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by Keith Miller
It’s little wonder mainstream media give so much attention to the latest and greatest rides and exhibits, because those attractions are what bring paying guests through the gates. But the maintenance departments that work endlessly to keep those attractions operating safely, and make certain the facilities and infrastructures at parks and zoos function properly, get relatively little notice, even though they keep everything up and running.
FUNWORLD interviewed the maintenance managers at five different facilities to discover how they tailor their departments to fit the demands and constraints of their particular types of facilities. The result is some fascinating differences in the way they set their priorities, organize their work, and motivate their employees.
 
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari
Santa Claus, Indiana
Holiday World is a good example of just how remarkably skilled and versatile most amusement park maintenance staffs must be. The park has 22maintenance workers divided among the waterpark, the dry park, the paint department, signage, and games.
“What’s sometimes forgotten is these maintenance people not only take care of all the rides and slides and water attractions, but also all the food equipment—the broilers, fryers, refrigerators, and freezers—and the rental wagons, strollers, and scooters,” says Mike Kamp, the general manager of the park’s guest experience unit, which includes the maintenance department.
When you consider how many components there are to maintain in a waterpark—pumps, motors, filtration systems, slides, lockers and showers, nonslip surfaces—and then include the dry park components—ride lift systems and tracks, coaster trains, show theaters, and games—and the food-service equipment common to both facilities, you begin to get an idea of just how daunting a task these workers face.
But Kamp says it goes even farther than that: “We also have building maintenance—lighting, glass, ceiling tiles, doorknobs, HVAC, and painting.” Plus, all of the utilities and underground systems must be maintained, such as sewage, water, and natural gas distribution. Even the park’s kennel, Holidog Inn, must be maintained. In fact, he says about the only maintenance work the park contracts out is high-voltage electrical work.
Keeping all systems fully functional during the operating season can be quite a challenge, especially since some of the work, like maintaining sewage lift stations, is dirty and inglorious. Kamp explains how the park keeps the workers fresh, motivated, and safe: “We rotate the assignments on the ‘ugly jobs,’ and we limit the hours they work and honor their days off. Also, training is very important for safety. We went to OSHA and requested help tomake improvements in the park with safety in mind, and due to those efforts, we were awarded the INSHARP Award by the state of Indiana for our safety.”
Parque Mundo Aventura
Bogotá, Colombia
Oscar Rodriguez, maintenance manager of Parque Mundo Aventura, has a department with an unusual setup: It’s responsible for new projects within the park as well as maintaining existing systems.
 However, as at most attraction facilities, Mundo Aventura’s maintenance schedules for rides and attractions cover daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks. Rodriguez says ride manufacturers determine much of the schedule; yet while there are set intervals for changing belts, replacing wires and bearings, and painting exposed surfaces, he believes the daily inspections are just as important as those scheduled tune-ups because guest safety is at stake. “Every day we inspect the structure, belts, welds, safety bars, and other safety devices on every single ride,” he stresses.
To bring some real-world relevance to the mundane daily inspections, Rodriguez does something noteworthy: “I use the IAAPA electronic news e-mail [“News Flash”] to tell our employees about the safety things in those reports each day. If there is a ride that has a problem, or an accident where people are injured, I tell them so they know how important the work they do here is to the souls of these people.”
To give even more motivation and recognition to the maintenance workers, he says Mundo Aventura provides gifts for employees selected by the staff for their outstanding work.
Efteling
Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands
 Efteling has an intriguing philosophy about its maintenance department: It is always a complete part of any project from inception. “We let our maintenance people be part of a whole project and involve them from start to finish,” says John Schoones, head of the park’s quality and maintenance department. “[Also], the start-ups, checkups, and registrations of rides and attractions are performed daily, together with the operations employees. [We] work closely with the operations people, who need the  maintenance information to safely operate the rides.”
Schoones believes the most important element in making a park outstanding in maintenance is not what tools the staff uses, what scheduling system it employs, or how much vacation time employees receive. “Most important for our maintenance employees is communication,” he insists. “Keeping everyone informed gets our administration and management involved, and vice versa. Of course, this is only possible because of the close cooperation with the operations employees and technical staff.”
