Health & Safety for Bouncy Castles
Here at AirMaxx Events, we take our obligations to your Health & Safety with the upmost of care and importance. We firmly believe that Health & Safety should be approached with absolute transparency, uncomplex but unequivocally effective. Approaching Health & Safety shouldn't require you to jump through hoops or speed your way to a masters equivalent of this industry, after all, that is our job.
Your safety is paramount to us and our record is second-to-none; we take every safety precaution required of us and more.
All our equipment is tested annually or sooner where required. You will find copies of our test certificates throughout our website attached to each item under tab 'TESTS'. Risk Assessments and Method Statements are always to hand with every piece of equipment we provide. We use only the very best equipment and we are the only company to be backed and recommended by leading UK & European inflatable manufacturer's.
For full regulations on health and safety in the inflatables industry, please view
http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/fairgrounds/inflatables.htm
https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/search-results/?q=BS%2014960
https://www.playinspectors.com/index.php/inspector?q=3
https://www.pipa.org.uk/
What can the Health & Safety Executive Do?
This statement has just been released by the Health & Safety Executive (Dec 2018)
Operators of inflatable play equipment are reminded to:
• follow HSE’s freely available http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertain…/fairgrounds/inflatables.htm
• make sure that their device or devices meet the standards set out in https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/search-results/?q=BS%2014960
Operators unable to comply with the guidance or the British Standard should not operate their inflatable play equipment device or devices.
HSE will take strong enforcement action where those operating devices are not following the standards outlined in our guidance.
Insurance
AirMaxx is covered by £10 million Public Liability Insurance. Our insurers are a UK-based company which is regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Most Local Authorities will now only accept policies that are underwritten by UK companies.
Public Liability Insurance must also be held by the hire company to work at any school, local authority hall, playgroup, public hall, RAF or any MOD property. For these venues, £10 million Public Liability Insurance is usually the lowest grade requirement that is accepted in most circumstances, but sometimes it is more. Therefore we suggest if you are asking for varied quotations, to 'know your venue and know your hirer'.
We are also able to accommodate 'air side' on Military area's with our £50 million Public Liability Insurance at request.
Safety Testing Under PIPA/RPII
The PIPA testing scheme for inflatables is, in simple terms, the same principle as an annual MOT test for a car. Required by law, a bouncy castle and most other inflatable structures are required to undergo a series of safety tests. This can include technical components such as air pressure and the flammability of the inflatable material, to much obvious components such as the overall condition and general maintenance of the inflatable.
The HSE directive concludes that only a competent person must carry out the testing. PIPA and ADIPS are the only recognized testing schemes by HSE and as such, a competent person should be either PIPA or ADIPS registered.
RPII qualified inspectors can carry out PIPA testing and currently only inflatables that can be bounced or slid upon are covered by the PIPA scheme. Inflatables such as Bungee Runs and Gladiator Jousts will carry a certificate from an RPII inspector because they currently do not fall under the PIPA scheme.
The Health & Safety Executive issued the following statement to avoid confusion.
'HSE doesn't support individual inspectors, it publicly supports the PIPA scheme. HSE supports the scheme because it knows and agrees with the criteria it applies to the selection and monitoring of the inspectors and the inspection standards it seeks to uphold. The word 'support' is important here, it has a specific meaning that is different to recognize. None of this means that a non PIPA inspector is more or less competent than a PIPA inspector. HSE accept though that an operator choosing someone from the PIPA register has complied with their duty to pick a competent person. If they go elsewhere they will be expected to conduct due diligence on that person and that would mean checking more than just the RPII ticket.'
After each annual inspection and assuming a successful PASS is achieved, our inflatables are issued a PIPA certificate together with a circular blue disk displaying a serial number that is to be mounted onto the inflatable structure. This serial number allows you to check the history of the inflatable by processing the serial number through the PIPA website.
We absolutely, without a doubt recommend that you ascertain that such checks and testing are being carried out regardless of the company you decide to choose.
For more information and to check a serial number, visit the PIPA website >
Note that PIPA testing currently only applies to bouncy castles, slides, obstacle courses and other inflatables that can be bounced on. Therefore, it is quite acceptable that some inflatables not falling under this category are currently exempt. If you are unsure, call our team whom can provide clarification on this matter.
Crash Mats
Crash mats MUST be supplied with all Bouncy Castles and Slides that are to be erected on hard surfaces. On softer surfaces such as Grass crash mats are not always necessary. All reputable firms are aware that mats are compulsory in these conditions and provision of these should not be used as a selling aid.
Sandbags/Pegs
Dangers can arise when inflatable equipment is not properly secured. The requirement set out in BS EN 14960:2013 states that bouncy castles and inflatables must be anchored to the ground with the use of industry standard and approved stakes. Where this is not possible, for example indoors, sandbags can be attached to anchor points where necessary.
OUTDOOR VENUES WITH HARD STANDING SURFACES has its own limitations.
The regulations state that outdoors on a hard surface and where stakes can not be used, each anchor point on the inflatable has to be able to withstand a force of 1600n. This equates to 163KG of weight on each anchor point, and this equates to around 1.2 tonnes of total weight. It is impractical for us to transport enough sandbags to meet this requirement.
Because of this, we are one of a few hirers in the UK to adopt our 'drill and bolt' system (venue permitting) to safely overcome this. For further information on this option, please refer to the individual item page on our website or call our team with any questions you may have.
Electrical Safety
All our electrical leads are fitted with RCD power breakers. We also use outdoor approved 3 pin plugs, sockets and connectors. For larger equipment, a power conditioner will be used. These are all essential for safe use of the equipment.
First Aid
Our teams leaders and site supervisors have completed first aid training provided by The St John's Ambulance Service. We also comply with "Best Practice" which is required under the Health & Safety at work act 1974.