Safety Corner - June 2023
Waterpark Safety
Safety Corner is a monthly column published in CarnivalWarehouse.com's Amusement Warehouse Magazine written by Worldwide Safety Group's president, Avery Wheelock. Please consider a subscription to Amusement Warehouse Magazine to read this and more about the Carnival, Fair, and Amusement Park Industry.
Let’s talk about Waterparks this month. How many of you readers work at an amusement park that has a waterpark attached to it or maybe at a stand-alone Waterpark. You guys and gals are the people I want to talk with in this Safety Corner article.
We perform many Waterpark inspections either for insurance companies as an underwriting survey, or as a loss control survey. However, we also perform numerous certification Inspections for clients in several different States that have third party inspections. We get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly in a lot of places and try to promote safety through our inspections in lots of ways.
Our associates try to identify known issues that may present a potential exposure to a guest, no matter what type of inspection we are performing. I would like to discuss just a few areas that we commonly see that could use some improvement in our industry, First and foremost is trips and falls. These types of injuries are the most common in any industry and the most publicized cases that the guys with the big billboards on the interstates advertise.
“Dan Got Me $ 500,000!” or whoever’s name is on the billboard. You’ve all seen them on the highway, andl we want to try to make sure “The Hammer” doesn’t get another client because of something that we could have prevented or reduced the potential of happening. Let’s talk about highlighting steps and transitions in your Waterpark. Steps are everywhere, in and out of the pools, up the slide towers, across the bridges of the Lazy River, they are everywhere. Let’s make sure and highlight them and, if needed, put up signs including, but not limited to, “No Running” and “Watch Your Step”.
Just painting a contrasting color on the leading edge of the steps will provide that eye catching appearance that we want the guests to recognize as something they should be looking for and just maybe not trip on because the sun would have made all grey surfaces look like a ramp. The industry best practices standard is to put a two-inch line across the top edge and a one-inch line on the top face of the step. This makes the steps visible going up and coming down, and helps reduce the potential of a trip and fall on the stairs.
Remember that we also have uneven surfaces that create potential trips and falls in any park. Parks that have trees where the roots are pushing up through the surfaces, or parks that are in colder climates may have frost heaves in the walkways can pose an issue. There are many ways to deal with these situations, such as highlighting the raised areas, using a cement grinder to shave down the raised edges to make it flush again, reapplying blacktop to smooth out areas or having a company come in to pumps under the cement and raises up the areas to be smooth again. How ever you are addressing the issues is fine, just as long as you do something to improve the walkways. This will help defend the park when the expert shows up to document the conditions of the walkways on which their client was injured.
We also see lots of cases where areas of broken fiberglass in slides or run out troughs of a body slide or tube slide are a cause for concern. These areas sometimes have repairs that are almost undetectable and then there are some that look like somebody just mixed some fiberglass resin and slapped it over the area and let it dry. All fiberglass repairs should be made by an individual who is trained in how to properly repair fiberglass and who understands the effects that their repair will have on the operating surface of that Slide.
Waterpark Fiberglass repair training classes are offered at safety seminars all the time and it doesn’t matter if its at an AIMS Seminar, the NAARSO Seminar or at the WWA seminar, if you have people performing repairs on your fiberglass send them to a safety seminar to learn how to make repairs and how to keep the Waterpark as safe as possible.
Bad repairs can become razor-like slivers of fiberglass and cause serious injuries to the guests as they are sliding down with bare skin or a bathing suit and getting cut by the potentially sharp edges. Make sure that the maintenance staff are walking the slides and checking the slide surfaces as the season goes on to find issues before they can hurt someone.
How inflated should sliding tubes be or how deflated can they be before we should not be using them? Ask yourself , do we have a policy for checking tube inflations at our park? If the answer is no, get a policy. Ask the tube manufacturer, ask other facilities, ask an inspector, or read your slide manual. The information is out there somewhere, we just need to find it and apply it to the daily operations.
Safety signs are a huge area to look into at a waterpark. The rules and responsibilities of the guest must be posted at each and every attraction and slide. Proper rider position signage should also be posted at the entrance of the queue and at the start of the slide area. Pictograms are common, however, I believe that actual pictures with riders in the tubes or riders laying in the trough with hands and feet in particular positions are a great way to show the proper way to enjoy the ride.
I say it all the time, nobody reads signs but lawyers and inspectors, but we need to have them, and we need to make sure they are prominently placed and in legible condition. Just remember, those signs that nobody reads will help you defend yourself and the park in the event something happens.
External grounding wires on electrical motors connected to water pumps should be checked for proper connections and that any electrical motor that is connected to the water systems is properly grounded internally through the wiring, and also has the external grounding wire installed. Check local electrical requirements and talk with your electricians if these motors do not have external wires connected. Every season we hear about someone getting electrocuted in a waterpark somewhere in the world and we don’t want anyone to have to go through that experience ever again.
