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trailer world Issue One 2014

Safety test for white knuckle ride

A hydraulic winch sends the fastest rollercoaster in the world into its “orbit” with about 32,000 HP. As a passenger, you have to feel safe. People can ride the attraction without worries once experts from TÜV Süd have confirmed its safety. Everything started at the Munich Ok- toberfest in 1929. The number of fair- ground attractions had increased to such an extent that the city of Munich could no longer carry out what it called the utilisa- tion approvals entirely under its own steam. As a result, it asked for help from engineers at TÜV Süd. This created a customer rela- tionship that has existed to this day, 85 years later. Nowadays, about 40 structural, mechan- ical and electrical engineers from from the “Plants, buildings & infrastructure” depart- ment are specialists in demand worldwide, for example at the Ferrari World leisure park in Abu Dhabi. “It took nine colleagues – each of them a specialist in his or her field – several months to go through the docu- ments,” reports project director Thomas Uhrig. “Three colleagues spent a total of ten days on the extensive acceptance test on the ground.” As well as checking the “Formula Rossa” rollercoaster, TÜV Süd also exam- ined the safety of twelve other attractions. Cantilevered structures Not all projects are as spectacular as this one, but all are examined according to the same standards and regulations to ensure stability, mechanical and electrical safety. Not only does this cover fairground attrac- tions, but also marquees and stalls that ex- ceed a certain size or height, explains Stefan Kasper, who is the head of the department that bears the name “Cantilevered Struc- tures”: “Every year, we carry out more than 100 initial acceptance procedures at fair- grounds, and more than 2000 repeat in- spections.” An initial acceptance procedure is primarily concerned with checking that the system matches the plans, and that all safety-relevant requirements are met. Re- peat inspections are comparable with the 20      Issue One 2014 Safety test for white knuckle ride Safety

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