By Judi E. Loomis
In the sports-related entertainment world, nothing beats the zing of traveling at the speed of light through the winding loops of a roller coaster, or racing the oval at phenomenal speeds while dodging fellow drivers on slippery curves. Faster, higher, more thrilling are the requests of thrill-seeking enthusiasts from across the country. Speed and risk-taking have become a part of the entertainment culture.
And while significant numbers of the thrill-seeking enthusiasts suffer severe or sometimes fatal injuries while pursuing their motor sports, boating, sky diving, skiing, hockey or baseball, family entertainment--amusement parks and water parks--are risky venues as well.
Family entertainment venues are susceptible to perhaps a greater array of injuries than the more high-profile venues because they are attended by people of all ages and stages of physical ability. Only a seasoned driver would dare to get behind the wheel of an Indy car, and professional ball players can generally protect themselves from obvious injury. But when it comes to amusement parks, even a five-year old can hop aboard a thrill ride.
There's nothing amusing about accidents and injuries that occur in the amusement park industry. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), fixed-site amusement ride accidents have almost doubled since 1994. Yet the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions says that, "Amusement rides are safer than garden hoses." The truth lies someplace in between.
The statistics presented by the CPSC indicate a continually growing concern for participant injury. The CPSC estimated that 10,380 people were treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 1999 for amusement ride-related injuries. According to the same report 2,580 involved portable (traveling carnival) rides; 5,980 involved fixed (amusement park) rides; 1,820 involved rides of unknown mobility. Ride-related injuries increased 3% between 1993 and 1999, and injuries associated with fixed rides showed a 59% increase during that time, while injuries associated with portable rides showed a 15% increase.
Some would dispute these accident figures, arguing that good data are hard to find, at least in the amusement ride world, because a large percentage of parks and carnivals don't report injuries that occur on their rides, (according to National Association of Amusement Ride Safety officials), and many states which do require accident reporting don't release details such as the cause of injury. However, according to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), "Mechanical failure accounts for
5%-10% of all amusement park injuries. The remaining 90%-95% are attributed to some combination of operator error, rider error, and design limitation."
The remedy for preventing accidents attributed to operator error and mechanical error is in preventive maintenance, and that may become a more exacting science with the advent of new technology. A relatively new company has emerged specializing in technology that will detect equipment failures and encourage regular maintenance. SunStruck Technologies, LLC, located in Mason, Ohio, has developed a computerized preventive maintenance system which utilizes real-time technology to record what preventive maintenance actions are performed, the time the work is performed and the length of time the maintenance took. This hand-held computer device, dubbed the Laurus IPM (integrated preventive maintenance), performs tasks that are tied into a server that stores all of the informa-tion regarding the asset being inspected.
"This technology allows the insured parties to do a lot of things that they were not able to do in the past," says John Fussner, president and CEO of SunStruck Technologies. "While Laurus won't pick up malfunctions in a ride, it has the capability of monitoring pneumatic and hydraulic pressures, and safety systems within the ride. Once integrated as a maintenance tool, the Laurus ensures that inspections have been completed on any particular asset in the park. When a maintenance person swipes the bar code or the computer micro chip, the computer knows where that person is because that particular part or area of the asset has been identified to the computer by that bar code number. Then the computer knows what maintenance is to be performed at that point for that day and by whom."
Fussner, whose credentials include 15 years in risk management, safety and loss prevention consulting, realized the need for Laurus when he was called as an expert witness in a liability suit. "During the proceedings, a plaintiff's attorney held up a paper check sheet and asked me if it was possible that the maintenance technician checked off all of the boxes in the break room and never actually looked at the ride," Fussner says. "I had to say, 'Sure, that's possible.'"
Besides marketing Laurus to the more than 500 amusement parks throughout the United States, Fussner is drawing considerable interest from the aircraft industry as well as organizers of other high-risk sports events such as marathons and bicycle races. "If there is one thing that I learned from my former boss at American Specialty, Pete Eshelman, it's that if you want to be successful in business you have to find a niche market," Fussner says. "Once you find a niche market, you have to provide that niche with a quality product and outstanding service. The niche that we're targeting is the high-risk, high-liability arena. We're going to continue to do that, and we're going to continue to develop products that reduce that exposure."
Insurers of entertainment and sporting events believe that one important element in eliminating costly claims due to accidents is to take a proactive approach. Peter Eshelman, president and CEO of American Specialty Companies, Inc., located in Roanoke, Indiana, has carved out his own niche in the industry.
"In the amusement industry we have inspected over 50,000 rides and attractions," Eshelman says. "We have managed over 10,000 claims. We have a great deal of knowledge and information about this high-risk industry and that gives us more of a macro perspective of what is happening."
"Every year roller coasters become bigger, faster and higher," says Lee Geiling, vice president of Risk Consulting with American Specialty. "The key is looking ahead and creating a loss prevention plan for the insured. People in the industry are depending on our expertise at a time when their business is most vulnerable."
While amusement park venues remain one of the most challenging entertainment risks to insure, so too are a number of other recreational sporting activities. One wouldn't necessarily consider watching a baseball game a high-risk situation; yet consider the unforeseen accidents that could be prevented.
"We get claims regularly from people who sit down and the seat collapses, or people stand on the seats and the slats break in the center," says Lou Valentic, senior vice president of Sports for K&K Insurance in Fort Wayne, Indiana. "There's also a liability to the park owner to maintain fencing, lighting and the parking lot--especially in outdoor parks where the environment can take a toll on seating and walkways. There's going to be wear and tear and that has to be checked because a spectator sitting behind home plate, behind a fence, could be hit by a foul ball, or a bat that's thrown by a player. If the netting is rotted, you're going to have a difficult situation from a neglect standpoint on a claim."
"Walkways, lighting of walkways, and exit signs are very important to the safety of the spectator," says Lita Mello, vice president of Venues and Gaming, K&K Insurance. "Parking lots can be another high-maintenance area. The entire maintenance of the facility is probably the key to eliminating a lot of slips and falls. Concession areas in particular need to be a high priority. Spills at concession sites do occur during an event, and that's an issue. You need somebody cleaning up those areas, including the bathrooms. Those need to be patrolled continuously--not only looked at prior to an event but also during an event."
"We're available to assist any agent or broker that has a risk of any sort that is sports-, leisure- or entertainment-related," Valentic says. "Our organization will work hand-in-hand with the agent or broker, and we will share our knowledge and expertise with them so that they can add value to their customer."
For those who cover high-risk venues, it's a burgeoning industry. "The arena is growing and we look at it to double in size in the next five to 10 years," Eshelman says. "A lot of that growth will be driven by the global audience--different sports, and different forms of entertainment. You're also going to see a lot more participatory entertainment in the future. The Baby Boomer era has a commitment to fitness and wants to take an active part in their recreation. We are going to see more interaction, more participation in these activities. We're turning a lot of this business of managing risk into a science." *
The author
Judi E. Loomis is a freelance writer, and president of Creative Writing Concepts, based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She writes for numerous national publications on business-to-business issues. She can be reached at creawricon@aol.com.
For more information
SunStruck Technologies, LLC
Contact: John Fussner, Phone: (513) 339-0616
E-mail: jscfuss@aol.com
Web site: www.sunstruckllc.com
American Specialty Companies, Inc.
Contact: Peter T. Eshelman, Phone: (219) 672-8800
E-mail: peshelman@amerspec.com
Web site: www.amerspec.com
K&K Insurance
Contact: Eric Taylor, Phone: (219) 459-5000, (800) 637-4757
E-mail: eric_taylor@kandkinsurance.com
Web site: www.kandkinsurance.com