Overview

Rollercoasters are intended to give us the illusion of danger, whilst actually being incredibly safe. However, in June 2015 the "Smiler" ride at Alton Towers went terribly wrong when two trains collided mid-track, seriously injuring four people.

The park's management initially blamed human error, but was this really the full story? This talk will summarise the findings of the HSE's own investigation to explain what happened and why.

We will also discuss the parallels between this incident and others within the chemical industry. Could our own plants be just as prone to failure, and if so, what can we do to make sure they stay safe?

Speaker

David Sparkes, Freelance Process Safety Engineer

David has a keen interest in control system safety and incident investigation. He is also Lead Process Engineer for 3fBio Ltd; an award-winning biotech startup based in Glasgow.