Superman Escape Maintenance Blog

[Naazon]

23 minutes ago, red dragin said:

 I emailed the park commending him on his efforts.

I like you

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

I try to keep my eye out for those shining stars amongst all the garbage. Much as I complain about the parks, I feel many of my complaints are cultural and policy rather than any individual effort on behalf of the individual cast members involved. 

If i've had a particularly good interaction with a cast member who has done what I consider a top job, I try to stop off at guest relations on the way out to fill out a compliment for them. The number of times GR staff have looked tired after dealing with a day full of complaints they're always really enthusiastic to have someone coming in to offer a kudos.

I do hope they treat compliments as seriously (or more so) than whinging karens who think their short kid unable to ride big coaster is the worst thing imaginable...

[Spotty]

On 21/6/2022 at 8:49 AM, Luke said:

Does the lead operator have to push a button to launch the train? Or is the system completely automatic once the train has been dispatched from the load platform? If it's the later, is there control to stop the train from launching (or would that just be the e-stop)?

Both the loaders on the platform AND the lead operator in the upstairs control room all need to hit the button at the same time to dispatch. For the train to be sent from unload the operator hits their button and then the main operator hits a button to bring it into load. 

Once the unload station is clear, the launch cycle immediately beings if a train is already parked on the launch section (Fins drop etc) the audio is triggered as the train approaches the launch. My knowledge is from 10 years ago so it is possible that due to age they are holding the trains longer between dispatches but back then that was the reason for it.

I'd also say a fair bit could be due to staff motivation. I remember one day I had a crew of entirely Parkz members working on the load dock with me and holy crap we were flying through it (We had a competition going with Arkham for a fright nights event). We only had the 1 train on the track due to tech issues but we somehow managed 8 dispatches every 30 mins (Arkham just beat us with 9). 

I miss those days TBH. a good crew, and good supervisors who actually motivate their staff make all the difference.

[Dean Barnett]

Perhaps dispatch based incentives would help?

[pin142]

4 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Perhaps dispatch based incentives would help?

Now that's just crazy talk!

[webslave]

7 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Perhaps dispatch based incentives would help?

Yeah, that can work, but you have to balance that against human nature.  If you incentivize your people based on dispatches, then dispatches become the focus of their employment.  You'd hope it wouldn't happen, but the sad reality is you then run the risk that other things can fall by the wayside in pursuit of dispatches; namely safety.  The nightmare scenario for management is that an incident occurs that comes down to human error (or shortcuts) and it comes out that management has been paying staff to speed up dispatches.

Don't get me wrong; there's ways of being able to do this, but it requires a lot more oversight to make sure you aren't putting the guests or the business at risk.

[aaronm]

Both trains running today but it didn’t do much for wait times. Load op was also grouping, and it was taking longer to group people than actually seat them and check restraints. I’m talking a full three minutes just to line people up at the doors while and empty train sat in the station. Plenty of parks around the world just allow guests to self-organise in the queue, would definitely speed things up a lot.

[franky]

14 minutes ago, aaronm said:

Load op was also grouping, and it was taking longer to group people than actually seat them and check restraints

Honest question, is the op not allowed to leave their place in the station while the ride is in motion?

My view would be after the ride dispatches they could go organise the next batch of riders, but it seemed like they waited for the train to park back in loading before they went to organise the next group.

 

 

[Brad2912]

20 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Perhaps dispatch based incentives would help?

From a Safety standpoint you don’t want to be seen to be incentivising staff to dispatch trains faster.

from a management perspective, you shouldn't be incentivising staff to do what is their job already - they get paid for that. Have the staffing, operations, training and expectations in place and incentives aren’t necessary 

Edited June 25, 2022 by Brad2912

[Dean Barnett]

2 hours ago, aaronm said:

Both trains running today but it didn’t do much for wait times. Load op was also grouping, and it was taking longer to group people than actually seat them and check restraints. I’m talking a full three minutes just to line people up at the doors while and empty train sat in the station. Plenty of parks around the world just allow guests to self-organise in the queue, would definitely speed things up a lot.

This is plain stupid.

Easiest way to fix this is the way Kolmården run Wildfire. Yes, a zoo runs roller coasters better than a full fledged theme park.. insane.

Once the airgates close they set the turnstile to let 22 people through (the train seats 24). If people want to wait for the front row - thats great. If the 22nd person that gets let through is a part of a larger group - no worries! They just wait for the next train. Simples. The better option would be to have a screen to show how many people can be let though and people just work it out for theirselves .. trust me I've seen this work in person. 

[themagician]

Not sure if Rivals was running two trains yesterday, but it had 3-4 minute dispatch times 

[Spotty]

22 hours ago, franky said:

Honest question, is the op not allowed to leave their place in the station while the ride is in motion?

My view would be after the ride dispatches they could go organise the next batch of riders, but it seemed like they waited for the train to park back in loading before they went to organise the next group.

 

 

At any time a train is moving in or out of the load station, Load 2 (the person on the door side) must be at their control panel in case they need to e-stop. Once a train rounds the first corner they are free to leave their position. If a train is coming in from unload they need to also be at their control panel for the same reason. 

There is no real way superman can run efficiently with 2 trains unless you have the sorter. When I was there it was also mandatory to have a sorter with 2 trains for evacuation purposes either. The 2 loaders were responsible for evacuating a train from the load platform through to the launch and the unloader and sorter were responsible for the 2nd train and entry host for the queue line. 

