Consultant ITPS announces the formation of safety division

Posted | Contributed by Shawn

International Theme Park Services, Inc., announced the formation of the Leisure Entertainment Safety Division of ITPS nicknamed "S.A.F.E." (Safe Attractions for Everyone). The new division will assist parks in the development of operating and maintenance manuals, safety, maintenance and operational audits, and programs for crisis media communications. The ITPS manuals incorporate procedures for testing, operating, training and maintaining, as well as stipulating ride restrictions for size and disabled guests. The S.A.F.E. audits provide clients with a program for a detailed review of the facility's operation and makes recommendations on those areas requiring improvement.

Link: International Theme Park Services, Inc.

I suppose this could help things. Hopefully, it's not run like a government operation ;-).

Speaking of safety...I've been watching the Travel Channel coaster / thrillride specials lately. Anyone else notice how much they emphisize the safety proceedures that are taken with the rides, both in the design & engineering stage, and the actual day to day proceedures at the parks ?

-------------
Current favorite coasters:
Wooden: 1) Beast 2) Raven 3) Son of Beast 4) The Boss 5) Timber Wolf
Steel: 1) Raging Bull 2) Millennium Force 3) V2 4) Wild Thing 5) Mr. Freeze
Visit: http://www.dynamicgroove.com

I saw this coming. It plays to the fears of park operators in light of some bad press in the last year. As long as they know what they're talking about, it couldn't hurt, especially for smaller operations that might not have the right expertise on staff.

-----------------
Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Just as a follow up...ITPS has been providing input on safety policies, procedures and regulations for the industry for many years. Dennis Speigel, president of the company was a past president of IAAPA. He also was assistant GM of Kings Island when it opened, and GM of Kings Dominion when it opened. Mr. Speigel has also been chairman of the Crisis Media Task Force committee for IAAPA and has written many articles on the topic of park safety. During the events of a few years ago when accidents were higher than normal, he was the one the media regularly contacted for comment.

Also, Ken Vondriska is the chairman of the Safety Committee for the IALEI (International Association for the Leisure and Entertainment Industry)

In this industry it is much better to be proactive than reactive.

Most accidents are due to rider error. How will this help amuesment parks if most of it is rider error?

-------------
At least I dont call a vertical loop a "loopdie-loop"!

At least they're not restricting speed, height, G-forces, etc.

The rides will still be fun, but the employees will now have to do their job instead of just milling around.

-----------------
-Kyle Brylczyk
KoRn - Untouchables, June 11th, 2002

RememberIdora: If people didn't use the services or the techniques that ITPS is providing, there would be a lot of accidents that aren't the fault of the riders.

And nobody should be against raising the standards in regards to maintenance. As long as that's what this is.. and it doesn't sprout into some ludicrice ranting about how we should be required to wear foam rubber suits because walking into an amusment park might be dangerous.. I'm all for it.

You must be logged in to post