, Director of Business Development at KitSplit will take part in a moderated panel discussion. The panel will also include users of these platforms. This is an opportunity for you to find out more about how the fast-growing e-commerce rental marketplace could affect traditional rental businesses and for you to discover possible opportunities that the digital world brings to our industry. (See also PERG Grabs Hot Topic for NAB Panel)

Also on the agenda:

DOT Compliance—Productions as Motor Carriers
New theft deterrent features built into one camera
Customer vetting and equipment theft recovery services
PERG news and upcoming events

The PERG meeting is free, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors. However, this year we are asking attendees to please make a donation ($25 suggested) when you RSVP. Donations help pay for a major upgrade to RENTAL GUARD. In 2017 ESTA made a significant outlay to upgrade this important industry resource, and PERG needs to raise funds to help pay for it.

The PERG meeting is held from 4-7pm on Tuesday April 10th, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, just down Paradise Blvd from the Convention Center.

Got Trucks? PERG Releases Guidelines for DOT Compliance

| PERG News: March 2018 |

“The Department of Transportation [DOT] rules and regulations are complex. This handout takes a difficult subject matter and provides the information in a format that makes it easier to understand for production companies operating vehicles under their own DOT numbers” says Scott Taylor (Taylor & Taylor Associates). Over several months, since the new ELD regulations went into effect at the end of 2017, Taylor has been working with compliance experts to develop an easy-to-read document tailored for our industry. Experts from two LA-based companies made significant contributions: Lisa Dinson of Motion Picture Compliance Solutions, Inc. (MPCS), a technology company with special emphasis on DOT compliance, and Leigh Miller of DOT Production Consulting (dotPC), a company that focusses on providing compliance resources for commercial production companies.

The document has five major sections. It describes general rules that need to be considered when complying with DOT rules and regulations. It describes the specific procedures for operating a commercial motor vehicle (10,001 pounds and over). It lists the violations that are grounds for an automatic failure of the DOT and CHP audit regarding DOT and CA numbers. It describes the items required in the vehicle and available for inspection. And, lastly, it defines the often-confusing terms used in DOT and ELD requirements.

PERG got behind development of the document believing it would have value for rental companies as well as production companies. Mark Wofford (PC&E in Atlanta), a PERG council member, explains why PERG felt it was important to develop this document. “The issues our customers face become issues we need to be able to help them solve,” he says. “We rent vehicles for commercial productions and the trucks are typically driven by someone hired by the production company. A lot of our clients come here from California to film a project, and it’s important that we have a clear understanding of compliance issues so that we can better speak to the production staff about their responsibilities.”

While the document was produced in Los Angeles, the rules apply nationally. Derek Hammer runs Hammer Lighting and Grip in Indianapolis and was one of the PERG members who helped vet the document. “These are issues that have begun affecting productions of all sizes in all locales and are not just isolated to the big production cities,” he says. “DOT regulations are federal rules and are enforced by state Motor Carrier Enforcement officers in all 50 states.” Like many grip and lighting rental companies, Hammer runs a fleet of vehicles and is well acquainted with DOT requirements. He acknowledges that understanding what all the regulations mean takes some commitment, but he feels it is essential to a well-run business. “Enforcement is a formidable aspect of this situation, but the insurance and liability concerns may in fact be of greater importance in production. The penalties for non-compliance could be far greater if a driver is involved in an accident that injures another person.”

Lisa Dinson, of MPCS, says compliance is a particularly thorny issue for our industry, and explains why a custom solution makes things a lot easier. “Motor carriers (i.e. studios and independent productions) in the entertainment industry do not conduct typical “over the road” transportation business, yet all state and federal DOT regulations do apply.” She explains it is an inherent “square peg, round hole” problem. “The team of experts at MPCS developed a comprehensive, accessible, and dynamically flexible compliance platform to service the motion picture, commercial, special event and digital media industries.” MPCS assists with various types of services, auditing hours of service, managing driver qualification paperwork and driver records, providing background screenings that verify driver’s previous employment and licensing, conducting drug and alcohol testing and entering drivers into a national industry pool once a clean record is established.

Making a company into a compliant motor carrier can be a long, tedious and confusing process, and may be more than some have bargained for. A company like dotPC takes the job of compliance off the production company’s plate. They sum up their business model this way “dotPC does all the work for you so you can focus on what you do best – filming!” (dotPC website).

dotPC fills out the forms, sends in all the paperwork, and tracks the status of the company’s certifications. Miller explains “dotPC provides trained DOT Coordinators who work alongside production teams and MPCS to ensure driver compliance with each job. Our goal is to educate production companies and crew on the rules and regulations, in and around their already busy schedules.” The coordinator uploads all required paperwork to the MPCS portal, keeps organized files for each job, and alerts production to any potential issues such as Hours of Service. For many productions, this is an ideal solution.

We invite PERG members to download the document and let us know about any questions and challenges that you face in this area.

