Quick one from the line at 1:45 a.m.: what’s the proper name for the hand counter we use at the door, and what square-feet-per-person do you quote for a standing dance floor when you’re keeping the room calm? I run the tally to de-escalate by controlling entry, but I hear 5, 7, and 10 tossed around — i stick to whatever the local fire marshal posts — what do you call it, and what number do you use where you’re?
Proper name’s a ‘mechanical tally counter’; I use 5 ft²/person for standing space and 7 ft²/person for a dance floor per IBC/NFPA, but defer to the posted load and egress. Pro tip: run dual clickers (in/out) so the live count stays clean when swaps happen — math gets fuzzy at 1:45 a.m.; your AHJ ever push you to 10 ft² when tables creep in?
@OP I call it a ‘hand tally’; at 1:45 a.m. I switch to two in/out clickers — log outs too?
@OP Mechanical tally counter; I quote 7 sq ft per head for an active dance floor and bump to 8 when movement tightens. My best de-escalation trick is a door-side whiteboard showing current count and next release — people relax when they can see the number. You subtract non-usable floor (DJ riser, service lanes) from your math too, right?
Handheld counter here; for ‘concentrated standing’ I use 5 sq ft each and for ‘active’ 7–8 sq ft each per IBC Table 1004.5 (https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2021P1/chapter-10-means-of-egress#IBC2021P1_Ch10_S1004), but the placard wins. I keep a small stack of wristbands equal to the remaining headroom so the line sees the cap — math beats vibes — @sbrown88 do you track outs on the device or on a pad?