At Europa-Park in Rust near Freiburg, Germany, fastening expert fischer is testing its Construction Monitoring solution in a pilot operation. Five fastenings on the seat consoles of the roller coaster “blue fire Megacoaster” were supplemented with SensorBolts, which feature integrated force measurement and transmission technology. This allows the products to be tested in pilot use under very demanding operating conditions. The roller coaster seat fastenings are subjected to repeatedly high forces. If the fischer Construction Monitoring solution proves reliable in this project, it can future expand Europa-Park's safety concept.
Five seat fastenings of one train of the roller coaster “blue fire Megacoaster” at Europa-Park were successfully supplemented with SensorBolts in close coordination with TÜV Süd. Each is equipped with a SensorNode, which securely transmits the measurement values from the screws to a gateway installed at Europa-Park. From there, the data is end-to-end encrypted into a cloud storage and made accessible via a customer-specific dashboard.
The SensorBolts allow continuous monitoring and thereby permanently guarantee the reliability of the screw connections on the seat consoles. Plant operators can conveniently view the condition of the fastening points at any time via PC or smartphone. With the products SensorBolt and SensorNode in the pre-series stage, the fastening expert fischer is conducting a demanding suitability test here. Europa-Park is testing the pioneering solution for its practical suitability.
Daniel Machauer, Project Manager at fischer Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH, explains: „Our SensorBolts continuously monitor the bolting points of the seat consoles at any time, even remotely, and collect precise data on their condition. The goal is to accurately and permanently measure the forces arising from recurring loads, which especially affect the connections through passengers and high G-forces.“
The integration of our SensorBolts into security concepts enables even more targeted planning of maintenance measures.
Felix Düllo, Product Manager at fischer Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH, emphasizes: "The integration of our SensorBolts into safety concepts enables even more targeted planning of maintenance measures. This reduces downtime and costs – while simultaneously improving the already high safety requirements and the long service life of the systems."
The pilot project at Europa-Park emerged following a successful product presentation, where the advantages of fischer sensor technology were convincing. Daniel Machauer explains: "We are very pleased that Europa-Park chose to pilot our sensor innovation. The high quality, innovative technology, and the ability to monitor safety-relevant connections in real time spoke in favor of our fischer Construction Monitoring."
“Our innovation combines an intuitive monitoring application with strong, sensor-integrated fasteners in a clever way,” emphasizes Martin Neumann. “The condition of fastening points can be easily monitored anytime via PC or smartphone – this increases maintenance efficiency, enables cost savings, enhances safety, reduces downtime, and extends the service life of buildings and facilities. We look forward to continuing to prove the advantages of our Construction Monitoring solution in practice – and to unlocking many more applications in pilot deployments.”
