Amusement parks are designed to provide a thrilling escape, offering a fun and relaxing experience for all ages. Behind the scenes, a complex operation is at work: ensuring the safety of thousands of daily visitors. This blog explores amusement park safety, looking at the unique challenges faced by owners and introducing technological solutions to enhance the experience for visitors and employees alike.
1. Delivering immediate, unified communication
Challenge: With masses of guests, multiple points of entry, varying operations – including catering, maintenance and entertainment, and several employees, communication is the first key to maintaining safety standards at an amusement park. And with some of the world’s largest parks covering over 500 acres, communication must also be possible over wide expanses.
Solution: Two-way radios, including Motorola Solutions TLK110 can establish long-distance connections, ensuring employees are in touch when it matters most. For those parks housing dangerous and unpredictable animals in remote locations, instant, hands-free connections are crucial. A fall alert feature within the device – which identifies the wearer’s movement and summons immediate assistance should they fall or stop moving – will also ensure amusement park safety regulations are met.
Wearable two-way radios will benefit those park staff providing catering and retail services. Mounting securely to clothing, they also include features such as Wi-Fi and precise geolocating tracking, allowing park management to pinpoint the exact location of a team member in an emergency, and coordinate responses with the closest available staff. Lost children, theft, malfunctioning rides or severe weather – however the day unfolds, teams remain connected for faster responses, making operations more efficient and improving guest safety.
2. Providing proactive security
Challenge: Monitoring thousands of customers and employees across numerous locations in real-time is impossible for staff to manage alone. Security solutions need to be proactive, not just reactive.
Solution: Smart video technology acts as a force multiplier for security teams, helping them detect and neutralize potential threats – including people and vehicles of interest – more quickly and safely than would be possible for a human. With License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras in place across entrances and exits, vehicles can be monitored and instantly identified as they enter the park. This not only helps to ease congestion, but enhances both security and efficiency. Should a fixed camera identify a vehicle associated with a banned person, it will trigger an alert to the Security Operations Center (SOC), preventing the individual from gaining entry.
3. Facilitating a coordinated response to critical incidents
Challenge: When a medical emergency occurs or a child is reported missing, every second counts. Amusement park staff need a coordinated, multi-faceted response plan, which incorporates agreed safety measures, that can be applied to all manner of incidents.
Solution: Amusement parks require a system within their SOC that will unite voice communication and video security and data. This ensures that when an incident occurs, teams can instantly see the bigger picture and minimize the impact. For example, if a security officer reports a lost child, the software platform can automatically deliver the child’s photo to every team member’s device (including radios and compatible smartphones), as well as enable rapid communication with external agencies like local law enforcement.
4. Boosting efficiency through automated workflows
Challenge: Radio communication is effective in relaying information instantly across amusement parks. Yet when it comes to the day-to-day operations, relying on reactive, manual processes can lead to delays and inefficiencies, impacting the guest experience.
Solution: Advanced software that automates workflows and streamlines daily operations will help amusement parks communicate and respond to events more efficiently. For example, when a ride operator reports a minor mechanical issue on their radio, the system automatically creates a work order for the maintenance team, instantly notifying them. This proactive communication minimizes disruption to the park’s experiences, as well as reducing wait times.
Likewise, the same software can monitor crowd activity in real-time. Sensors placed at key congestion points across the park can monitor crowd density and movement, alerting staff so they can be deployed to manage long lines and reduce wait times.
Safer parks, satisfied guests
While amusement parks are designed to provide a thrilling escape, maintaining a safe and seamless experience for thousands of visitors requires a sophisticated, proactive approach to safety and security.
Investing in advanced technology will empower staff to be more efficient and responsive, creating a secure environment where guests can focus on what’s most important: having a great time.
By connecting communications, video and data, Motorola Solutions helps theme parks and other large venues move beyond traditional security to a more efficient and reliable system for the safety of their employees and guests. Learn more about how we can help support your operations today.
