Amusement Park Ride Design Rules & Guidelines

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the design rules and guidelines for amusement park rides, focusing on safety, certification processes, and personal experiences related to ride development. Participants share insights into the regulatory environment and express concerns regarding oversight in the industry.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks information on governing councils or guidelines for amusement park ride design.
  • Another participant shares a link to a document from the Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding amusement park ride certification.
  • A personal account highlights a lack of oversight in ride development, mentioning a failure incident that occurred during testing, although no injuries were reported.
  • A participant expresses concern about being asked to sign off on safety changes for a ride, indicating the necessity of a technical review due to insurance requirements.
  • One participant expresses a strong reluctance to work on amusement park rides again, citing negative experiences despite potential financial incentives.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the safety and oversight of amusement park ride design, with some expressing significant concerns about the lack of regulation while others share experiences that suggest varying levels of oversight.

Contextual Notes

There are indications of missing assumptions regarding safety standards and the certification process, as well as varying interpretations of what constitutes adequate oversight in ride design.

drewjmore
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Can anyone direct me to some governing council or rules-of-thumb for the design of amusement park rides?
 
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Here is a place to start
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/amuse.pdf#search=%22amusement%20park%20ride%20certification%22

I once helped to develop a new amusement park ride, and one of the most striking aspects of the job was that so little oversight was required. In the end, I was terrified to have my name attached to the project - probably one of the worst career moves ever made on my part. The mechanical engineer on the project screwed up and the ride failed while full of kids. Luckily no one was hurt.

Certification involved some guy with a roll of stickers.
 
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Oh yes, my customer was the guy who came up with idea to fill a room with sponge balls, as is often seen at McDonalds and other places. He made a fortune on that one.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Here is a place to start
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/amuse.pdf#search=%22amusement%20park%20ride%20certification%22

I once helped to develop a new amusement park ride, and one of the most striking aspects of the job was that so little oversight was required. In the end, I was terrified to have my name attached to the project - probably one of the worst career moves ever made on my part. The mechanical engineer on the project screwed up and the ride failed while full of kids. Luckily no one was hurt.

Certification involved some guy with a roll of stickers.

Thanks for the link, Ivan! I am a bit nervous about this myself, I have a safety & industrial hygene background (among others...). One of my vendors has put me on to a 'local carnival operator' who needs an 'engineer' to sign-off on the safety of some changes they've made to one of their rides. Their insurance company won't cover them without some type of technical review. I intend to charge through the nose, and do ALL of my homework.
 
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I wouldn't touch another amusement park ride, even if I increased my rate by an order of magnitude.

Good luck!
 

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