Author: Kathryn Woodcock

Dr. Kathryn Woodcock is Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, teaching, researching, and consulting in the area of human factors engineering / ergonomics particularly applied to amusement rides and attractions, including broader safety issues of performance, error, investigation and inspection, and assessment of eligibility to participate.

Mock competition

Toronto Met Thrill Design Competition is now an established elite experience for students interested in theme park design. The TMU Thrill Club had a taste of the experience over the weekend of 22 – 26 March 2024, braving a big dump of snow to get to the challenge reveal. One attraction design challenge, and the luxury of FOUR days to tackle it! (The Invitational has a maximum of three, and as little as ONE day to design a challenge response!) As usual, all challenge details are top secret, so nothing more to say here. Teams presented to a fantastic professional jury comprised of Peter Marshall (FORREC), Joelle Javier (TSSA) and Jake Fulton (outgoing Club President and TMU 2024 grad joining Universal Destinations and Experiences).

Approaching a grad school supervisor

At the start, I will say that other supervisors will feel differently. While this pertains to me, and I don’t think it is completely unusual, don’t assume faculty members are a monolith. However, 19 out of 20 grad-school applicant emails I receive can’t be considered, and many are mere spam that won’t even get an acknowledgment.

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Human factors in amusement rides and attractions

Virtual visit to Queen’s U
Themed Entertainment Development Team (QTEDT)

Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.

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First Fridays at Fusion Studio (October 2023)

All those pandemic virtual skills came in handy to visit and present to the Purdue University Fusion Studio for their “First Friday” (Zoom) session in October 2023, talking about participation in amusement attractions and lessons for eligibility analysis and inclusive design of immersive entertainment using human factors engineering (and what your audience with disabilities would like to know!) Check this lecture series if you are interested in technology and entertainment.

Thrill Design Competition

The competition originally known as the “Ryerson Invitational Thrill Design Competition” was renamed with the renaming of the University, and is now known as the Toronto Metropolitan University Thrill Design Competition. In addition, in 2022, we introduced an Open Qualifying (OQ) competition in the summer, to select teams for invitation to the TMU Thrill Design Invitational, taking place at Universal Orlando Resort.

Photo shows TMTDI competitors at Universal's Rising Star venue standing on stage and in front of the stage. Some teams are clustered together wearing team polos. A large monitor displaying a competition background slide appears in the middle of the group.
TMTDI competitors and production team, 2022
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Thrill Club project demo

Shortly after the Thrill Club began developing a scale model dark ride for its future activities, we had the opportunity to offer a demonstration for an audience of amusement ride safety inspectors, owners, and others at the annual TSSA Ride Safety Seminar in Niagara Falls. A smaller scale first draft model was quickly completed and packed for transport! Club president Jake Fulton attended the safety seminar and enjoyed great professional networking and continuing education hours as well.

Jake Fulton in dark hoodie and conference name tag, stands next to small scale model of a tracked ride, discussing it with four males in similar apparel. Other event participants are seen in the background, in the foyer of a conference seminar room.