Gold Reef City Date

Gold Reef and M-Net still at odds over safety. The Star of 29 April 2005. 'So, are the rides at Gold Reef City safe or not? The Gold Reef City Theme Park claims it has passed safety clearances after being declared "a catastrophe waiting to happen" by M-Net's Carte Blanche. Carte Blanche, however, says it has not received a report and wants to know who exactly gave the park a clean bill of health. Yesterday, Gold Reef City's public relations arm released a statement claiming the Department of Labour and independent structural engineering consulting firms had "all vindicated us". Gold Reef City added that a letter from the Department of Labour had declared its rides safe. The park refused, however, to show The Star a copy of the letter. However, Carte Blanche executive producer George Mazarakis said there was no reason for the M-Net show to retract its allegations. "We understand that a report was generated by Gold Reef City using its own panel of experts," he said. Mazarakis said the letter that Gold Reef City claimed vindicated it was based on this internal report, which was not the same as being okayed by independent safety experts. In its statement, the park said: "Following the Carte Blanche reports on the theme park, we ... secured the verification of a host of independent parties about the safety processes at the Gold Reef City Theme Park." The park said it complied with local law and the highest international standards in its maintenance regime. On CarteBlanche's show on March 6, interviews were conducted with four independent experts who claimed several rides at Gold Reef City were in an advanced state of disrepair - with cracks, rust, bad maintenance and neglect visible. The next day, Gold Reef City disputed the claims, saying they were "misleading". It is understood that legal action is pending against M-Net, but Gold Reef City has refused to comment on this'.

Gold Reef City

Date : 06 March 2005
Producer : Susan Purén
Presenter : Zaa Nkweta
Researcher : Nicole Stubbs
Genre : General Interest

In response »
[Contrary to public statements made by Gold Reef City, Carte Blanche repeatedly offered Gold Reef City the right to reply before Sunday’s show.]

It’s a typical Sunday morning in February this year and people are streaming through the gates of one of South Africa’s most well known tourist spots. They’re here for a day of fun. The last thing on their minds is that something may go wrong…

Gold Reef City in Johannesburg is a replica of an old mining town. It offers more than 30 fun rides and has been open since 1986. In the 19 years since then, an estimated 25 million people have come here to experience the ultimate thrill.

It’s a highly successful business – last year profits rose 36 percent to R114 million.

Zaa Nkweta (Carte Blanche presenter): “But just how safe are these rides and what laws are in place to protect the public? Gold Reef City told us that they adhere to the highest safety standards and prescriptions of the law.”

Voice of Dewald van der Walt (Operations Manager, Gold Reef City): “The Occupational Health and Safety Act acts as a guide, yes. So what we do once a year on all our rides…well, most of the rides, depending on the schedule…we perform non-destructive testing. What that means is we dismantle the rides… all the critical parts… and they get tested with ultrasonic tests. If need be, they get X-rayed to make sure that the critical parts are still safe.”

Really?

Just more than three weeks ago Carte Blanche obtained video footage that tells a completely different story.

It showed that several rides at Gold Reef City were in an advanced state of disrepair - with cracks, rust, bad maintenance and neglect visible everywhere.

It could be a life threatening situation, or worse - a pending disaster - according to experts.

Roelf Mostert (forensic engineer): “I see warning signs. I see people not attending to the warning signs and often, when that happens, the next step is a catastrophe.”

Dr Roelf Mostert is a forensic engineer and metallurgist who has acted as an expert witness in several investigations that followed the collapse of the Brooklyn Mall and the Kolonnade Centre in Pretoria, as well as the Injaka Bridge in Mpumalanga. He expressed grave concern at what he saw.

Roelf: “My first reaction is that we are pretty close to a problem. It has happened in other countries, it could happen again. Looking at the indications that we see here, it could be closer than we think.”

Amanda van der Westhuizen (non-destructive testing expert): “Tragedy, that’s what’s waiting and my response would have been, ‘Stop this, now, until further investigation can be done.’”

Amanda van der Westhuizen is an independent consultant and highly qualified expert in testing steel and aluminium for defects and weaknesses not visible to the naked eye.

Amanda [looking at specimen under test]: “…no defects. Can you see anything?”

Zaa: “Nothing at all, really.”

Her field of expertise is known as non-destructive testing – the very same testing that Gold Reef City claim to use. Amanda has been practising for 25 years.

