Risk Assessment
Health and Safety Information for Educational Establishments
The quality and safety of all our rides and attractions are of the utmost importance and therefore a considerable amount of time and effort is spent on making all visits a safe and fun experience. The Tussauds Group who own Alton Towers are Europe's leading operator and developer of visitor attractions. Due to the complexity of Theme Park operations in the UK, a summary of the main health and safety requirements is set out below:-
- Legal Requirements:-
Health and Safety at Work Act etc 1974 – This is the principle Act that applies to the company and is to ensure that all workers in all occupations are protected by law. Its purpose is to provide one comprehensive integrated system of law, dealing with health, safety and welfare of employees and members of the public who are affected by work activities. The Act is written in very general terms and does not require many specific requirements for managing health and safety at work. Instead, the Act places a general duty on employers to provide safe systems of work that are so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health. Under the HASAW Act 1974 are many specific Regulations which relate to work activities on site. The principle requirement being to undertake risk assessments to identify ‘hazards’ and assess the risk under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.- The Company’s has a comprehensive Health & Safety Management System reviewed on an annual basis.
- Risk Assessments are undertaken by all departmental Managers with reference to the work activities that they manage. Risk Assessments are reviewed at least annually or if any significant change takes place with regard to a work activity or area of work. Due to the volume of risk assessment documents it is not possible to send these out on an individual basis.
- The Park and Hotel are covered by Public Liability Insurance. The amount of cover provided by this policy is £10 million. The Policy is with ACE Insurance (Policy No: 47UKA07551/2)
- The Park is dual enforced by the local Health and Safety Executive and Environmental Health Department. Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks – Guidance on Safe Practice HSG 175 – this is the principle guidance for theme parks in the UK. It is industry good practice and is developed by the trade associations in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive. The guidance develops good practice concerned with the overall safety management of attractions with emphasis on risk assessment, management of safety and the inspection stages known as design review, assessment of conformity to design, initial test and ‘in-service annual’ inspection for all fairground rides.
- Engineering/Maintenance of Rides:-
All new rides must be designed and manufactured in accordance with strict safety standards and comply with UK requirements. Before any ride is commissioned it is subject to a comprehensive pre-use inspection procedure by an independent inspection body registered under the Amusement Devices Inspection Procedures Scheme (ADIPS). This is an extremely comprehensive assessment process which encompasses all safety critical and safety related matters including the type/magnitude of forces involved, the passenger containment system, and operating systems/restrictions eg heights etc. The “pre-use inspection” process is further consolidated by an ‘In–Service Annual Inspection’ by an independent ADIPS registered inspection body to ensure the safety and integrity of the ride for each season. A comprehensive regime of daily, weekly and monthly safety checks /planned preventative maintenance are also carried out by our own in-house qualified engineers to ensure that the requisite standard of safety is maintained at all times. - Ride/Attraction Operation:-
The operation of all rides /attractions on park conform to strict documented procedures and manufacturers guidance. The rides/attractions team have a considerable amount of experience in operating rides and attractions which ensures safe operating standards. All ride operators are over 18 and undergo an annual company medical. They are also rigorously trained to a high level of competence specifically related to each ride they operate. Ride assistants whose primary role is to assist guest’s embarking/disembarking from the rides are over 16 years of age and undergo similar structured training to that of operators. - Food Safety/Hygiene:-
Food outlets operated by Alton Towers are operated in accordance with strict hygiene standards by trained employees to ensure compliance with the Food Safety Act 1990 and are regularly inspected by the local Environmental Health Department. We also employ independent food safety auditors who undertake biannual food safety/hygiene inspections to ensure that high standards of food hygiene are observed at times. - First Aid Facilities:-
Alton Towers has a First Aid Centre located near to the entrance plaza which is operated by a dedicated first-aid team, many of whom are trained as first responders in conjunction with the Staffordshire Ambulance Service. We also have a fully equipped terrestrial ambulance for use on and off-site by our first-responder team. First aiders are trained to deal with all minor injuries on site and also in the initial stages of any major injuries that may occur until the emergency services arrive at the scene. The nearest Hospital with Accident and Emergency facilities is approx. 20 miles from the Park. - Schools Registration & Lost Children Point:-
Our Guest Services/Information Office located at the top of Towers Street (ie at entrance plaza) is available for schools/teachers to register their details (ie contact names and telephone numbers) and acts as a lost person collection point to enable them to be reunited with members of their party. A number of Guest Information booths are also located around the Park which can be used for general assistance/contact purposes. - Emergency Planning:-
Alton Towers has a contingency plan that would be invoked in the event of any emergency situation. The emergency plan covers all foreseeable major incident /emergency scenarios and has been developed and tested by means of practical exercises over time in conjunction with the local emergency services ie fire, ambulance and police. - Fire/Security:-
The site have a dedicated security team which are able to deal with any security issues on site 24 hours per day 7 days per week. The security team pro-actively patrols the park and deal with any security related matters and are also trained to deal with any emergency incidents that occur on the site. Within our security team we have a full time fire officer who oversees all fire safety issues. Fire procedures for all venues/attractions are in place and operating staff are trained in these procedures accordingly. - Parking Drop off/Pick Up Points:-
From the main entrance to the Park directional signage is displayed to indicate car/coach parking facilities as well as drop off/pick up points. - Access and Facilities for Disabled Visitors:-
Alton Towers aims to ensure that the Park is accessible to all our visitors. Further guidance on access and facilities for visitors with disabilities is available from our Guest Services Team.
Please click here to download a full, printable version of the Risk Assessment document.