Download from the Initiatives page of the PERG website.

ICG Supports PERG Theft Prevention Effort

| PERG News: March 2018 |

We urge rental companies to please repost this link to your social media to amplify the message carried in the March 2018 edition of ICG Magazine. The issue features a terrific article about PERG’s efforts to address fraud and theft. The post makes great, community-conscious, content for your Facebook page, and you’ll be doing a good thing for the industry.

The article, by ICG staff writer Pauline Rogers, forwards PERG’s strategy to push back against theft by throwing a wet blanket on the market for stolen equipment. While it is certainly true that a lot of stolen gear leaves the country almost immediately, we have seen many instances where, within days or hours of a theft, the equipment is sold in the U.S., either via online platforms or in person. ICG members and other crew members who are in the market for used equipment need to know that they must check to be sure the equipment is not stolen.

The ICG article points out that crew can use RENTAL GUARD’s SEARCH function to check serial numbers before buying gear. This makes it harder for thieves to sell what they have stolen, it increases the chances they will get caught if they try. It has led to the recovery of equipment, and it puts used equipment owners on notice that if they buy stolen gear, they could lose their investment and potentially be guilty of a crime.

Thanks for helping PERG get the word out!

PERG Wants to Promote Your Company: PERG Members Are All About...

| PERG News: March 2018 |

We need your pictures! PERG’s membership video promotes members directly. The slideshow is titled PERG Members Are All About... It features photos of your great facilities, state of the art equipment, friendly and expert staff. The photos are accompanied by your logo, city, and headed by words that finish the sentence: PERG Members Are All About... such as: user-friendly facilities, professionalism, emerging technologies and workflows, experience, precision diagnostic tools, outstanding facilities, state of the art equipment, inventory and back up, pioneering technology, community outreach, your production, your crew, reliability, testing, unparalleled customer support, and so on. You can see the video at the bottom of the PERG homepage.

PERG displays the video at PERG events, especially ones where rental customers are invited, such as events with AICP members and crew members. We are looking forward to some excellent opportunities to display the video at events this year. The video helps PERG focus attention on the value of professional, full-featured rental houses. It promotes our organization’s roll within the industry, and it is fun—bringing into focus the humanity of PERG companies.

If your company is not currently featured in the video, or would like to update your photos, please contact Harry Box. Your company must, of course, be a PERG member to participate.

Theft Suspicion Vs. Theft Verified

| PERG News: March 2018 |

A recent theft incident prompted PERG to consider the murky question regarding equipment that’s rented and not returned. At what point can a rental company say that a rented item has been stolen? And at what point should it make a report to RENTAL GUARD?

Recently, a rental company had a piece of gear that was overdue to be returned. They feared the worst and posted a report to RENTAL GUARD. Subsequently the insurance company contacted RENTAL GUARD saying that there was no proof yet that the equipment was stolen and asking that the post be taken down. Who was right?

A Missing Equipment Report does not necessarily say the equipment has been stolen. It says that the equipment is missing. If the equipment is overdue, and the production has not contacted the rental company with extenuating circumstances and there are reasons to suspect foul play, it is important to make the report quickly.

Similarly, a Questionable Customer Alert does not say a customer is a thief, instead it provides other member rental companies with specific questionable aspects uncovered in a rental application process and alerts those companies to be sure to do their due diligence if approached. The alerts have proved very effective in helping rental companies avoid losses.

Reporting quickly can be critical. When one company reports equipment missing, the report can prompt other rental companies to call and email from all over the country (and the world) attesting that the same person was associated with a theft or attempted theft at their company, thereby giving law enforcement a clear remit to pursue the matter as a crime. Otherwise police generally view the matter as a contract dispute and do not get involved.

We also encourage rental companies to register for RENTAL GUARD before they experience a theft so that, in the event one happens, there is no delay in getting the report out.

Of course, the same is not true for reporting to the insurance company or to the police. Before the police will come to your location or file a report, they will need evidence that a crime has been committed, such as the customer cancelling their credit card and disconnecting their phone.

Li-ion Battery Shipping Resources

| PERG News: March 2018 |

Two of PERG’s annual sponsors offer professional camera battery products. CORE SWX and Anton Bauer (part of Vitec Videocom) both now offer products designed to help people who are shipping batteries do so safely and in compliance with international regulations.

CORE SWX offers the Fleet Micro battery charger with Safetly mode, which discharges batteries to 30% per for transport by air per regulations.

Anton Bauer offers the LPD Travel Discharger in V-mount or Gold mount. This is a dedicated discharge unit that can discharge four 90-Wh batteries in 3 hours or less. No external power is required for discharging, and the discharger is thermostatically cooled, so it is safe to leave unattended.

Both companies also provide comprehensive information about shipping their products on their websites. Informative links about battery shipping requirements can also be found on PERG’s Initiatives page. Let us know about your questions and challenges with regard to shipping batteries

Let us know if you hear about any battery related incidents!