The Smiler Incident - What Happened

[Skyscraper]

I'm sorry, I don't fully agree with that. The ride staff and tech staff have to take responsibilty for some of their own failings. They didn't see a valleyed train that was not difficult to miss, not to mention the fact it was on CCTV - you don't need extensive staff training to tell you that if a coaster is stuck on the track, then it's not a good idea to send another one hurtling straight at it! Yes, Merlin's procedures were woefully and dangerously inadequate, and they deserved to be punished. But, for me, there were mistakes that came down to individual laziness, and that cannot all be blamed on Merlin. If I made a gross error at work, despite having not received proper training and having been exposed to bad working conditions, I'd still feel personal responsibility for my actions. I know Merlin enforced a worrying system where low downtime equalled staff bonuses, which is a disastrously poor work ethic to enforce, but it would still only have taken a few minutes to assess the track and check the CCTV properly, something the tech staff failed to do.

Fact is, had they seen the stalled train, they would not have reset the ride. That wouldn't change the fact that there was no set procedure in place to deal with this incident, something Merlin should be ashamed of, but it would have avoided a hideous incident taking place. Of course, the judge has ruled that Merlin are 100% to blame, and the punishment has been duly passed down, but I personally feel the tech staff involved in this have gotten off slightly lightly.

absolutely 100% agree!

 

[rob666]

I think we are all agreeing to agree here..
There is no doubt that the staff, be they operators, trainers, engineers or managers, all feel responsible, jointly, for what happened, and none are blameless, but things like "laziness" can be factored out if absolute set procedures are followed and recorded as such. Log books written and signed for, then books being checked and signed for before action takes place. It happens in industry and commerce everywhere when safety is crucial within processes, I had to read risk assessments before going onto the "shop floor" at work on a routine basis.
The cock up on the Smiler should not have happened, and could not have happened, if proper procedures had been in place and followed. Because such things were not there to be followed, sh!t happened.
We don't know what happened within Merlin afterwards, they did not say if anyone was sacked or disciplined as far as I am aware of, but you can bet the staff were under disciplinary investigation after the event.
Again I don't know, but I bet some staff were formally disciplined, but that is a confidential employment matter, corporate, and within Merlin. The judge probably knew more about this, and that would have been part of the value of the fine, but not something us mere punters, are allowed to know.
Staff were "dealt with", we just don't know how.

 

[Grand_Nash]

I understand that we all like Alton Towers burt come on if a certain park in Blackpool did this we would all be like "OMFG its a death trap park"

Lets be honest the last few years Merlins lawyers have been busy in the courts based on H&S and you would have expected them to have addressed some of the issues

I think we are all agreeing to agree here..
There is no doubt that the staff, be they operators, trainers, engineers or managers, all feel responsible, jointly, for what happened, and none are blameless, but things like "laziness" can be factored out if absolute set procedures are followed and recorded as such. Log books written and signed for, then books being checked and signed for before action takes place. It happens in industry and commerce everywhere when safety is crucial within processes, I had to read risk assessments before going onto the "shop floor" at work on a routine basis.
The cock up on the Smiler should not have happened, and could not have happened, if proper procedures had been in place and followed. Because such things were not there to be followed, sh!t happened.
We don't know what happened within Merlin afterwards, they did not say if anyone was sacked or disciplined as far as I am aware of, but you can bet the staff were under disciplinary investigation after the event.
Again I don't know, but I bet some staff were formally disciplined, but that is a confidential employment matter, corporate, and within Merlin. The judge probably knew more about this, and that would have been part of the value of the fine, but not something us mere punters, are allowed to know.
Staff were "dealt with", we just don't know how.

In court rob they stated that no one had been disciplined or sacked or even directly resigned as part of this case. I believe if they did they could in theory claim unfair dissmissal as merlin accepted responsibility.

 

[Dar]

I understand that we all like Alton Towers burt come on if a certain park in Blackpool did this we would all be like "OMFG its a death trap park"

Lets be honest the last few years Merlins lawyers have been busy in the courts based on H&S and you would have expected them to have addressed some of the issues

You mean like nobody did when the Big One or the Big Dipper crashed, like we're all mature enough to let park fanboyism get in the way of our real hobby?

 

[rob666]

Yes, had this discussion with mates yesterday, the Wild Mouse in Blackpoo is a death trap compared to the Smiler.
I had my hands out wide on the end seat on the Smiler last weekend.
If I did that on the Mouse I would have no arms left.
I don't think the Mouse would get past an initial H&S inspection these days.