A magnetic field is created in the metal. It has to be free of paint and grime - and after being sprayed with black magnetic ink, a crack becomes visible.

Amanda: “Suddenly it’s visible to you, and that’s a crack.”

This tumbling cage at Gold Reef City - called Miners Revenge - carries up to 40 thrill-seeking passengers. But is the amusement park aware that one of the pendulums - which appears to be balancing the act - is rusted and cracked?

Immense gravitational forces are at work here.

Amanda: “What I see there is actually past non-destructive testing. It’s actually so visible we don’t have to waste time on doing an inspection on it.”

Zaa: “You can see that with the naked eye.”

Amanada: “You can see it with the naked eye, and that’s unacceptable.”

But it’s not only the pendulum of this ride that shows serious deterioration. This metal tank, decorated to look like wood, anchors the ride.

Its base has been badly maintained and is covered in a thick layer of rust and moss, indicating that there’s a water leak in the area. In fact, a constant stream of water can be seen running down the side of the tank.

Roelf: “If it topples over, the ride then is influenced in such a fashion that the balance is lost - then it could have very bad consequences.”

Zaa: “Is this a cause for concern?”

Roelf: “Yes, indeed. The general presentation of what we have seen here is that of an amusement park with poor levels of inspection, poor levels of maintenance.”

Zaa: “So the pendulum on the Miners Revenge appears to be a problem, as does the water tank. But press ‘pause’ on that, and we’ll come back to Gold Reef City’s response.

Carte Blanche contacted Gold Reef City at the beginning of our investigation and invited them to present their view. We informed them that we had certain video evidence that we wanted to show them. After initially agreeing, they rejected our request for an interview on the basis that they wouldn’t be able to view the material prior to the interview.”

Zaa: “In the interests of public safety we made the video material available, expecting that we would finally get our elusive interview. What we got were threatening legal documents, demands to disclosure of our sources and a series of responses related to the technical issues that we raised, made by unnamed consultants.”

Zaa: “So, they have a copy of the video evidence and a CD of some of the photographs you are about to see in this programme. Still, they would not go on camera to give us their side of the story.”

But what about the other rides at Gold Reef City? When last were they tested for possible cracks and weak spots?

Let’s listen again to what Gold Reef City told us on the phone at the beginning of our investigation.

Voice of Dewald van der Walt (Operations Manager, Gold Reef City): “The Occupational Health and Safety Act acts as a guide, yes. So what we do once a year on all our rides…well, most of the rides, depending on the schedule…we perform non-destructive testing.”

Amanda: “Some of them may have been inspected because there were definitely repair welds, but most of them no. Because, with non-destructive testing, you can detect cracks, say from less than one millimetre, and those cracks are far, far past lots of centimetres.”

Like these at the bottom of the cage of the Crazy Cocopan ride…

Gold Reef City says ‘they pose no structural threat. The marks exhibited on the drive surface appear to be typical of what one would expect from a wear surface of this nature.’

Zaa: “Remember the Miners Revenge? This is what Gold Reef City had to say….”

‘The crack filmed from long range is in fact not a crack. It’s a sections structure that was not welded in the initial construction of the ride. It is a potential site for fatigue problems and has been recognised as such.‘

‘It has therefore been monitored for a number of years and no problems have developed during that period. If the structure was welded now it would potentially introduce further stress in this area which would initiate a fatigue mechanism.’

‘The defects illustrated in the base plate are sections of plate which have fractured with the repeated replacement of the bolts. The moss and algae development results from seepage of rain water through the gravel ballast and the tower.’

But look at this ride called the Raging Rapids… these broken bars and rust are concealed by the water when the ride is operational.

Gold Reef City says the defects illustrated are all associated with an under pan for the retention of water. They represent no threat to the structural integrity of the ride.’

This, despite the fact that it’s obvious that certain pieces of metal are missing.

Zaa: “In one of their letters to Carte Blanche, Gold Reef City stated that they work with a specialist who has a doctorate in metal fatigue, as well as an internationally accredited engineering firm who make the necessary modifications or repairs.

They also said that non-destructive testing has been done as recently as last year. However, they failed to disclose who their experts are.”

There are not many businesses that do non-destructive testing and it didn’t take long for Carte Blanche to track down a contractor who had recently inspected the fun rides at Gold Reef City.

