I’m an electrician, and a good chunk of what we do is converting fluorescent and HID fixtures to LED, but we have come to a road block on one particular job. At a local school, there are 4’ T8 fluorescent wrap around fixtures above the stage (about 70’ above the stage), and there are only a handful of bulbs that are still working after 16 years. We would normally get a boom lift for a job like this, but there are still several problems, the curtain and projection screen equipment would need to be lowered to the ground and removed to gain access, but also the construction of the stage is not physically strong enough to support the weight of a boom lift with two men in it. I personally believe the light were put in before the stage was built. Has anyone else had to deal with a series of problems like this, if so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Can you get pics of the site, and the problems you’ve been having.  It’s hard to imagine, and there may be a way to R&R them without putting a boom lift on the stage

Construct a temp scaffold.

Again, would the stage support the weight 

Silly I know, but what about a big bunch of helium filled baloons.?? 

Silly I know, but what about a big bunch of helium filled baloons.?? 

I would like to know, what response you would get from your insurance company for this idea... :-D

Again, would the stage support the weight 

No, as we got chewed out by the maintenance supervisor as we were trying to fix a stage spot light.

Construct a temp scaffold.

Yep, this is your best answer.

Dumb question, theres no catwalk up there for servicing?

What about a Cherry picker? Electric versions exist, and it could possibly be parked in front of the stage while allowing you to still reach the lights.

To me i looks like the stage was built in violation of all applicable codes (no access to the installation above, which means with no equipment required for the access available on site, if the generic equipment can not be used), so there won't be any other "legal" (read as code compliant, so e.g. acceptable for your insurance provider) way out of the mess than disassembling the stage back and then construct it the right way (so e.g. easy to dismantle to allow the access for the boom lift normally used to service such lights).

Other option for you is to refuse to service those lights on grounds of the site modifications are not allowing it anymore.
But for the school it will still continue to be a liability problem, they will be in troubles if something happens here...

I've actually been thinking about this a lot recently.

One case was actually my high school auditorium. The ceiling was a combination of drywall and tile, with mercury vapor bays in the unfinished area above this. Probably used while the building was under construction but now impossible to access from the catwalks.

The other instance was my college gym. it still had Mercury Vapor Bay lights as well but kept it so warm they hardly needed to heat it in the winter. in one corner of the gym was converted into offices with a drop ceiling with their own fluorescent lights. since the old Mercury lights were above the drop ceiling, they wouldn't light anything up that was accessible but could still be turned on with the original switch. I've seen plenty of abandoned fixtures above drop ceilings but never actually functional. when I left the school this building was being converted to LED and I think this section of lights was just disconnected and abandoned in place.

The third instance in the one I'm trying to figure out now is a walkway of around 200 steps on the side of a big hill. Definitely no way to get a truck nearby, but could probably get close to the fixtures on a specialty ladder, but they stuck out pretty far, so they just stopped maintaining them and installed a 1500w metal halide light at the end of the steps pointed backward. After 10 years two of the three inaccessible high-pressure sodium fixtures are still cycling away every night, but I still wonder how they were originally installed.