The Tent Rental Division (TRD) of the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) is dedicated to you, the tent renter, with the sole objective of fostering safety, quality and creativity in the use of rental tents. The TRD was started in 1968 and has continued to grow ever since with a total of 281 current members. Membership is open to IFAI member companies that rent, manufacture or supply materials, equipment or services to the tent rental industry. Members of the TRD enjoy many benefits including events, education, safety guidelines and recognition as well as a dedicated website and a bimonthly publication “In Tents” magazine. The TRD hosts two different events that occur every other year opposite one another:

• Tent Expo 2011 was held last January at St. Pete Beach, Florida, and included 35,000 square feet of outdoor displays by 15 different tent manufacturers, and an indoor exhibition with an additional 65 vendors. The three day event included a “Training for the Tent Professional” session, products and services sessions, tent exhibit installations, a “Tour of the Tents”, keynote speakers, a business meeting, several social gatherings and a golf tournament.

• Tent Conference 2012 will be held January 26-28, at New York, NY, Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in conjunction with The Idea Factory / Catersource Tradeshow. This event will include several educational sessions, a “Training for the Tent Professional” session, a tent industry trade show, an interactive session entitled “Tent Rental 101 versus Event Planner 101”, keynote speakers, social functions, golf tournament and presentation of the ballasting study performed by Clemson University. The results of the ballasting study alone should make for a very interesting conference.

The TRD hosts four “Training for the Tent Professional” workshops each year. These sessions promote safety guidelines for the tent installer before, during and after installations take place as well as addressing the safety of the general public who will be in and around tented events. These training sessions are custom tailored for the audience they will address through a selection of modules that may include:

• Anchoring your tent safely
• Site survey – TRD style
• Squaring - made simple
• Basics of tenting
• Repair basics – hands on
• Protecting your investment
• Frame tent installation
• Pole tent installation
• Clearspan installation
• How to react to emergency situations
• Dealing with employees
• Challenges of the crew chief
• Conflict management – code officials
• Ten ways to get hurt
• Basic safety
• Round table discussions

The objectives of these sessions address proper installation of tents while promoting safety for the installer and crew members on the job site. The next “Training for the Tent Professional” workshop will be held October 11, 2011 at Aztec Events and Tents in Houston, Texas. This session will focus on Clearspan structures and will include a tour of Aztec Events and Tents facility. Go to https://www.ifaipublications.com/tentexperts.org/events/item/142 for more information regarding this upcoming event.

The TRD also provides other educational services on their website that include the differentiation of various tent types and their specific uses; tent basics, where you can find the answers to many of the most frequently asked questions regarding the tent industry; a photo gallery page showing practical application of different types of tents and events; and the online version of “InTents” magazine the official publication of the IFAI’s Tent Rental Division. “InTents” online provides recent industry news including the latest tent innovations, new products, images and information regarding unique installations, company profiles, information about other industry groups, tips and advice from industry professionals and news about current industry trends. There is also a searchable version of the annual buyers guide available to members.

Tent safety is at the forefront of the TRD’s objectives. To that end, there is a section of the TRD webpage that features and highlights safety in and around the jobsite and warehouse. On this page you can find information about building codes listed by state as well as digger’s hotline information and flammability requirements. There is also information regarding the safe use of forklifts as well as general information about health and safety issues that arise day to day within our industry.

To date, one of the greatest accomplishments of the TRD is the “Procedural Handbook for the Safe Installation and Maintenance of Tentage”. This handbook is a living document that addresses safe and quality tent installation of the various forms of tenting found in our industry today. This publication was assembled by the TRD Education Committee, a group of tent industry professionals including installers and manufacturers. All the engineering material was corroborated and validated by an industry expert. Chapters include:

• Pole supported tents through 60-foot widths
• Bale-ring tents through 100-foot widths
• Pipe frame-supported tents through 60-foot widths
• Box-beam frame supported tents / Clearspan tents through 100-foot widths
• Tensile structure rental tents
• Holding power of tent stakes

The section of this document that deals with staking includes a comprehensive report and data summary that was conducted and compiled by the University of Illinois and the TRD Education Committee. As a member of the TRD you receive a complimentary copy of this document. If you are a non-member, a copy can be purchased through the IFAI Bookstore.

The TRD Code Task Force, with the approval of the membership, has solicited the expertise of Clemson University to perform a ballasting study to assist with guidelines for the proper use of ballasting for rental tenting. The goal of the ballasting project is to develop industry-wide guidelines and reliable criteria to use when determining how much ballast is needed and how this is best accomplished when installing rental tents. The result will be a consolidation of the data and findings of how to ballast a tent most effectively through a series of diagrams and numbers to calculate the amount of ballast needed. A summary of the initial results of this study will be presented at Tent Conference 2012.

The TRD also provides a conduit for recognition by and for its membership. Recognition is achieved through the Award of Excellence, which acknowledges excellence in party tent rental, commercial tent rental and tent manufacturing; the International Achievement Awards, which recognizes design and innovation excellence; the IFF Innovation Award for bringing new innovative concepts to reality; The Wodetzki Award, the tent industry’s most prestigious award presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the tent industry; educational scholarships for member companies and a listing of companies that have participated in the “Training for the Tent Professional” workshops.

Membership in the TRD also includes a listing in the membership directory, online training modules, industry updates through a quarterly newsletter and dollar saving benefits through use of IFAI business services, member discounts at Tent Expo / Conference, unlimited use of Information Central, market research and member discounts on resources at the IFAI bookstore.

We would be remiss if we also didn’t mention that one of the greatest assets of your membership in the TRD is the ability to interact with the Division’s Managing Director, Jan Schieffer. Jan has worked tirelessly for this division for the last 12 years and has enabled the TRD to accomplish many of the aforementioned tasks. Jan is an invaluable resource and actively involved in the day to day goings on in our industry. If you would like more information about joining the Tent Rental Division of IFAI, or have any questions about the TRD in general, Jan can be reached at 651.225.6944 or jmschieffer@ifai.com . For more information about the Tent Rental Division of IFAI, please go to www.tentexperts.org