Tell Us About Your Job, Amusement Park Ride Inspector!

It’s the sort of job most kids wouldn’t believe an adult could actually have. Don Fleck travels the world inspecting amusement parks.

Fleck works for CLM Entertainment  — a Woonsocket company employed by insurance companies and international organizations to make sure amusement parks, water parks and anything that falls under the umbrella of “amusement” is safe. Summer may be busy season, but Fleck shared with Motif his year-round experience inspecting parks, from tripping hazards (90% of accidents are slip and falls, according to Fleck) to coasters.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Fallon Masterson (Motif): How did you get into this?

Don Fleck: I had an engineering firm that collapsed due to the credit crunch of 2008. I happened to be in the same building as the gentleman who owned CLM, the legendary Alan Ramsay, who did this work until his untimely death in 2011. His best friend, Melissa Plante, managed to save the company to be what it is today. We would meet every morning at 7 for coffee. We were both the early birds. I ended up working on projects with him for fun back in 2007. From there, eventually, I started working full on and getting all the certifications. That’s how it all began.

I sort of rolled into it. This kind of work is fantastic. You’re working in places that make people happy and working with people who are trying to make people happy. It’s a really amazing industry. I wish I’d gotten into it 20 years earlier, quite frankly.

FM: How many roller coasters are you riding each year?

DF: Oh jeez. At least two a week in the summertime. Maybe 30? We spend a lot of time just working on the mechanic side. If there’s any questions, we’ll ride at that point or we’ll watch it to see if something is happening that shouldn’t. It’s always offered to us, but I don’t always ride. But if you’re encountering new technology — magnetic braking systems — you gotta ride it.

FM: What are you looking for in a big, established park versus a traveling park?

DF: There’s big corporate parks, family-owned parks and carnivals. That’s what everyone always wants to talk about. People have this misguided idea that somehow carnivals aren’t safe. That’s an absolute myth busted. The reality is, a carnival has to notify every city that they’re going to be involved in. When they go and set up, you can be sure that town officials are looking at them. Then you have inspectors like ourselves from the insurance company who are looking at them. So they can’t escape — and they only have from Memorial Day to Labor Day to make their money.  If they’re not on the road, successful and safely operating, the market flushes them out. There’s really no room for fly-by-night operations.

FM: I wondered if people would be pleasantly surprised or totally horrified at the condition of carnivals.

DF: There’s much more scrutiny than you’d see at a physical park. They get beat up because they’re hauled around everywhere and they look tougher, but they’re actually very, very safe. We rarely encounter anything. There really aren’t mechanical or electrical problems.

Big corporate infrastructures have so much money and so much talent available that the market drives everything. The family parks have to try a little bit harder and in reality, my heart belongs to them because it’s tradition for them. Some of these parks are 100 years old. Their names are on them and it means a lot to them.

FM: What are you seeing now that’s exciting? Are more rides taking advantage of high tech?

DF: Current technology, with all the sensors and digital controls… Safety has gone way up. Technologically, everything is so advanced now, it’s shocking. In the past year, everything is moving toward virtual reality. Even hard rides, roller coasters, spinning wheels, everything. People are putting the masks on and experiencing VR. The expos that we do are exploding with VR  technology. People are using it on water slides! If you ever want to get blown away, check out the IAAPA Show in Florida.

FM: Are you a thrill seeker? Or is all of this boring by now?

DF: No, because there are so many things I haven’t tried yet. I’m not really a thrill seeker. A lot of times we have to walk coaster tracks and climb them and climb under them. What really still tickles me, like a little kid, is the behind-the-scenes work. I can go and see the things that no one else gets to see. Like a dark ride that you can go and turn on all the house lights and see what it really looks like.

FM: What’s your favorite ride in the world?

DF: The Cyclone in Coney Island. It’s my baby. I love her.