Now more than ever, safety is at the forefront of everything we do as responsible members of the global attractions industry. As one of IAAPA’s strategic priorities for 2025, you’ll read more about safety here in the pages of Funworld and from me as I settle into my new role with IAAPA. As the new global director of health & safety and security, I look forward to working with facilities, manufacturers, and inspectors as we continue the dialog around safety and security.
I’m excited to share my knowledge and a unique perspective, having worked closely with manufacturers, operators, and inspectors since 2000. As a functional safety engineer and instructor with 24 years of experience in the attractions industry, my commitment to safety and security runs deep.
Most recently at Rockwell Automation (members will recognize the Allen-Bradley brand, technology widely used on attraction equipment), I worked alongside designers and operators to create ride and show automation—from design and startup to maintenance and retrofits.
In addition to industrial automation design and maintenance, I’ve spent time as an instructor and previous board member for AIMS International, a non-profit dedicated to amusement industry safety. Being passionate about education, I was excited to present on Oct. 17 at the ASTM Committee F24 meetings, an IAAPA Safety Exchange sharing best practices learned from a recent incident.
Almost 100 people attended a case study review of the June 2023 Jetline accident at Gröna Lund, in Stockholm, where a roller coaster train came to an abrupt stop. The incident labeled as a “derailment” caused one fatality and nine others to be injured. Sweden’s National Accident Investigation Board (SHK) determined deficiencies in the ordering, manufacturing, and checking of replacement support arms for Jetline’s trains to be the cause of the incident.
While this occurrence is indeed a dark moment in our history, it also presents an opportunity: an opportunity to engage in discussion; an opportunity to examine what we can learn; and an opportunity for us all to play a part in preventing incidents like this in the future.
We have a responsibility as professionals to share insights that can lead to impactful change. Gröna Lund CEO Jan Eriksson agrees with open communication. He told Scott Fais, IAAPA’s director of global content during a transparent conversation in July 2024, that a culture of open communication—where questions of all kinds are welcomed—is paramount.
I commit to you to create opportunities where we can have these educational conversations, and I stand ready to connect with manufacturers, operators, owners, and inspectors—of all sizes and backgrounds—in my new role.
Reach out to me. I look forward to beginning a dialog and lasting relationship as we promote safety and security culture together.
Linda Freeman is IAAPA’s global director of health & safety and security. In this new position, Linda will elevate safety and security programming and promote global adoption and harmonization of standards. She says, “working in safety and security helps make the world a better place and I love knowing my work can help protect people.” She holds a Batchelor of electrical engineering and is a certified functional safety engineer and cyber security specialist. Email Linda at [email protected] or connect with her on LinkedIn.
- This original reporting from IAAPA News first appeared in Funworld magazine. For more stories and videos covering the global attractions industry and to read a digital version of Funworld magazine, click here.
