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12 Tips for Q1 2026

Welcome to the Universal Verification newsletter – Universally Speaking.

Issue number 006 – 12 Tips for Q1 2026.

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On our company page, over Christmas, we posted 12 tips for Christmas – 12 days: 12 tips (It’s almost like I thought about it!).

However, Christmas is a busy time and you may not have seen all of these posts.  I thought that they were too beneficial for you to miss. So, here they are, repackaged as 12 tips for Q1, and regifted, like a Brut gift set or a pack of TKMaxx boxer shorts (guess what I had for Christmas?).

Q1 is the perfect time to review your procedures and documentation. Here’s our list of 12 things you should review.

Tip 1:  Review your PPM checklists.

When was the last time that you reviewed your Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) checklists?

Not just a cursory glance, but a deep review against the Manufacturer Operation and Maintenance (O&M) manual, technical bulletins, and your device history?

We’re guessing that it may have been a while.

That’s okay. Now is a great time to start the review process.

Depending on the age of the ride and the manufacturer, the O&M may not be the greatest source of information (no, we’re not mentioning any names… 😉) and that’s where your device history and the data you collect as part of the PPM comes in handy.

Tip 2:  Remove the word ‘check’ from your PPM checklists.

Building on from tip 1 (review your PPMs checklists) you need to look at the ‘checks’.

Because most of the Manufacturer Operation and Maintenance (O&M) manuals have been translated into different languages, they often ask you to ‘check’ components.

However, the word ‘check’ is ambiguous. And in maintenance, we don’t want ambiguity. We want clarity and consistency.

Replace ‘check’ with a description of exactly what you want the technician to do, such as:

This ensures consistency among the technicians.

Tip 3:  Review your maintenance procedures.

The PPM checklist will only get you so far, and the information contained in the checklist is usually minimal.

That’s why you need robust maintenance procedures for the technicians to follow/ refer to.

These differ by Attraction and Controller.  Some commonly-used terms for the maintenance procedures are:

It doesn’t matter what they’re called. It matters that they’re suitable.

At the recent BALPPA seminar, the HSE once again raised that in 2024/ 2025, they highlighted numerous issues with procedures. These were either poorly written or not being followed. (Please see our breakdown of the BALPPA seminar for more details).

Most Controllers overcomplicate their maintenance procedures.

The procedures should be written around what you do… not what you think should be there to satisfy the regulator.

Remember that you want your technicians to read the procedures (not just say they have!).  Therefore, the procedures should be brief and relevant and should explain the maintenance activity.

And, as the mighty David Gates/ Bread once sang… “A picture paints a thousand words”. Include pictures of the components and task where possible.

Remember to train the team on any updates and amendments to the maintenance procedures.

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Tip 4:  Review your Risk Assessments.

The Risk Assessments are an important part of the maintenance documentation.

They need to be ‘suitable and sufficient‘ but most companies overcomplicate them.

As a minimum, you need to:

The assessment should cover ‘significant hazards’. The control measures should be proportionate to the risks.

For maintenance activities, most people perform task-based risk assessments where they assess the particular task or activity. This is a great approach.

Remember to include/ involve your team because they already know most of the hazards.

Also, don’t forget to train your team on the updated Risk Assessments.

Tip 5:  Review your LOTO procedures and policies.

LOTO is Lock Out Tag Out.

LOTO physically locks a ride or part of a ride once it’s been isolated.

LOTO stops anyone re-starting the ride or part of the ride whilst it’s in isolation mode.

Only the authorised individual who placed the Lock and Tag onto the system is permitted to remove it.

This ensures that the system cannot be started up, and re-energised, without the knowledge of the authorised individual.

There should also be spare locks, multi-hasps, valve covers, props etc. readily available at the location, for other disciplines such as cleaning, facilities, contractors etc.

LOTO should be the primary safety measure for maintenance work.

Secondary levels of safety, e.g. a delayed start and a pre-activation alarm, can be used in conjunction with LOTO.

Some Attractions have added an extra element to Lock Out, Tag Out. This is ‘Test Out’. This extended safety measure is sometimes referred to as ‘LOTOTO’.

We see many issues on sites where LOTO has not been applied or applied incorrectly.

How robust are your LOTO policies?

Remember to train the team on any updates and amendments to the LOTO procedures.

Tip 6:  Review your procedures for all forms of stored energy.

This builds on from LOTO (Lock Out Tag Out).

Most Attractions understand why we lock out electrical systems.

However sometimes other forms of stored energy are overlooked.

It is a fundamental requirement that we ensure all forms of stored energy on rides and facilities assets are isolated and dissipated before any maintenance work is undertaken.

These include:

Again, these should be isolated following your LOTO procedures.

How robust are your policies on stored energy isolation?

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Tip 7:  Review your processes for entering the Live Ride Area.

You will have your own terminology for this one.

The HSE call it “restricted area access”.  Whatever you call it, you need to prevent access to the live area, or to control it.

A live ride area/ ride restricted area is an area in which the ride moves under normal operation, and where there is a risk to persons being struck by the ride should they be located in this area.

