Text-only version
David Collins has worked as an engineer/inspector in the amusement ride industry for two decades. He submitted the following opinion piece for posting on the Saferparks website. It was adapted from a letter Mr. Collins sent to Alain Baldacci, Chairman of the Board for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), in response to Mr. Baldacci's Chairman's Letter in the July 2002 issue of IAAPA's magazine, Funworld.
Dear Mr. Baldacci:
You are asking in your Chairman's Letter for all of us to work as neighbors to keep a fire (Federal regulation) from spreading. The easiest way for this to happen is not to put huge amounts of energy and money into defeating the attempts to inspect and follow-up on accidents in the industry. The way we, as members of a responsible and dynamic community, can show our strength is in adopting and using the ASTM F-24 standards as a real basis for operation, inspection and maintaining of our parks and attractions. We can stand proud as a community when we can all say, without reservation, here are our records and the quality of our inspections. Here is how we maintain our rides and attractions. Here is how we do our training. Here is how we do evacuation training to make sure that the safety and security of every guest is in the safest environment possible. Here is how we deal with incidents and how we do our best to make sure that kind of problem will not happen again.
The point that you appear to be focusing on in your Chairman's Letter is "regulation" and "paperwork" that might result from pending Federal legislation. The Standard Practices and Standard Guides that are part of the growing series of documents developed by the ASTM F-24 group establish the level and type of "paperwork" required to comply with these industry developed and approved standards. Most of the States and Governmental Agencies that already regulate Parks have adopted the ASTM F-24 as part of the inspection and certification regulations. The new California Fixed Park inspection regulations have adopted ASTM F-24 as their basis for evaluation of "paperwork". The ASTM F-24 group set of evolving standard practices and standard guides is now being conformed to the European Union standards and will form the basis for an international rides and attraction set of standards.
The problem I have, is that I find that there are a number of parks that do not even come up to the minimum standards established by ASTM F-24 group. I find that simple things like regular safety training, basic documentation of Daily Pre-Opening Inspections and Repair / Maintenance Logs are not adequately maintained by even some of the larger parks.
The ASTM F-24 group standards are the result of industry representatives, manufacturers, engineers / consultants and inspectors working to develop these standards. There are now thirteen (13) standard practices, guides and tests under the ASTM F-24 group package. There are new standards being evolved as we speak. These new standards address a majority of the issues that are motivating regional and Federal regulation. It is my deep and heartfelt feeling that IAAPA should focus on having each and every one of its members integrate the ASTM F-24 group package into the culture of their parks on a day-to-day basis. I know that these simple steps will create "paperwork". That "paperwork" was agreed to by our industry when the ASTM F-24 group standards were approved. If we do not work together as a community to practice what we preach, surely the Government will ultimately step in the mandate that we comply with the ASTM F-24 "paperwork" that we had already agreed to use.
The best way to counteract the challenge of Federal regulation is for IAAPA to take a position that states that every member should, as part of our growing and dynamic industry, follow the standards established by the ASTM F-24 group.
Sincerely,
David L. Collins
Over the past 20 years, David Collins has worked for Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Studios Hollywood (rides and attractions maintenance and installation) as well as doing independent rides and attractions design and park engineering for clients all over the world. He was project manager for the development of large cabin motion simulators for the entertainment industry (2 years before Disney Star Wars) and he is a listed inventor on 3 US/International patents on motion simulators. He was the principal consultant for the development, installation, operation and maintenance of the largest indoor theme park in Europe (Funworld November 1996). He was the principal rides and attractions consultant for the Telecom Pavilion at EXPO '93 in Korea (14,000,000 guests in 6 months) In addition to Mr. Collins' engineering and maintenance work, he has done code compliance and ride inspections all over the world. He is a NAARSO Level III (senior) Certified Amusement Ride Safety Inspector (with instructor and supervisor endorsements)(CN139). He is a Listed Quality Assurance Inspection and Testing Agency for Clark County, Nevada (one of the most mature and developed ride inspection and certification program in the US). He holds one of the few State of California Qualified Safety Inspector (rides) Certifications (C6266), and developed the first QSI Training Course to be approved by the State of California. Mr. Collins has been doing Amusement Park / Theme Park and Carnival inspections and biodynamic testing for nearly 16 years.