Bostech Engineering’s owner, Paul Boshoff, says since the middle of last year his company tested and repaired three of the rides at Gold Reef City: the Crazy Cocopan, the Runaway Train and the Golden Loop.

Paul alleges that when he first inspected the rides, none of them complied with structural specifications.

Zaa: “What did you find on the Golden Loop?”

Paul: “On the Golden Loop we found cracks on most of the cross struts connecting the actual track to the structure. We found cracks on the headgear that propels the cars over the track and the actual cars where you sit in was rusted completely.”

These photographs show new cracks in places that had previously been repaired. The pictures formed part of an inspection report that Paul’s company submitted to Gold Reef City before he was contracted to do repairs.

Zaa: “How many cracks did you find there?”

Paul: “Well just on the section where the cross beams actually fits onto - what they call the magnet cable guide - there were in excess of 200 cracks. That’s just on that area. The actual parts, cross-struts, that connects the tracks where the wheels actually runs on, each and every one of them was cracked, and I do believe there’s in excess of 3 000 on those struts, cross-struts.”

Spencer Erling (Technical Director, Southern African Institute of Steel Construction): “Obviously if a structure has got 3 000 repairs on it, it has to be related to the fatigue life of the structure

Spencer Erling is the Technical Director of the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction and we took him to Gold Reef City to do a visual inspection. He says the fact that the cracks have been welded and repaired several times make the situation more dangerous.

Spencer: “I would be very concerned about the remaining life of a structure like this. It cannot do it any good repeatedly repairing cracks, especially in the same place. The granular structure of the steel actually changes from the heat input of the welding and in the long term multiple heat inputs by welding doesn’t do parent metal any good.”

Gold Reef City admits there were cracks in the structure of the Golden Loop, but disputes the extent of the problem. But that’s not really relevant, says our expert.

Spencer: “Any crack in any weld is unacceptable.”

We also accompanied our experts, Amanda van der Westhuizen and Dr Roelf Mostert to Gold Reef City on an on-site inspection and showed them the grey painted areas on the Golden Loop where the cracks were repaired.

Roelf: “The probability of a fatigue failure is still very high, and as a result of that you have a high rating both on the probability of failure and on the consequence of failure, and that results in a very high risk.”

The Golden Loop may be well past it’s sell by date, says Allan Mann, a British structural engineer who evaluates the safety aspects of rides in various amusement parks in the U.K.

Allan Mann (UK Structural Engineer): “It shouldn’t have been allowed to get in a state where that many cracks were discovered. I’d say we would, on the rides that we inspect in the U.K, and the responsible ride owners here if there are a few cracks, those would be repaired very quickly. But that number of cracks is pretty astonishing I would think.”

The Golden Loop was manufactured in the 1970s and was bought second-hand by Gold Reef City.

Allan: “That in itself is not necessarily a problem, but there does come a stage when a ride is so old that it’s not worth repairing it; it’s too difficult to repair and it becomes uneconomic to keep it going. The generic forces and stresses which are causing the crack are always there, it’s just an unfortunate aspect of steel structures that once you’ve had a crack, even if you repair it to the best of your ability with proper qualified welders, it really is just a matter of time before it starts again.”

The Runaway Train was also inspected and repaired by Bostech Engineering. The train was allegedly kept in service while being repaired, despite the fact that non- destructive testing had revealed that both the chassis of the carts and the track were riddled with cracks.

Zaa: “How many cracks would you estimate were on that structure, on that track?

Paul: “That’s a difficult question…”

Zaa: “A hundred?”

Paul: “More. A thousand. We were only allowed to work from five o’clock in the morning until ten o’clock in the morning because at ten o’clock the park opens up and then they need to use the rides.”

Zaa: “So people were riding on these tracks while you were doing the repairs?”

Paul: “While we were doing the repairs.”

Once again, Gold Reef City admits that they were aware of the cracks before Paul’s company did the inspection, but they deny that there were so many. These white marks, however, show clearly where the repairs were done.

Would this be acceptable in the UK? Allan says it’s very difficult to say yes or no for certain.

Allan: “I can say this for certain, that if we found a ride in the UK with a thousand cracks on it, there’s no way that we would suggest to the owner that it was safe to run it in the interim. They would have to close it completely and do a thorough repair. Anything with a hundred or a thousand cracks in it, I mean, that’s way beyond anything that we’d consider normal. It’s… more importantly perhaps… it’s indicative perhaps that there isn’t a regime of proper checking. It shouldn’t get to that state before somebody has found that number of cracks. I can’t believe that 1 000 or 3 000 cracks suddenly appeared between one inspection and another. I just cannot believe that those have appeared overnight. They must have been developing and growing for some time.”

