HOW DO I KNOW THIS IS SAFE? It takes a rigorous inspection program to ensure that your equipment and course are in good working order. BY ROHAN SHAHANI, Consultant, Redstone Solutions
Equipment failures are rare in our industry, but that still doesn’t pre - vent patrons at aerial parks, par - ticipants in educational programs, staff, and long-standing industry professionals from asking the com - mon question: “How do I know this equipment is safe?” There are some key steps aerial adven - ture operators can take to help assuage this anxiety, and some key questions to ask themselves and their vendors regarding safety equipment. Further, there are several actions owners and operators can take, specifically regard - ing their internal inspection protocols and procedures. The following advice will highlight three key areas to exam - ine—training, frequency, and documen - tation—and applies to both the individ - ual pieces of gear as well as the overall aerial adventure facilities and systems. Training Training on inspection and mainte - nance of equipment is one of the key steps—but it can be erratic, resulting in staff skipping a formal inspection because something “looks fine.”
What are the goals of the training? When selecting a training or training entity, it’s important to determine what the goal and scope of the training is. For example, the intended outcome of the training may be to train a “com - petent” person, one who can identify hazards or assess the state of gear; or a “qualified” person, one who may be able to determine how to remedy a damaged piece of gear or component of an aerial park system. Is the training effective for our staff? For some equipment or componentry, a simple online training or internal train - ing may suffice. For others, it may be impossible to gain inspection competen - cy without handling many of the items themselves and having an interactive experience with the ways they can fail. In this case, the training needs to be in person with a qualified professional. To determine if a type of training is ef - fective for your staff, consider their level of experience, learning styles, com - plexity of the item, and possibly also the consequence of the item’s failure. Details matter. Who is doing it, and what are their qualifications? A training program in equipment use and inspection should be delivered by people who are qualified to do so—which may not simply be an em - ployee who has used it for a long time. Qualification is gained not only through experience, but also specialized training. So, when selecting a training program or trainer for this purpose, consider the qualifications of the trainer. What are they providing you, and what are their credentials? Additionally, consider their materials. What sort of manuals or
notes will they provide? Is there testing? Do staff receive a certificate or acknowl - edgement of completion? Be sure to document the trainer’s qualifications and that your staff have gained the correct qualification. Doing so can be an administrative burden—it involves collecting and archiving CVs, portfolios of experience, and main - taining records of employees’ skills and advancement. It’s worth the effort, though: This could be the key to your operation’s ability to prove it is doing the right thing. A good resource for anyone considering trainings of any sort is the American Society of Safety Professionals standard on Occupational Safety and Health trainings Z490.1 (ANSI/ASSP Z490.1). This standard describes accepted practices on safety training programs, and even has a companion (ANSI/ASSP Z490.2) that provides guidance on e-learning programs of this nature.
Is this safe? What do you think? Proper training will help determine that.
To overcome this tendency, ask yourself the following questions:
Are staff properly trained to inspect the equipment they’ll be using? The level of training required for the inspection will vary depending on the type of inspection being performed (more on that later). There are lots of ways to get the appropriate training, ranging from self-directed education using notices, videos, and online materials to brand-specific courses like the Petzl PPE Competent Person course.
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