There’s nothing quite as exciting as the adrenaline rush when you zoom down the tracks on a roller coaster. And, considering there are 2,400 coasters around the world, we’d say plenty of people agree with us!
However, if you’re one of the many amusement park goers around the world, you might be wondering how often the park services your rollercoaster rides. After all, you want to make sure you’re staying safe on the ride!
In this guide, we’ll take a look at how amusement parks tackle welding repair jobs. Here’s what you need to know about how often your local amusement park will repair rollercoaster tracks!
How Often Do Amusement Parks Check Their Rides?
Amusement parks are all about protecting their guests, which is why they usually conduct daily inspections. Before the park opens, staff has to run rigorous checks to see if the rides are working properly.
If you’ve ever been to a theme park right at opening hour, you might have seen this happening. Staff will run the rides without passengers to check for any malfunctions or issues before letting guests board the ride.
In the event that the rides show signs of an issue, the park staff will fix the ride right then and there. They may also perform additional repairs throughout the day as malfunctions occur.
Apart from these daily checks, amusement parks tend to run regular routine maintenance on the park during the off-season. While minor repairs might take place at any time during the year, the off-season is when the parks will rebuild an amusement device in the park if necessary.
How Do Amusement Park Repairs Work?
Repairing amusement park rides has to be done in a special way to ensure that no one gets hurt during the process. Let’s take a closer look at how the repair process works for theme park rides.
Step One: Lock Out the Ride
Before maintenance crews begin running any welding repair services, they have to close and lock the ride. Then, they’ll turn the ride off completely.
Taking these steps is important for preventing accidents and injuries. That’s because workers usually have to access dangerous areas in order to perform repairs.
Step Two: Inspect the Tracks
With the ride locked, the maintenance team can get to work. They’ll start by inspecting high-stress parts of the ride to check for any issues, cracks, or damage.
They’ll also remove any obstructions that might be on the track. Tree trunks and other debris can lead to blocks in the ride which can cause accidents.
Step Three: Check the Booster Tires
After the team checks the tracks, they’ll move on to the booster tires. They’ll keep an eye out for inflation as well as general wear and tear.
Looking at the booster ties is important as these tires need to be able to support the vehicle as it moves down the tracks. They need to be able to safely function at high pressure levels, too.
Step Four: Look at the Lift Hills
The team will inspect the lift hill components, including:
- Chain dampeners
- Sprockets
- Intermediate chains
- Chain troughs
- Chain tension
- Anti-rollback on the gearbox
- Buttons and lights on the operator’s panel
- Transfer tracks
- Brake shoes
- Station air gates
Checking these components is important for ensuring that the ride works safely and doesn’t have any major technical malfunctions.
Step Five: Check the Vehicle
The last inspection that the team will run is to check the vehicle itself. They’ll check the condition of the cables, wheels, hitch yokes, and fiberglass.
Maintenance teams also look for proper oil levels, secure nuts and bolts, cracks, and missing safety wires. These are all issues that need to be immediately addressed.
Step Six: Complete Repairs
With the inspection process out of the way, the maintenance crew can now get to work on the repairs. Some repairs only take an hour or two while more intensive repairs can take several days or even weeks.
After the repairs are done, the crew will cycle the ride without passengers. Then, they may test ride the attraction themselves to see how it feels and ensure everything is working correctly.
Once the crew has confirmed that the ride is safe to use, they will open it back up to the public.
How Many Technicians Work on Amuseument Park Repairs?
If you’re imagining a team of roller coaster repair technicians working on your rides, you might want to think again. Sometimes repair jobs only take one or two people!
The exact number of technicians needed to repair an amusement park ride will depend on the size of the ride as well as its complexity. It will also depend on what type of repairs need to be done and the skills of each maintenance worker.
What Does Annual Ride Repair Look Like?
Annual amusement park rides work much the same as daily checks. However, they’re usually much more in-depth than daily ride inspections and repairs are.
For example, once a year parks typically use magnetic scanners to check the tracks of their rides. This helps highlight places where the metal is stressed or where the track needs a welding repair job.
Annual checks often involve completely disassembling vehicles, too. This makes sure that there are no major issues with the ride’s cars and that passengers can continue safely riding them.
Keep Amusement Parks Safe With Welding Repair
Amusement parks conduct routine welding repair and maintenance a lot more frequently than many people realize. That’s one of the reasons why amusement park rides are so safe!
If you need a welding repair job of your own, our team can help. Get in touch to get a quote for welding services!