ASTM International has announced two revisions to a standard which it says could help support safety efforts amongst operators of amusement rides.

Members of the ASTM International committee on amusement rides and devices (F24) developed new requirements related to non-destructive testing inspections. The group also changed the standard from a guide to a practice.

The revised practice for auditing amusement rides and devices (soon to be published as F2974-18) now includes language on requirements around inspector qualifications needed prior to doing non-destructive testing, including training and qualification records, written practices and procedures, equipment calibration records and more.

“We wanted to provide more instructions for auditors to follow when examining the requirements of inspectors doing the non-destructive testing,” says Jeff Borba, owner of Precisioneering and chair of the three evolution task groups created by the committee to identify areas of need for new or revised standards. Their efforts were influenced by new incident data, emerging technologies and more.

“This was the only committee standard that was a guide and by changing it to a practice we think the standard now carries more weight,” says Borba. “Ideally, it will encourage more people to follow the standard.”

Several more updates are underway that could address corrosion, welding requirements, and visual acuity for inspectors.

For more information on ASTM International’s role in ride standards development for the amusement industry, see here or watch the video above.