But when asked what he likes best about his job, Schoones goes back to his initial comment about being involved from the start of every project: “We are especially proud of the fact that our maintenance work is being taken into account in every phase of the plans, from sketch board until actual [construction] and operation. [It] means we can really contribute to new and exciting future plans.”
Fort Worth Zoo
Fort Worth, Texas
The Fort Worth Zoo is a good example of how much the maintenance challenges differ from one facility to another.
 With only a carousel and a train, the zoo doesn’t have to deal with all the tasks of maintaining rides. But with thousands of wild animals, its maintenance department has a whole different set of challenges, and the setup for handling maintenance is thus also different, with small maintenance tasks handled by revenue operations and large tasks handled by engineering.
“We have to look at things that are different from [an amusement] park,” says Anthony Davis, director of operations. “We have to watch that certain products aren’t harmful to the animals—even what we clean glass with. Noise is also a big issue. For instance, we can’t use a blower or amower around certain animals because it startles them. Also the time of day we do things, because certain times disturb the animals. Dust is a problem for them, too.” If maintenance has to be done in an animal enclosure, he notes, the work must be coordinated with the keepers so the animals aren’t present, for the safety of both the animals and the staff.
 What’s more, a zoo has no off-season. “We’re open 365 days a year, so maintenance is year-round,” says Davis. “Working in this fashion forces us to stay on top of things. Also, the zoo has been here for 100 years, so we have some older facilities we have to be aware of.”
The year-round operation, coupled with having to work around the timetables of the animals and the visiting guests, makes pinpoint scheduling a must. “Our maintenance schedule is  computerized and is kept on my computer,” says Brad Davidson, the zoo’s engineering director. “A lot of it is dictated by manufacturing guidelines and a lot of it we developed ourselves.” Of note, Davidson says the zoo tracks all of its maintenance work orders so it knows exactly when work was done, and, if necessary, alters the preventive maintenance schedule to suit: “Preventive maintenance is the key—I like looking forward rather than trying to catch up.”
Kelly Allred, the zoo’s senior director of revenue operations, says there’s one issue that trumps the scheduling system: safety. “The work order queue is very long sometimes, but if a board pops up, for instance, that’s a safety issue and it goes to the top of the queue,” she says.
When hiring maintenance workers, Davis says, “We look for someone who is a go-getter and who is willing to take on any kind of a challenge. We need someone who understands the environment and is flexible, and we make sure they know they’ll be outside when it’s hot and cold.”
He cites a couple of keys to keeping the workers motivated: “We have to do our homework ahead of time so we don’t put them in compromising positions, and so they don’t take shortcuts. We also let them know that many of us have been there and know what they’re going through, and let them know how important what they do is.”
Go-Karts Plus
Williamsburg, Virginia
 “My business card says ‘General Manager,’ but my wife thinks it should say, ‘The Guy Who’s Here All the Time,’ and yes, I do some of the maintenance.” That’s what Jeff Miller says of his role at Go-Karts Plus family entertainment center, and his comment highlights a key difference between many FECs and large attractions: Even management has a hands-on role in maintenance.
The only tasks Go-Karts Plus contracts out are complex electrical and plumbing jobs or large concrete projects. “Everything else we do ourselves, even the fabrication and welding,” Miller says. In addition to himself, he has two fulltime maintenance mechanics to watch over his go-kart tracks, roller coaster, “Disk’O,” and various other adult and kiddie rides.
 Miller says keys to outstanding FEC maintenance include: “Having inspection checklists and logs right there at the rides. Our logs include malfunction sheets, and those allow you to spot trends—you can see if the same thing happens more than once. Also, hiring the right kind of people who agree with your [philosophy]. Finally, that absolutely everyone is empowered to call out a problem if they see it—anyone here can shut down a ride if they spot something.”
Though these five facilities have different organizational setups and operational approaches to maintenance, they all agree on one thing: The most rewarding part of their jobs is seeing guests happy and having fun. Holiday World’s Kamp may summarize the mindset best: “When a coaster is down and the maintenance technician fixes it quickly, the guests standing in line avoided the disappointment of having to leave the queue and they applaud his work. I’ve been in that position myself and the standing ovation is great!
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