Spencer: “Any modern welding code or specification will tell you the same thing. Our South African design codes make specific reference to the American welding society’s specification for structural steel welding and it can’t be clearer in words of one syllable that cracks are not acceptable in welds, full stop.”

Allan: “The fine details of which code is subscribed to really don’t matter, the principles are the same everywhere: you have a transportation system that carries people at very fierce loads, those people are not in control of their own destiny, they buy a ticket because they expect to be safe.”

This is Shaft Number 14 - it’s 220 meters underground and a major tourist attraction at Gold Reef City.

But it wasn’t always as safe as it should be and in 2003 the hoister at the shaft questioned his manager about the situation.

Phillip Malan (ex-employee, Gold Reef City): “I asked him, ‘Tell me I want to know, where is our engineer?’ because when the engineer passed away, they never replaced him.”

But Phillip Malan’s questions were not exactly welcomed by his superiors.

Phillip: “Then I asked him, ‘Where’s the boilermaker? We can’t work like this. I mean, we’ve got people being conveyed up and down in the conveyance!’ He said, ‘It’s got absolutely nothing to do with you.’”

The manager then accused Phillip of costing the company a lot of money.

Phillip: “And he asked me, ‘But can’t we in the meantime just work like that?’ So I said, ‘No, we can’t work like that. I’m not going to endanger people’s lives’. And then the winder stood for a couple of hours and he was very upset because he said that he’s got buses and buses of people from Gabarone, Pietersburg, from all over the country, those people that [has] booked tours underground.”

After Phillip reported the unsafe situation to government mining inspectors, the shaft was shut down twice for several days...

Zaa: “You did call the inspector?”

Phillip: “Yes, I did call the guy. Well, I was in dire straights. I followed all the routes and I was not going to allow people to be injured or have people to be losing their limbs or arms, I’m not going to allow that. I did personally call the inspector.”

Phillip was fired after a disciplinary hearing found him guilty of misconduct, but a Judge has since overruled the finding.

We showed our video evidence of bad maintenance and safety to the Department of Labour in Pretoria. They uphold the Public Health and Safety Act, but they say it’s difficult to comment.

Pieter Laubscher (Manager for Mechanical Engineering, Department of Labour): “We do inspections both on the machinery itself and we look at the records and see if they have got records on the premises, that they are supposed to keep.”

All the Department offered was a promise to send inspectors to Gold Reef City the next day. They said they found no latent defects in the structures. Not surprising perhaps, considering that all they did was a visual inspection lasting no more than a day.

Voice of Pieter Laubscher: “Okay, the cracks that we have discussed…uh…o, ja…uh… the cracks that they have detected… ok…uh…we have just discussed the welds at certain points and what he said to me is that cracks for example that was on the… ah… loop… Looping Star… I call it the Looping Star, they have got another name for it.”

Carte Blanche researcher: “The Golden Loop.”

Pieter: “Gold?”

Carte Blanche researcher: “They call it the Golden Loop.”

Pieter: “The Golden Loop… ok if you look at… he’d showed me some examples of the… where they’d detected cracks and he said to me that they have [grind] it away and [fill] it up again.”

Two days after the Department gave Gold Reef City a clean bill of health, we visited again. This time the Department had communicated most effectively.

Indeed almost everything we had pointed out was, well, at the very least painted over. In fact, on the Miners Revenge the paint was still wet.

There are internationally accepted norms for amusement parks meant to standardise inspection, maintenance and design. But they are not enforced in South Africa.

Roelf: “Those norms are not apparently followed here and those norms are specifically there for protecting the safety of the public.”

However, the updated Occupational Health and Safety Act of 2003 places the responsibility on the owner of any structure to maintain its original safety status and to prove it annually.

The alarming fact is that the administrator of this act is this representative of the Department of Labour. When we asked him for the records of inspection, this was his response.

Pieter: “Um, we can find out from our provincial office and look at the records. I’m not sure if I can show the records to you.”

Zaa: “Why not?”

Pieter: “Um, you have to give us a letter requesting for that information.”

Later, on the strength of a one day inspection and without conducting non-destructive testing, he concluded that he could not find any latent defects in the structures.