<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def start(self):
 """Start the background thread and begin consuming the thread."""

        with self._operational_lock:
            ready = threading.Event()
            thread = threading.Thread(
                name=_BIDIRECTIONAL_CONSUMER_NAME,
                target=self._thread_main,
                args=(ready,)
            )
            thread.daemon = True
            thread.start()
            # Other parts of the code rely on `thread.is_alive` which
            # isn't sufficient to know if a thread is active, just that it may
            # soon be active. This can cause races. Further protect
            # against races by using a ready event and wait on it to be set.
            ready.wait()
            self._thread = thread
            _LOGGER.debug("Started helper thread %s", thread.name)