Shade structures and umbrellas are also areas that we find a lot of potential issues. Please make sure that all umbrellas throughout the park are secured and will not rise and go flying through the park in high wind situations. Check shade structures for proper fasteners and that connections are all secured.
These are just a few areas to think about on the guest’s side of things. Now I would like to touch on a few of the behind-the-scenes areas where we see the potential for employee injuries in a Waterpark.
How about chemical handling areas? These areas should be identified as having chemicals present. It doesn’t matter what the chemical is, there should be signs or placards stating but not limited to “Authorized Personnel Only” “Warning Chlorine” or whatever chemical is in the area. Also, the NFPA Diamond showing the exposures to first responders should be posted at each location of chemical storage.
Personal Protective Equipment must be in a cabinet or in containers at every location containing chemicals or have a kit that each employee who performs the duties in the chemical areas carries with them as they carry out their tasks for the day. Eye wash stations are so important to be able to flush the eyes of any individual that encounters the chemicals used in the park. These can be plumbed stations, which I think is the best way to install a station, so that there is adequate flush time. The little bottles of saline that a lot of facilities use are a great way to start to flush the eyes, but they do not provide 20 minutes or more of flush time like most chemicals we use call for.
The PPE should include safety glasses, a face shield, hearing protection if in Pump rooms, an apron, a respirator, and any other items that will help the employee to safely perform their duties. Have a chart listing the equipment and have a safety checklist that gets checked regularly to verify that the equipment is present and in working condition.
If liquid chemicals are being used, those chemicals should be stored in double walled tanks or have a secondary containment tank around the chemical tank to reduce the potential for spills. Smaller containers of chemicals can be stored on top of spill containment pallets and should, no matter the size, always have a secondary containment.
Open pit areas should be identified with markings to warn of a potential fall hazard, and barriers should be installed in any areas where the employee has the potential to fall into an overflow tank, surge tank or machine room pit.
Water Quality is a whole other topic that we can save for another issue but, I think we covered the basics here and we hope that it helps save one person from getting injured and creating a story for the nightly news.Please go back to your Waterparks and look for these areas we have discussed. Please tell others what you have learned from this article and let’s help keep our industry safe.
I hope that you gained one piece of information from this short article on safety and can help make our industry safer and better every day. I can be reached via email avery@worldwidesafetygroup.com or at 813-505-3938 for any questions or comments, please feel free to provide feedback to help me better communicate these safety related messages. Remember “Our World Revolves Around Safety!”
We perform many Waterpark inspections either for insurance companies as an underwriting survey, or as a loss control survey. However, we also perform numerous certification Inspections for clients in several different States that have third party inspections. We get to see the good, the bad, and the ugly in a lot of places and try to promote safety through our inspections in lots of ways.
Our associates try to identify known issues that may present a potential exposure to a guest, no matter what type of inspection we are performing. I would like to discuss just a few areas that we commonly see that could use some improvement in our industry, First and foremost is trips and falls. These types of injuries are the most common in any industry and the most publicized cases that the guys with the big billboards on the interstates advertise.
“Dan Got Me $ 500,000!” or whoever’s name is on the billboard. You’ve all seen them on the highway, andl we want to try to make sure “The Hammer” doesn’t get another client because of something that we could have prevented or reduced the potential of happening. Let’s talk about highlighting steps and transitions in your Waterpark. Steps are everywhere, in and out of the pools, up the slide towers, across the bridges of the Lazy River, they are everywhere. Let’s make sure and highlight them and, if needed, put up signs including, but not limited to, “No Running” and “Watch Your Step”.
Just painting a contrasting color on the leading edge of the steps will provide that eye catching appearance that we want the guests to recognize as something they should be looking for and just maybe not trip on because the sun would have made all grey surfaces look like a ramp. The industry best practices standard is to put a two-inch line across the top edge and a one-inch line on the top face of the step. This makes the steps visible going up and coming down, and helps reduce the potential of a trip and fall on the stairs.
Remember that we also have uneven surfaces that create potential trips and falls in any park. Parks that have trees where the roots are pushing up through the surfaces, or parks that are in colder climates may have frost heaves in the walkways can pose an issue. There are many ways to deal with these situations, such as highlighting the raised areas, using a cement grinder to shave down the raised edges to make it flush again, reapplying blacktop to smooth out areas or having a company come in to pumps under the cement and raises up the areas to be smooth again. How ever you are addressing the issues is fine, just as long as you do something to improve the walkways. This will help defend the park when the expert shows up to document the conditions of the walkways on which their client was injured.
