Intamin, Why Bitter?

Intamin has built some great rides, but their US rep is a jerk, and the overall engineering practices lack sophistication and elegance. Boat rides have been around for a hundred years. How do you screw that up?

I'll give you an example of non-elegance: The hydraulic launches. If an engineer told me, "OK, so we'll have these brake fins, hundreds of them, and each one will have two switches to sense its position, and if one is out of position, the ride will shut down," I would have told him to go back to his computer and think of something else.

Exactly right Jeff - as an engineer I have shaken my head at some of their design choices everytime I go. Still - it gives a great ride when it works.

Intanin makes some amazing rides but they have a lot of design flaws.

A prime example why engineers need to work out in the field first before designing anything. I remember back in college learning about all these great things engineers have done. Then after graduating and working out in the field, you learn of all of their mistakes.

No bitterness for Intamin here. I think much of the Intamin bitterness is really just that they're an easy target for jokes and sarcasm. As has been said, their rides continue to innovate and push the envelope. With the technologies they use, it's only natural for an increase in mechanical problems.

Until we see B&M introducing their own launch technologies enabling their roller coasters to go 150 mph in under 5 seconds and 450+ feet in the air (at a cost of around $25 million), it's unfair to compare Intamin's reliability.

I do agree though that Intamin sometimes changes the formula for no good reason. I'm looking at you, Shoot the Rapids. It's arguably still innovative, yet the innovation seems to have taken away from the experience. I guess you can't expect an absolute hit with every product though. Cedar Point seems way ahead for what Intamin has given them.

Let's not forget that B&M used to work with Intamin in their earlier years. Perhaps they saw Intamin's needless complexity and this is one of the reasons they created their own company?

B&M is pumping out reliable, quality roller coasters though; there's no doubt about it. But, Cedar Fair created the perfect experiment for me with the launch of a B&M Intimidator and Intamin Intimidator 305. As soon as I saw the B&M Intimidator, I thought, "I already rode that at King's Island." Intamin's I-305? I made a 10-hour trip to go ride it, and there's no chance I would have visited King's Dominion without it.

And my verdict on I-305 (went there about 3 weeks ago)? There's nothing else quite like it. I personally like Millenium Force better, but the 2 really aren't that comparable. It speaks volumes about how Intamin can build 2 giga coasters yet deliver 2 unique rides. It's a great addition for King's Dominion, but it unfortunately came with the Intamin disadvantage.

I laughed as I looked down in the station, seeing little water sprayers aimed at all the wheels. But, a re-banked turn and wheel sprayers still didn't appear to fix the problem. The coaster operated with a single train (the other waiting on call), and they periodically swapped trains, while mechanics worked on the wheels. I hope they can figure out a new wheel material rather than adding the trim brakes back. But, I made sure I got a ride this year before any new changes take effect.

http://i.imgur.com/zFYrq.png
Enough said^

Ffej said:
No bitterness for Intamin here. I think much of the Intamin bitterness is really just that they're an easy target for jokes and sarcasm. As has been said, their rides continue to innovate and push the envelope. With the technologies they use, it's only natural for an increase in mechanical problems.

Is it natural that more people would die on their rides? Frankly I don't see anything funny about that at all. Hydro, Perilous Plunge, Superman, Drop Zone, to say nothing of the horrific accident on the drop tower at Kentucky Kingdom.

The Intamin deaths are truly tragic, but yes, it is more natural that people would die on their rides.

Why? Intamin has raised the thrill bar with daring new technologies. Compare and contrast the technology in Top Thrill Dragster vs. Raptor. What would you say has the higher potential for problems that may cause death?

So, you might argue that if there is any possibility for death, then they shouldn't be using these technologies.

Well, you have to look at the bigger picture. For every 1 Intamin death, there are 100's of millions of Intamin rides that are death-free. Compare that track record with just about any company product, and it's quite a feat.

Additionally, several of the Intamin deaths could have been due to operators or riders not following proper procedure.

What car make do you drive, Jeff? You know where I'm going there...

Ffej said:

For every 1 Intamin death, there are 100's of millions of Intamin rides that are death-free.

That would make one hell of a tagline. Inspiring, even.

Yeah, I dunno. I think the motto, "We almost never kill anyone" is less than encouraging. ;)

They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time. :)

lol I agree.

But, you guys have to understand where I'm coming from.

No matter how much research goes into product development, you're never going to come up with a product that is 100% reliable.

Intamin knows this and installs 100's of sensors and fail-safes in their product. Still, very freak accidents happen.

After these freak accidents have happened, they have changed their designs...why we now have these decorative shoulder restraints that people complain of on Maverick and their recent offerings.

Also, how do we know for certain that Intamin caused these deaths? I can't tell you how many times I have seen riders pushing out their guts or legs to fool ride hosts checking restraints, trying to earn leeway.

Or, when a cable snaps...maybe the park didn't follow a routine replacement cycle...maybe the company that Intamin contracted to make the cable is at fault, etc.

So do we live our lives bitter toward Intamin for these very freak deaths, or accept this part of life?

Well, the blame goes to both.

The operator for not replacing the cable properly.

And Intamin for not covering "catastrophic cable failure" in their design.

Having your legs amputated should NEVER happen on an amusement ride. No matter how many millions of rides have been given, that shouldn't happen even once. If it does, then someone's engineering degree should be run through a paper shredder.

There are also those things called ACCIDENTS, too? Sometimes things can't be blamed on anybody or anything, and rather just happen.

A goose hitting you in the face as you ride is an accident.

A cable not being properly contained so that it can wrap around your legs and rip off your feet is an engineering failure, not an accident.

JuggaLotus said:
A goose hitting you in the face as you ride is an accident.

A cable not being properly contained so that it can wrap around your legs and rip off your feet is an engineering failure, not an accident.

Poor fabio

No, poor goose.

Well Toyota (sticking accelerator pedals) and Ford (rolling Explorers and Firestone tires) have killed way more people than Intamin due to engineering failures yet they are two of the best selling vehicles in the world. Comparing numbers, I'd feel safer on an Intamin ride than in these manufacturer's cars.

Exactly the point I was going to make, vwhoward. In fact, if you take any mass auto manufacturer, you're going to find plenty of deaths related to engineering failures in the product.

So, do we live our lives bitter towards these companies? I mean, they killed babies with airbags! Or do we look at the advancement in said technologies and accept human error.

Ford quickly pioneered roll stability control (RSC) technology (and then the government mandated tire pressure monitor systems), which just about every make now has. In fact, I managed to hit a sharp object going 70+ mph, causing a tire to blow out. I was able to easily control my Ford to a stop, so RSC may have saved my life. The newest Explorer has even pioneered more advanced roll protection.

Toyota added a simple brake override feature in future products. Some other automakers did not have this technology, and they quickly added it as well.

So, we have situations where people died, yes. But, the solutions that these companies have come up with have potentially saved even more lives that are not the result of engineering flaws.

Intamin has added shoulder straps and modified the lap bar design. Now those trying to commit suicide should even be saved.

I'm glad none of you work in the industry.