Health & Safety - What you need to know when hiring inflatable party items in Bedford.

Sundorne Bouncy Castles has been providing inflatables, bouncy castles, rodeo bulls and other fun party items to Bedford and surrounding areas for 20 years and we provide ourselves on not only supplying great bouncy fun, but great SAFE bouncy fun.

As well as working with private individuals who are hiring items like combi-castles, inflatable slides and garden games, we also regularly work with local authorities, schools and corporate clients who hire large items like our assault courses, unclimbable ladder and bungee runs. Safety is always our number 1 priority when hiring to any of our customers.

For schools, businesses, local authorities and councils we have readily available documentation such as insurance certificates and risk assessments to download.

Sundorne Bouncy Castles closely follow the safe practices and guidelines set out by the health and safety executive who have specific guidance for the installation and use of inflatable play equipment.

Whilst bouncy castles and inflatables can provide hours of hilarious fun, they can also be dangerous if not setup and operated correctly. Therefore we ensure all of our equipment (where applicable) is setup in accordance with BS EN 14960. This act also details how the inflatables should be manufactured, annually tested and installed. We always ensure our equipment is manufactured to the rigorous standards detailed by BS EN 14960 and only ever buy from manufacturers who comply with these rules/regulations.

Inflatable Testing

It is a requirement of both the HSE and our insurance company to ensure that our equipment is tested to comply with all current legislation. This test is like an MOT for a vehicle and gives peace of mind that the equipment is still structurally sound but that it also complies with ever changing and improving standards in manufacturing.

On occasions, legislation is updated to better improve the safety of castles and as such, some castles no longer comply with these high standards. If this occurs, we immediately remove the inflatable from hire.

There are 2 testing bodies which are recognised by the HSE, these are PIPA and ADIPS. Here at Sundorne Bouncy Castles, we have our inflatables tested under the PIPA scheme as this allows us to give complete transparency on our website with linking to the PIPA database. You are able to readily view and download all of our testing.

It is important to note that new inflatables come with an initial 12 month test from the manufacturers and therefore may not display a test on our website, although some manufacturers will include an initial PIPA test from new.

Risk Assessments

The HSE states that as a business, we have an obligation to:

  • identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards)
  • decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk)
  • take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn't possible, control the risk

As such, we have risk assessments in place for all of our inflatables and bouncy castles. We are regularly asked for these when providing bouncy castles to local councils and schools. To make it easy for everybody, we have all of our risk assessments available to view and download on our website: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD RISK ASSESSMENTS

When we deliver to private individuals, we conduct a visual risk assessment upon arrival. We will assess upon arrival factors including:

  • Safe access to where the item is to be located (for our staff)
  • The location where the castle is to be erected - is it suitable?
  • Where will be able to source power from and how we can lay a cable without adding trip hazards?
  • Weather conditions
  • Other factors that could affect the safe use after setup

Public Liability Insurance

You may be surprised to learn that having public liability insurance is not a legal requirement. However, to protect both yourselves and our business you can be assured that we have all of our equipment insured, which includes public liability insurance.

Our public liability insurance has a 5 million pound indemnity which is that standard expected by all the local authorities and schools with whom we regularly work with. Our insurance is provided by an industry leading broker and our insurance documentation is readily available for you to download - CLICK HERE FOR OUR INSURANCE DOCUMENTS

Electrical Testing (P.A.T)

The HSE says: The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require that any electrical equipment that has the potential to cause injury is maintained in a safe condition. However, the Regulations do not specify what needs to be done, by whom or how frequently (ie they don't make inspection or testing of electrical appliances a legal requirement, nor do they make it a legal requirement to undertake this annually).

All of our electrical equipment is visually checked upon setup at all events to ensure no damage or exposed wires which could cause injury. In addition, all of our electrical equipment is P.A.T tested (Portable Appliance Tested) annually. A lot of venues, in addition to insurance documents, will ask to see a copy of our P.A.T testing certificates. These are readily available to view/download: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD P.A.T CERTIFICATION.

Other Safety Measures - Including Wind Speed Limitations

Bouncy castles were invented in the late 1950's and in their early days were little more than an air-bed/pillow with a roof. Since then, technology, materials, knowledge and styles have dramatically improved. We now have units which are painstakingly designed to ensure safety of the users is the number one priority, before colour and style is then considered.

When we hire a bouncy castle or inflatable to you we will conduct a visual risk assessment upon arrival to ensure it is setup in the best location for its use - please note that this may not be where you initially intended, but our delivery staffs' decision is final.

During setup our delivery drivers will erect the castle and carry out a visual check of the item to ensure there are no faults/damage which could effect your use and safety.

Checks include:

  • Setup area clear of debris and/or sharp objects
  • Inflatable(s) are stable and on level ground.
  • Inflatable(s) have been suitably anchored to the ground.
  • Blower(s) are securely attached & a safe distance from the equipment.
  • Electrical cords are in good working order.
  • There are no visible tears, rips or seams to the inflatable.
  • Equipment left fully inflated and in working order.

After setup we will ask for a nominated responsible adult who we can take through our safety brief. This is normally the lead name on the booking. During our safety brief we will inform you of everything you need to know, including how to inflate/deflate the castle and it's safe use.

Wind Speeds & Weather

Bright, hot sunny days don't necessarily mean bouncy castle weather!

It's hard to believe and harder to accept when you've a household full of excited children, but, on occasions we do have to cancel on sunny days. The reason for needing to cancel would be wind-speed related.

The biggest factor for outdoor hires is wind-speed. The limit which we can setup a castle outdoors is 24mph. This figure includes both wind and gust speeds. Force 5 on the Beaufort Scale.

We will use the met-office as a guide. If the predicted speeds are well in excess of the limit of 24mph then we will use this to make a decision as to whether we can proceed. If the windspeeds are near the limit, we will discuss options with you which may include making a site visit to assess.

During your hire, we will leave you with an anemometer which is a device used to measure wind-speed, along with a wind-speed recording sheet to enable you to note trends in the wind-speed. If the limit is reached the advice is to turn off the inflatable until a time where the readings are back below 24mph.

If the weather is wet or likely to be wet, we will typically take the decision to postpone/cancel the booking as the inflatable will become wet and slippery causing a safety hazard to users. In situations where we have to cancel/postpone due to poor weather a full refund of the booking fee will be paid back to you.

We will communicate with you in the days leading up to your booking if there is a potential for weather to cause an issue.

0