Kathryn Woodcock – Page 6 – THRILL Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University

Report of rider injury

The fatal injury on the Schlitterbahn “Verrückt” waterslide has been reported as a decapitation.

Earlier accounts referred to a “neck injury”. Reporters enthusiastically parsed past Consumer Product Safety Commission reports and noted 28% of injuries in their dataset were head and neck injuries. They did not report that the CPSC data on amusement rides substantially overstates injury occurrence due to the inclusion of swan boats, ball pits, laser tag, corn mazes and other things that are not what you would popularly consider “amusement rides”. A study I published in the journal Safety Science in 2014 found the national estimate of actual amusement ride injuries was less than 2/3 of what CPSC data would suggest.

Disneyland Shanghai

The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) hosts a series of valuable international conferences and expos. The IAAPA Asian Attractions Expo 2016 was held in Shanghai at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) in mid-June, including a reception on the evening of opening day of Disneyland Shanghai, and a day visit to the park on Day 2.

Parksmania recognizes ride accessibility initiative

During the IAAPA Europe, Middle East and Africa Spring Forum at Gardaland Park in Peschiera del Garda, Italy, THRILL Lab Director Dr. Kathryn Woodcock was honoured with a Career Special Award for Professional Merit. This award recognized her leadership in the attractions industry project promoting expanded accessibility and risk-informed rider eligibility for rides.

Who makes attractions safe?

There are many people involved in setting standards that make amusement rides and devices safe. The ASTM F24 standards are used in 19 countries, and counting. The committee has almost 900 members, and holds meetings three times annually. Meetings held in USA have almost 300 people participating in multiple concurrent sessions, literally poring over language used in standards to ensure that people following the standards will interpret the requirements as intended.

Roller coaster-to-be

Roller coaster parts on trailer waiting to be constructed — One of the trailers of coaster structure

Laying out the roller coaster parts inside the ride footprint. — All the parts have a very specific place to go!

(Click to see finished ride.)

Sabbatical

Orlando: the company town for themed entertainment.

The THRILL Lab is about to spend some extended time in Orlando. We’ll be learning, writing, watching, and riding our way to progress on the rider eligibility / ride analysis challenge and tools for human factors applications in the attractions industry.

Human factors and access to amusement rides

Human factors engineering looks at how the interaction of people and technology affects the performance of the whole system. The attractions industry creates a very interesting application because it doesn’t manufacture conventional products or other tangibles. An amusement ride is a system that produces fun. People are not consumers of the ride; they are a component of the system. The system is different with different people in it. Not only do people vary in their individual capabilities and limitations, but they also vary in their goals and definitions of fun.

People with disabilities want to have fun too, and attraction operators in theme parks and carnivals want everyone to be able to participate to the fullest extent possible.

Author: Kathryn Woodcock