EDIT:

Sorry, I only heard that nobody resigned.
Investigations would have taken place under workplace "caution".
Generally I have always felt safe at all the parks I go to.
I only feel wary at travelling fairs.

 

[owentaylor121]

Yes, had this discussion with mates yesterday, the Wild Mouse in Blackpoo is a death trap compared to the Smiler.
I had my hands out wide on the end seat on the Smiler last weekend.
If I did that on the Mouse I would have no arms left.
I don't think the Mouse would get past an initial H&S inspection these days.

The mouse has passed health and safety requirements every year... It wouldn't be running if it hadn't.

 

[rob666]

I know that, I did say initial inspection.
If the mouse was built now it would not be "signed off" by H&S, or the insurers, because of the closeness of the track to the support work, it is far closer to the woodwork than on any other woodie on the park.
If it wasn't already there, it wouldn't be built today.

 

[AliceHL91]

They've covered their backs with wild mouse by saying keep everything inside the car at all times, and because of it's age they get away with it. That's the only reason people ride it anyway.. because it's a (hilarious) death trap. It's more like a real runaway mine train than a wild mouse.

Rides these days are built so that even if you are a moron and stick your arms and legs out everywhere you won't be getting off minus limbs, but you probably will get a bollocking for it.

 

[Rob]

I understand that we all like Alton Towers burt come on if a certain park in Blackpool did this we would all be like "OMFG its a death trap park"

Lets be honest the last few years Merlins lawyers have been busy in the courts based on H&S and you would have expected them to have addressed some of the issues

The judge actually said that Merlin have a very good health and safety record. I don't know why you've brought Blackpool into it though, they don't exactly have the best record when it comes to ride safety yet we all still go and ride their coasters.

 

[Kelpie]

Vicky Balch is back on Victoria Derbyshire Show tomorrow, no doubt talking about the fine.

 

[DiogoJ42]

*Rolls eyes*
Surprised it took this long, tbh.

 

[Jonathan]

Oh, for pity's sake.

 

[AliceHL91]

Can't blame her. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last chance she'll have to be on TV since whatever public interest there was left about the incident is plummeting, and now that the sentencing is over there's nothing more to say about it

 

[Grand_Nash]

The judge actually said that Merlin have a very good health and safety record. I don't know why you've brought Blackpool into it though, they don't exactly have the best record when it comes to ride safety yet we all still go and ride their coasters.

Oh i know and i love their coasters it was the park that sparked my intrest. Im just saying i was quite shocked the resort didnt have proper procedures in place. The same park that build fences over rita you would think they would have a set procedure. But i love towers and if any good it come it will make the whole industry safer IMO

 

[Matt.GC]

Can't blame her. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last chance she'll have to be on TV since whatever public interest there was left about the incident is plummeting, and now that the sentencing is over there's nothing more to say about it

Closed season, and thus the last gasping breath in this story will be happening in 5,4,3,2......

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

 

[jmc]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37561226


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[Spark]

She appeared on GMB on Wednesday morning, I was expecting a moaning Vicky but she actually came across well

 

[RoyJess]

Yes it's a shame what has happened and not nice for anyone to lose a limb.
Yes the recent court hearing has revealed a lot of damming evidence putting Merlin at fault
Yes Merlin has also admitted fault from the outset and has very much looked after the victims both financially as well as giving them full support.

I've also hear stories of injured ex service men/women with severer war injuries getting absolutely no support from the MOD. So the Smiler victims should be lucky that they are getting some support from Merlin.

At the end of the day, as long as there is money to be made and the publicity available to keep driving this, I don't think the stories will go away.

Here is something that I posted/predicted on the 20th September in the "2016 The Smiler Reopening" topic with regards to the recent court hearing.

Personally I can see the outcome making the Evening news on Monday and also spilling over into breakfast news on Tuesday with Vicky doing further TV and newspaper interviews over the next few weeks with regards to her reactions to the outcome

 

[Dan]

I've recently submitted a Freedom Of Information request to the HSE for information on the Smiler accident. I've received some reports today. Here is some interesting facts/photos

The ride should not have operated if winds were over 34mph. Wind varied between 38mph to 46mph on the day.

The energy absorbed during the initial impact was estimated at 384kJ

CCTV was very poor. Only the back two rows could be seen.

The control panel didn't show individual train blocks in the station

Gaps in the track

Photo of the train being removed

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

 

[DiogoJ42]

Hmmm, the plot thickens...