SAM Magazine—Seven Springs, Pa., July 2, 2024—Pennsylvania Ski Areas Association (PSAA) held its biannual lift maintenance seminar at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, Pa., June 25-26, 2024. 

Attendance from Pennsylvania ski areas is near 100 percent for the program, which stresses hands-on training. Participation is free for employees of Pennsylvania ski areas, while out-of-state personnel may attend for a small fee. 

Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety (B.O.I.S) assistant director Joe Marchioni oversees licensing and inspections for all Pennsylvania ski areas, and he stresses that it is of the upmost importance for resort management to provide structured training for their lift maintenance personnel. This is also a requirement of ANSI B77.1. 

Joe Marchioni, deputy director of B.O.I.S., presenting an award of appreciation to Linda Irvin, who is retiring after 32 years at the helm of PSAA.The PSAA program, conceived by Marchioni and Blue Mountain, Pa., GM Jim Dailey, offers practical lift maintenance education that incorporates operational and maintenance manuals, PPE and its proper use, changes to the ANSI B77.1 standard, and tools to foster a working relationship with peers across the industry and the Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to ensure public safety. Additionally, every ski area attending receives the most recent copy of ANSI B77 and a rigging manual, courtesy of PSAA.

The class structure for the seminar is a little different from other lift maintenance programs in that every student is required to attend every class that is offered. Classes offered this year are: 

• Workplace safety and rescue—equipment uses
• EPU/APU—avoiding throwing ropes
• Conveyor work—motor removal and installation
• Towers—maintenance and alignment
• Chair inspections, grips, and rebuilds
• Wire rope and cable
• Corrosion—chairs and structures
• Electrical—beginner, intermediate, and advanced trouble shooting
• General roundtable sessions on chair migration, corrosion, and contacting resources outside your in-house expertise

PSAA is a Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry recognized provider of continuing education for certified individuals working in the ropeway industry in Pennsylvania. 

The next seminar will be held at Camelback, Pa., Aug. 27-28, 2024.

Report by Sam Geise.