Curious as to how they would do that with no sorter now. But yeah, peak operations would be having the sorter. As soon as the doors close and the harnesses go down on the train in the load platform the next group is sorted. Having a good entry host is also vital, because nothing slows down the dispatches more than when the train is ready to go and the loaders spot loose items... 

[Dean Barnett]

Ok so today I went on the exact same ride model. It was running one train today (the wait was around 20 mins). Here's how it works.

The turnstile lets through the exact number of people that fit on the train. 

 

Once you're through you put your bags on this thing (load is on the right, unload on the left)

That thing cycles with the ride.

You then self group.

 

Same ride model. 3 workers (Op, 2 on the platform). Sub 3 minute dispatches (timed when the train reached the unload platform). My point is there's so many ways to make superman better - one free way would be just to have a little basket that the op walks down the train with once its secure for phones and small items.. then just puts the tray in the unload station. At least then people can have their phones...  but they refuse to. These guys also double launched it later on in the day when there wasn't a full train load waiting on the platform.

 

 

 

Somewhat related - here's a flat ride with self loading. 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by Dean Barnett

[red dragin]

We're all discussing faster cycling of the rides, but do the parks really want that, especially considering all three aren't really full day parks by themselves if things are moving quickly. 

Slower operations reduce the cycles per day (extends maintenance and reduces power consumption) and keeps people in the park longer. 

When your parks are full and people are used to the slow throughput, there's no desire from the parks perspective for these faster loading options.

And Superman sounds like they won't run it faster anyway due to heat issues. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by red dragin

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

5 hours ago, Dean Barnett said:

Ok so today I went on the exact same ride model. It was running one train today (the wait was around 20 mins). Here's how it works.

The turnstile lets through the exact number of people that fit on the train. 

Dude, we get it. We've heard your turnstile suggestions among other things and we've all discussed our thoughts on whether it would work or not. 

Every ride you're pointing at is in a foreign jurisdiction with different cultures, laws and safety requirements for OH&S. Any one of these things will kill most of your suggestions, and what's left is written off by the fact that the ride is built, approaching 20 years old, and can't accommodate your suggestions (or requires a large labour cost to implement).

If you're gonna keep re-agitating the same thing every couple weeks, it's gonna get real tiresome real quick. You've made your suggestion. If the parks see it and want to do it... great. If they don't, oh well. 

[aaronm]

11 minutes ago, red dragin said:

And Superman sounds like they won't run it faster anyway due to heat issues. 

I was back at the park yesterday and they’d sped things up considerably, trains dispatching every 2.5-3 minutes which seems to have kept the queues much more manageable.

[Naazon]

2 minutes ago, DaptoFunlandGuy said:

Dude, we get it. We've heard your turnstile suggestions among other things and we've all discussed our thoughts on whether it would work or not. 

Every ride you're pointing at is in a foreign jurisdiction with different cultures, laws and safety requirements for OH&S. Any one of these things will kill most of your suggestions, and what's left is written off by the fact that the ride is built, approaching 20 years old, and can't accommodate your suggestions (or requires a large labour cost to implement).

If you're gonna keep re-agitating the same thing every couple weeks, it's gonna get real tiresome real quick. You've made your suggestion. If the parks see it and want to do it... great. If they don't, oh well. 

I get it mate, but, what if...

 

Parkz added Turnstiles? that way we wouldn't need moderators and the system can let a specific number of people post every day. If you disagree with me you're just wrong. Overseas does it the best way. I've been overseas to overseas parks to use turnstiles.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

3 hours ago, aaronm said:

I was back at the park yesterday and they’d sped things up considerably, trains dispatching every 2.5-3 minutes which seems to have kept the queues much more manageable.

I did notice the crew they had over the weekend were absolutely on top of their game. Superman can run very efficiently but as Spotty has mentioned it takes a crack team working the attraction, fully staffed with both trains running and everyone busting their ass to ensure efficiency while staying safe.

Your observation proves the park can run it efficiently with the right crew...

 

So what is the problem? 
Do management just not roster the right staff numbers to maintain efficiency?
Are management fostering a culture that inspires crews to work hard, but safe?
Are some cast just disengaged, and why are they still employed? (and is that caused by the answer to the second question?)

Kudos to the weekend crew for obviously doing such a standout noticeable job during school holidays. 

[Dean Barnett]

On 27/06/2022 at 3:04 AM, Naazon said:

I get it mate, but, what if...

 

Parkz added Turnstiles? 

This exists

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

And like your other suggestions, such a plugin would also be completely useless in our park(z)

[Levithian]

On 20/06/2022 at 10:13 PM, Spotty said:

No, the system only needs a minimum of 1 minute between dispatches (well it was when I worked there). It was because the ride experience would be crap when the launch audio would play and then the train may be sitting there for 20-30 seconds before launching as it can't launch until the unload station is fully clear and the next train is parked in Load.

You are assuming the after chiller is working properly / at all though. I could see hydraulic oil temps go through the roof if it wasnt cooling properly on a hot day. Hydraulic systems arent really designed to run at temps much over 70 degrees. So they could experience having to wait for the fluid temps to drop and try to manage the ride vs shutting it down. 

[Spotty]

9 hours ago, Levithian said:

You are assuming the after chiller is working properly / at all though. I could see hydraulic oil temps go through the roof if it wasnt cooling properly on a hot day. Hydraulic systems arent really designed to run at temps much over 70 degrees. So they could experience having to wait for the fluid temps to drop and try to manage the ride vs shutting it down. 

I did also mention that this was when I worked there 10 years ago, back when arguably management at the parks was honestly some of the best it had been in a long time. Lots can change in that time. As the ride has clearly aged since then, its entirely possible they now do have to wait.