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Previous Issues > April 2007 > What's It Like To BE... > What's It Like To Be A Rides Maintenance Supervisor?
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 What's It Like To BE...
What's It Like To Be a Rides Maintenance Supervisor?
Have you every thought about what it's like to keep all of the rides and roller coasters running at a theme park? I had the change to visit Hersheypark, the cleanest and greenest theme park in America, to talk to Rod Underkoffler. He's the Rides Maintenance Supervisor at Hersheypark and has been very busy getting ready for the opening of the season and the celebration of 100 Years of Happy in the sweetest place on earth, Hershey, Pennsylvania.
 Truman: I understand that you've been at Hersheypark for 35 years! What does it take to become a Rides Maintenance Supervisor?
ROD: To become a Rides Maintenance Supervisor, you need to have a wide variety of skills. Good math skills are a big plus. Being well-rounded in all subjects would be very important. I believe a college degree in Mechanical Engineering would be perfect to prepare someone for this job. A person who looks at things and wonders how they work is the perfect person to work in an amusement park. Every ride is different. You need to be good at problem solving, because all rides are machines, and they break down sometimes. A personal quality that is important is the ability to get along well with others. In my job, I need many other people to assist in getting the job done. Anybody who supervises, manages or leads people must also have good communication skills.
Truman: When did you decide that you wanted to work in an amusement park?
ROD: I became interested in working at an amusement park when I was very young. My parents brought me to Hersheypark all my young life. When I became old enough, I was in the park every day riding the rides. I was always building go-karts and trying to fix things, or at least taking things apart. When I became old enough to work, I didn't have to think twice I knew that there wasnt anywhere else I would want to work but Hersheypark. Everyday is something new. Who wouldnt want to work in an amusement park, the place where everybody goes to have fun?
Truman: So, what exactly do you do every day?
ROD: My day changes with the time of the year. We have spring, where
everybody is outside putting on the finishing touches to open for a new season. This time of the year is spent reassembling the rides and doing safety tests to be ready to open. My job is to record and document all this activity. Summer is a little different, with more of a routine to it. I spend every day catching up on the previous days reports, investigating any unsolved problems and scheduling manpower for the many job assignments.
Scheduling is a large part of my job. You must schedule people to be ready for any surprises that happen the next day. Fall and winter are the times to take all the rides apart and do the necessary work to make sure that they are safe and ready for the next year. Again, scheduling, ordering parts and seeing that the rides are being well taken care of. No matter what time of year, my job is to make sure that all repairs are made as needed, assist in troubleshooting when a ride breaks down, provide training for the workforce when needed and document all that we do from day to day.
Truman: Wow, that sounds like a lot of work. Whats the hardest part of your job?
ROD: The hardest part of my job is finding the necessary parts to keep the rides running smoothly. All the rides come from many different countries in the world with many different time zones. You cant just go to a local store and find what you need to fix a ride. Sometimes that can be quite a job. The trick is to try to keep the right parts on hand to get things back up and running! The biggest challenge is keeping up with the day-to-day technology. Its changing all the time, and we get a new ride every year. Its also kind of sad to see the park close after Labor Day each year.
Truman: What kind of tools do you use to repair these rides?
ROD: The guys that work for me, some of them have up to $20,000 worth of tools. Everything from a screwdriver, to socket wrenches, air tools, anything and everything. Pretty much everything you see at a NASCAR race, we have just as much.
Truman: I understand your oldest ride is the carousel, built in 1919. And you have a roller coaster that was built in the 1940s. Do rides that old take a lot of special care?
ROD: We pretty much give special care to every ride, every year. Those older rides, a lot of people think its the same wood thats been there since it was built. But that wood gets replaced all the time. Any thing thats wood takes more care, such as the roller coasters. The carousel has to be painted every couple years. And thats all done in house.
Truman: Are you ever involved in creating the brand new rides?
ROD: Sometimes. They get us involved with meetings to make sure all the
maintenance concerns are addressed, that we can get to the things that we have to work on.
Truman: This looks like a great place to work. What is the best part of your job?
ROD: The best part of this job is to walk through the park and see all the
families laughing and having a good time here at Hersheypark. It gives me pride in what we do. Also, I like seeing the park transform from being closed in the winter to being restored into like-new condition every spring.
Truman: What kind of advice would you give to kids who think they might like to do your job one day?
ROD: If youre interested in a job like this, you need to have a general knowledge in many things, such as math and science. You never stop learning new things. Technology is always changing. I attend classes all the time. The learning process never ends. Pick a job that you think youll enjoy because you spend a lot of your life there.
Truman: Thanks so much for telling us all about your job at Hersheypark! Ive had a great visit, and I know you are looking forward to the reopening of the park next month!
For more information about Hersheypark, visit www.hersheypark.com.
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