We also see lots of cases where areas of broken fiberglass in slides or run out troughs of a body slide or tube slide are a cause for concern. These areas sometimes have repairs that are almost undetectable and then there are some that look like somebody just mixed some fiberglass resin and slapped it over the area and let it dry. All fiberglass repairs should be made by an individual who is trained in how to properly repair fiberglass and who understands the effects that their repair will have on the operating surface of that Slide.
Waterpark Fiberglass repair training classes are offered at safety seminars all the time and it doesn’t matter if its at an AIMS Seminar, the NAARSO Seminar or at the WWA seminar, if you have people performing repairs on your fiberglass send them to a safety seminar to learn how to make repairs and how to keep the Waterpark as safe as possible.
Bad repairs can become razor-like slivers of fiberglass and cause serious injuries to the guests as they are sliding down with bare skin or a bathing suit and getting cut by the potentially sharp edges. Make sure that the maintenance staff are walking the slides and checking the slide surfaces as the season goes on to find issues before they can hurt someone.
How inflated should sliding tubes be or how deflated can they be before we should not be using them? Ask yourself , do we have a policy for checking tube inflations at our park? If the answer is no, get a policy. Ask the tube manufacturer, ask other facilities, ask an inspector, or read your slide manual. The information is out there somewhere, we just need to find it and apply it to the daily operations.
Safety signs are a huge area to look into at a waterpark. The rules and responsibilities of the guest must be posted at each and every attraction and slide. Proper rider position signage should also be posted at the entrance of the queue and at the start of the slide area. Pictograms are common, however, I believe that actual pictures with riders in the tubes or riders laying in the trough with hands and feet in particular positions are a great way to show the proper way to enjoy the ride.
I say it all the time, nobody reads signs but lawyers and inspectors, but we need to have them, and we need to make sure they are prominently placed and in legible condition. Just remember, those signs that nobody reads will help you defend yourself and the park in the event something happens.
External grounding wires on electrical motors connected to water pumps should be checked for proper connections and that any electrical motor that is connected to the water systems is properly grounded internally through the wiring, and also has the external grounding wire installed. Check local electrical requirements and talk with your electricians if these motors do not have external wires connected. Every season we hear about someone getting electrocuted in a waterpark somewhere in the world and we don’t want anyone to have to go through that experience ever again.
Shade structures and umbrellas are also areas that we find a lot of potential issues. Please make sure that all umbrellas throughout the park are secured and will not rise and go flying through the park in high wind situations. Check shade structures for proper fasteners and that connections are all secured.
These are just a few areas to think about on the guest’s side of things. Now I would like to touch on a few of the behind-the-scenes areas where we see the potential for employee injuries in a Waterpark.
How about chemical handling areas? These areas should be identified as having chemicals present. It doesn’t matter what the chemical is, there should be signs or placards stating but not limited to “Authorized Personnel Only” “Warning Chlorine” or whatever chemical is in the area. Also, the NFPA Diamond showing the exposures to first responders should be posted at each location of chemical storage.
Personal Protective Equipment must be in a cabinet or in containers at every location containing chemicals or have a kit that each employee who performs the duties in the chemical areas carries with them as they carry out their tasks for the day. Eye wash stations are so important to be able to flush the eyes of any individual that encounters the chemicals used in the park. These can be plumbed stations, which I think is the best way to install a station, so that there is adequate flush time. The little bottles of saline that a lot of facilities use are a great way to start to flush the eyes, but they do not provide 20 minutes or more of flush time like most chemicals we use call for.
The PPE should include safety glasses, a face shield, hearing protection if in Pump rooms, an apron, a respirator, and any other items that will help the employee to safely perform their duties. Have a chart listing the equipment and have a safety checklist that gets checked regularly to verify that the equipment is present and in working condition.
If liquid chemicals are being used, those chemicals should be stored in double walled tanks or have a secondary containment tank around the chemical tank to reduce the potential for spills. Smaller containers of chemicals can be stored on top of spill containment pallets and should, no matter the size, always have a secondary containment.
Open pit areas should be identified with markings to warn of a potential fall hazard, and barriers should be installed in any areas where the employee has the potential to fall into an overflow tank, surge tank or machine room pit.
Water Quality is a whole other topic that we can save for another issue but, I think we covered the basics here and we hope that it helps save one person from getting injured and creating a story for the nightly news.Please go back to your Waterparks and look for these areas we have discussed. Please tell others what you have learned from this article and let’s help keep our industry safe.
I hope that you gained one piece of information from this short article on safety and can help make our industry safer and better every day. I can be reached via email avery@worldwidesafetygroup.com or at 813-505-3938 for any questions or comments, please feel free to provide feedback to help me better communicate these safety related messages. Remember “Our World Revolves Around Safety!”
