News
- Jane Ellison
- Company News
Westlakes Attraction Safety Team achieve UKAS ISO/IEC17020:2012 accreditation
The Attraction Safety Team at Westlakes Engineering were this week delighted to become the first inspection body in the world to have achieved accreditation for the ISO/IEC17020:2012 by UKAS for In-Service Inspection of Fairground and Amusement Park Devices. The accreditation covers the work of the team in undertaking safety and condition inspections of rollercoasters and fairground rides at parks all over the world.
Tom Elsworth of Westlakes Engineering lead the work to gain the UKAS standard, He has congratulated everyone within the organisation for their commitment and says “We are the first and only inspection body in the world to have gained this accreditation. This is testament to our competence and the diligence of our inspections and procedures. We are proud of this achievement and will work hard to ensure that we keep it and maintain it. That comes through a continued strive for improvement in our training and abilities, and innovation in the way we inspect, report and prepare our inspections.”
The team, led by Doug Dadswell, has been specialising in this line of work since its formation at Allott & Lomax in Sale in the 1980’s. Doug brought the whole team to Westlakes in November 2015 and they are now an integral part of the practice which has offices in Manchester, Preston and Whitehaven. Westlakes was founded in 2004 in West Cumbria, working mainly at the Sellafield nuclear plant, then spread nationwide doing property work after opening its Manchester Office in 2009. The “Rides” team, however, have given Westlakes a fully global profile with live projects across the USA, Asia and as far south as South Africa and Australia.
This achievement also comes in the year that Westlakes are involved in another UK leisure industry first – at Blackpool Pleasure Beach where the new “Icon” ride will open in Spring 2018. The Icon is a launch coaster and its advanced technology gives the rollercoaster two powerful thrusts of acceleration during the ride. Blackpool have not had a brand new coaster for a number of years which makes the launch of the new ride even more exciting. Icon will interact with, and twist its way between, five existing rides and two tunnels on the park.
The ride is being manufactured by Mack Rides in Waldkirch, Germany, utilising the latest state-of-the-art engineering processes, including laser beam technology for extreme accuracy. Westlakes are responsible for safety checks on the design and commissioning of the ride, including its structure, dynamics and safety envelope.
Speaking during the construction work, Doug Dadswell said “The team here are not only very keen engineers but are also dedicated coaster enthusiasts and are very much looking forward to riding a coaster they have been involved with”.