Task Challenges in the Performance of Amusement Ride Inspection

Abstract

Inspection is one of the principal strategies for prevention of amusement ride accidents. The task of amusement ride safety inspection was studied, focussing on regulatory inspectors responsible for permitting rides to operate. The task contains many cognitive and physical challenges to human performance. Although there is a common curriculum, rides are complex and take many different forms. Shared objective data on base rates of various failure modes is scant, therefore in practice inspectors' judgements are based predominantly on experience, which varies widely. The social environment also places weight on experience to justify delays to the show. The environment contains numerous distractions and obstructions, visual, auditory, and other and there are physical demands that can be distracting or impede assessment of the ride. If an inspection fails to detect deficiencies, the ride may later fail, therefore work will be continued to aid inspectors in the performance of their work.