It is usually, though not always, defined by the outer perimeter of the fencing.

Due to the potentially fatal consequences of being struck by a ride vehicle under normal operating conditions, the ride restricted area must NOT be accessed under any circumstance.

Sometimes, tasks like fault-finding (e.g. listening to the sound of moving parts to identify an issue), or lubricating moving parts (e.g. a lift chain) might need to be performed when the ride is active.

Live ride area working is a particularly high hazard activity.  However, again, at the recent BALPPA seminar, the HSE raised that in 2024/ 2025, they found that 50% of attractions had no robust policy for their staff to enter the ride area.

This is worrying.

Because the potential consequences of being hit by a ride are so severe, it is particularly important to make sure there are robust procedures and training in place. These could include the following:

How robust are your policies on Live Ride Area working?

Tip 8:  Review your modifications.

I talk about modifications a lot.

That’s because many attractions do not consider the changes they make to be a modification.

Before you change or modify any device, it is important to ensure that the proposed modification will be safe.

Even apparently insignificant changes or modifications may lead to the accelerated failure of the components of a ride or device.

Using the ride or device outside the manufacturer’s specification, or the normal environment for which it was designed, is considered to be a safety-critical modification.

IAPPA recently published a White Paper, ‘Change Management: Modification of Amusement Rides and Devices’.

This provides a great overview of a change management process, and details when a modification becomes safety critical, and the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders such as owner/ operator/ controller, manufacturer and inspection body.

It also covers the often forgotten or overlooked part of fully documenting and recording the modification.

If you want a free spoiler, it’s the responsibility of the owner/ operator/ controller to ensure full traceability of the modification, and to ensure the relevant documentation is retained in the logbook.

Tip 9:  Review your NDT schedules.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is the testing of materials for surface or internal flaws or condition, without interfering in any way with the integrity of the material.

NDT is used as part of in-service annual inspection to determine whether structures or components continue to be fit for service.

Each device should have an NDT schedule of inspection that specifies:

The basic NDT schedule for a ride/device will be specified by the ride supplier in the O&M manual but this may be enhanced over time through Technical Bulletins or requirements that have become apparent through use of the ride/device or due to the increasing age of the device.

You will need to consult the Inspection Body or a reputable consultant (ahem) to assist you.

NDT schedules are going to be a big problem for some attractions over the next few years. We’ll discuss that in more detail in a later post…

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Tip 10:  Review your contractor management.

Contractors and other 3rd parties visiting or working on site at the Park/Attraction should be considered a high-risk activity requiring control.

It is essential that all persons coming onto site to carry out maintenance activity, including inspections, are competent and understand the site health and safety requirements sufficiently to comply with them.

However, most attractions are lacking here.

You should have procedures to:

There have been numerous incidents involving contractors across the industry over the last few years. We need significant improvement here as in industry.

Tip 11:  Review your Permits.

A “Permit to Work” (PTW) system is used to ensure that maintenance or other activities are carried out safely and efficiently.

The system is used in multiple industries and involves procedures to request, review, authorise, and document non-routine tasks to be carried out by employees or contractors.

High risk work will require the use of a time restricted Permit to Work (PTW) system, to ensure that work is adequately controlled and monitored.

Example of high risk works include:

We see lots of examples where a permit has been raised, but hasn’t been reviewed, monitored and closed off correctly.

Major issues we see are on Hot work permits, where a fire watch should be performed and has not been completed.

Again, there have been numerous incidents in the industry where a lack of robust permits was a contributing factor.

Tip 12:  Review your audit processes.

Who doesn’t love an audit?

You spend so much time dealing with the daily running and operation of the attraction. When did you last get chance to audit what you do?

Not a quick check as you proverbially spin other plates, but a detailed in-depth review of your processes. For most attractions, it’s either never happened, or it’s been a while.

But don’t you want the confidence that your team and processes are doing enough? Wouldn’t you like the peace of mind that there are no unexpected issues should the regulator arrive?

From specific audits of key processes (use the above tips as a starter) to full reviews of your entire processes, an audit should highlight gaps and help the business improve.

Findings are good. They’re an opportunity to improve. And that’s what we want… improvement.

Perfection isn’t reality. Ongoing improvement is.

Tip 12.5 (I know).. Involve your team.

This should be stated in every tip. In everything you do.. Try to involve the team.

They know the processes, the hazards, the corners that are being cut.

Include the team correctly, and they will take ownership.

If you do not have the size of attraction to include them, ensure you consult and ask them the questions.

Also, make sure that any updated document or risk assessment is trained out to the team.

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How can we assist?

The team at Universal Verification Ltd have combined backgrounds in operation, health and safety and maintenance of theme parks and attractions.

We work with manufacturers, designers, inspection bodies and controllers in the UK and overseas.

We can assist you in everything from the review of existing documents to writing and development of processes and procedures.

For more information on the above tips, or to discuss audits, training and our range of consultancy services, please contact the team

Email the team at enquiries@universal-verification.com

We hope you enjoyed this newsletter. If you did, please feel free to share it with friends and colleagues.

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