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Ride Availability/Operations 2022-24

Austin Towers said:
£43,261 salary for a mechanical engineer currently advertised. It's not bad money. Electricians may demand more.
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£42k was the starting salary for a similar role in a job I worked with 4 years ago. They didn't have to work outside, had fixed 12 hour shift patterns. I'm not sure asking people to work in all weathers, all shift patterns is going to go well when jobs offer the same for a much easier life.
 
Kraken27 said:
Certainly on "old Nemesis" if you looked at a lot of the green proximity switches on the track, they all had the RS [Radio Spares] logo on them, so these were not purchased from B&M or Consign AG who did the original control system. That said, RS is a very trusted supplier to many companies in the UK, so I am not suggesting cost-cutting in any way.

I also agree that JCB just round the corner don't help Towers at all. Back when I worked at Towers a Tech Services qualified welder [to name but a few] all jumped ship to JCB as the money & benefits were better there. To come to think of it, I can think of at least 5 Tech Services guys who jumped to JCB in just 5yrs.
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Welcome to north Staffordshire…same thing with office jobs at Bet365…

I’m not sure from a welfare perspective JCB is any better, Bamford gets rid of staff as fast as anyone.

But Alton has a very very ropey past with unions, particularly where the techs are concerned. Lots interesting articles around the 2000s. Union reps kept at arms length of site etc.
 
Thought i'd have a quick look at the AT socials from the weekend and probably the most complaints I've ever seen. This photo summed up the day nicely (note only 3 of the 6 cite weather delays).

It's a shame AT don't make public what the weather thresholds are (Thorpe Park do) so people can plan accordingly. I'd seen the forecast for wind earlier in the week though equally it wasn't too bad and certainly didn't feel particularly windy on the day. Not a like for like comparison obviously but pretty much every trip i've had to Adventure Island in Southend is windier and i've never seen a ride not operating.

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So, from a staffing point of view... Merlin are actually very short sighted. Their apprenticeship programmes are not very good. A place like Towers should be bringing in 1 or 2 engineering apprentices per year. The issue is that a £42k salary looks good to most of us, but the big issue is that a newly qualified engineer could go to the likes of Qatar for a couple of years and come back with enough money to buy a house. This means that there is a massive shortage in engineers in the country. Companies need to be growing their own, and creating enough supply to fill positions being vacated regularly.

Due to the types of people that apply for seasonal work (students) out of season workers are always a struggle for attractions to find - this is why they have staffing issues out with school holidays.

Galactica isn't broken. It has sensor issues which should have been resolved some time ago. The issue with Merlin and Capex projects is once the Capex is spent, there seems to be little money to resolve ongoing issues. You see it in a number of rides. Galactica bingo is annoying, and probably need the ride restraint sensor system to be completely replaced and reprogrammed. It is unlikely to happen... because the expense and it technically still works.

Thirteen needs the lift mechanism replaced. Again, it will be expensive but it is something that should be done. The downtime is horrific.

The issue with Towers is how many inherent issues that place has. Galactica, Thirteen, Hex, Skyride, Curse, the rapids, Spinball, Big Bob... they spend a lot of money on implementation, but skimp on snagging and PPM.
 
Sadly, I find it likely that the primary aim of that is to damage the trade unions and supress wages for skilled technicians (Merlin employ relatively very few actual engineers).

It may indirectly fix some reliability issues though, as currently they refuse to seriously compete with the market. They won't need to if they train people up from 18 or whatever it is, but retention will still be a challenge.
 
I’m sure they are working as quickly as they can, but having Hex, CRR and Thirteen all down, they need to get them fixed and open ASAP. With the Easter holidays starting this Friday, it could be a disaster waiting to happen.
 
Assume Rapids are closed because of weather. They probably think many will give them a miss so think they can save on the staff costs?
 
Alphe86 said:
Sub 50% uptime and mostly a single train since opening day is normal to you? And it runs end of Saturday and some of Sunday… and back to closed weekdays.
Sure we got no idea but it’s very sus
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If it carries on beyond the next week or so then sure you can extrapolate a little but as it keeps opening it suggests they haven’t identified a catastrophic issue like they have with Skyride or Hex.

Fact is unless they need to take it out of action for a period then they don’t have any need to make a statement. Im sure if they do have to do so they will.
 
RIPCorky said:
Assume Rapids are closed because of weather. They probably think many will give them a miss so think they can save on the staff costs?
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Rapids staff are employed already, so at the moment they are paying them despite having a closed ride.
 
Surely staff can be transferred to other duties?
A single water ride is open, to cover the foolish ones...there is no need for two in this weather.
 
rob666 said:
Surely staff can be transferred to other duties?
A single water ride is open, to cover the foolish ones...there is no need for two in this weather.
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Still overstaffing even if you move them to other duties though so the idea it’s a deliberate ploy to save money doesn’t hold true.
 
They do need that, but I don't think they're capable of doing it due to the way the place is run, and has been run. Even without Hex and Skyride to look after. But, we will see.
 
rob666 said:
Surely staff can be transferred to other duties?
A single water ride is open, to cover the foolish ones...there is no need for two in this weather.
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I know what you mean but the point is the choice should be in the hands of the guests as to whether they want to ride it or not:
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but is the following the current situation regarding Towers' major rides...

The Smiler - Operating normally
Galactica - Slow dispatch due to restraint sensors
Rita - Operating one train
Curse - occasional downtime due to unknown issue
Nemesis Reborn - issue regarding half train operation believed to be resolved
Th13teen - unable to operate in wet conditions.
Spinball - Loading half trains at times
Blade - unable to operate in wet conditions
Runaway mine train - operating reduced capacity (one car missing)
Sub Terra - Operating normally
Wickerman - Operating normally
Rapids - not operating
Skyride - not operating
Hex - not operating
 
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