Face Adrenalin emphasises safety procedures

Face Adrenalin – the independent Eastern Cape-based bungy jumping company that operates the worlds highest commercial bungee bridge at Bloukrans, near Storms River – places the safety of its guests above all other considerations.

The company’s international experience has come from managing hundreds of thousands of accident-free jumps in South Africa and Australia.

“For the safety of the jumper, we have to make absolutely certain that nothing can go wrong with the bungee cord,” said the company’s CEO, Devan Tuohey.

He said that Face Adrenalin has spent thousands of hours on research and development to ensure that the cords and safety equipment are constantly updated – “And we’ve spent even more time on staff and management training.

“There is absolutely no room for error in our operation, which is why we check, recheck, and check again – and why we train, re-train, and train again.

“As a result, Face Adrenalin has a blemish-free record of having provided hundreds of thousands of guests with one of the world’s most thrilling adventure experiences.

“As far as the safety of our cords goes, we have a variety of procedures – which include assembling the cords ourselves; load testing them; inspecting them after every jump as well as in the morning and evening of every day of operation; re-plaiting them before the outer wrapping starts to fray; and retiring them, either after 6 months, or when they reach the end of their lifespan (which is normally after 350 jumps, or as a result of potential non-conformance) – which ever comes first.”

He said that the company has stringent rules in place which are designed to ensure that cords are withdrawn from use long before they present any form of risk.

“Bungee cords are made up of thousands of individual strands that are held together by plaiting – and, like car tyres, they have a certain life expectancy. And like tyres, they need to be replaced before they become worn and dangerous.

“Cord safety is paramount, so we take our responsibility for replacing our cords on a regular basis very, very seriously.”

Mr. Tuohey said that retired cords are cut up and used to make tourist souvenirs. “This is both an environmentally responsible way of recycling our old equipment, and a way of ensuring that the cords can never be re-used after they’ve been withdrawn from service.”

He added that every point of safety in the jump procedure is observed by at least three pairs of eyes.

“Each jump is managed by a Jump Master, with a Jump Supervisor, a Platform Supervisor, and a Recovery Operator in attendance, and we also have someone in place to take ‘ground readings’ with which we monitor the stretch of each individual cord.

“Every one of the members of the jump crew is responsible for checking every single point of safety – from the use of the correct cord for each individual jumper’s weight, to the state of the wrapping, to the position and security of the jumper’s harness and ankle strapping – and to every other point of attachment in the entire system.”

Mr. Tuohey stressed that safety is non-negotiable.

“If bungy jumping is done correctly and according to established procedures, it provides a controlled environment in which people can enjoy the thrill in complete safety,” he said.

For information about Face Adrenalin, please contact

Devan Tuohey – devo@faceadrenalin.com, +7(0)83 259 4609

Chris Upton – chris@faceadrenalin.com, +27(0)83 441 8072

or visit www.faceadrenalin.com or www.facebook.com/faceadrenalin

Source: This Tourism Week