Whilst Crown Bouncy Castles are fantastic fun, Health and Safety comes first!

Here at Crown Castles we pride our selves on service excellence but also have a vested care about the health and well being of our staff, our customers and ultimately the users who enjoy our equipment. This isn't unusual and encompasses our duty as a responsible hire company to obey the Health and Safety at work Act 1974. As part of this responsibility, it is our duty to not only supply equipment which is safe but also communicate the guidance provided by the Health and Safety Executive so that our customers are fully aware of their responsibilities. Therefore, we recommend that any potential hire customer, event organiser or manager takes the time to read and carefully consider the information provided herein with.

The Standard for Bouncy Castles and Inflatable Play

Bouncy Castles, Slides, Obstacle Courses, Gladiators, Disco Domes and other items of inflatable play equipment are available in many different designs, sizes and materials. They are provided by a large number of suppliers in the UK (both old and new), not to mention the large number of imports and also the liquidity of the second hand bouncy castle market in Europe. Add to the mix a number of cheap imitation products available in China and further afield within Asia and you can imagine the vast variation in quality and safety standards.

However, regardless of the quality of construction, the age of the bouncy castle under consideration and the manufacturer from which the unit originated; any bouncy castle used for the purposes of hire and reward should conform to British Standard (BS EN 14960) and if it has, there should be a label on it to say so. As the HSE state themselves, "things are generally cheap for good reason!", so beware of any inflatable that isn't manufactured in the UK or doesn't conform to EN 14960 :2013.

How do I know that the Bouncy Castle I've ordered is fit for purpose?

This is the grey area when it comes to Bouncy Castle hire in the UK as you generally don't know until your Bouncy Castle has arrived! Even if it was manufactured to EN 14960, you can't be sure that the appropriate steps have been taken to mitigate factors relating to any wear and tear or change in legislation. HSE Guidelines suggest that each and every Bouncy Castle should be subject to an annual inspection in much the same way as a car would pass an MOT. However, the pertinent question is: what defines a competent person and how do you police the testing and inspection of Bouncy Castles from those who have a vested interest in the need to pass such items?

At Crown Castles, we recognise the need to involve an external examiner who can be considered a 'Competent Person' and therefore adopt the Pertexa Inflatable Play Accreditation (P.I.P.A) inspection scheme. This scheme has been introduced to better define all competent persons as those who have passed a specialised examination and who are registered within the Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII). In doing so, our customers can rest assured that all of our equipment is manufactured and maintained to British Standards whilst our company is compliant to The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations Act 1998 (PUWER).

What are my legal requirements? (Dispelling the PIPA Myth)

In the UK, PUWER is the law and so every hire company must be able to demonstrate compliance with the law in the form of annual inspection certificates. This must be conducted by a competent person and not merely individual who is considered an Bouncy Castle Company employee. A Director of a bouncy castle company who has years of experience in the industry, having travelled around numerous shows and installed hundreds of items might consider themselves competent. However, given the relative lack of experience across the industry as a whole, it would be foolish to consider any single bouncy castle owner a competent person. For us at Crown Castles, this is where P.I.P.A comes in handy as they define, record and manage the use of competent persons within an approved framework which is visible to the ultimate user. Nevertheless, P.I.P.A is not the law and if a bouncy castle company can show that their equipment has been inspected by an approved person on an annual basis without bias then this is absolutely fine.

At Crown Castles, we adopt the P.I.P.A scheme to provide visibility and transparency for our customers. However, our competent persons are also involved in the conduct of regular safety checks, on site risk assessments and regular health and safety reviews. We've been involved in the inflatable play industry for years now and are capable of insuring that the items we hire are correctly set-up and hired with the right advice when it comes to assessing risk. We train our staff who are competent, and offer a full safety debrief face-to-face at the start of each hire. As an equipment hire company we believe that we have a duty of care when it comes to renting our bouncy castles. To find out more about what we do to reduce the risk of injury to our customers and prevent harm in the workplace for our please have a look some of the documents attached. Alternatively, please contact our current Health and Safety representative Tom Beattie.

HEALTH AND SAFETY.pdf

Health and Safety includes everyone

Although we take steps to reduce the risk associated with inflatable hire and offer advice relating to the safe operation of our equipment. Our customers also have a duty of care when it comes to supervising equipment and ensuring that our Terms and Conditions are fully understood prior to any hire. Many accidents that occur on Bouncy Castles, Inflatable Play equipment and Marquees can be attributed to negligence or ignorance by the customer. For Example, incidents that occur as a result of: childish or over- boisterous behavior, failure to follow the operator's instructions, allowing larger participants to use the bouncy castle with smaller participants, tampering with the operator's installation/ removal of ground anchors and lack of supervision will be deemed the responsibility of the hirer and will render any insurance as void. To avoid any accidents and ensure the safety of our users, we have also attached a number of graphics user instructions which you will receive on delivery of your item. These will be accompanied with a copy of our disclaimer which clearly states the hirers and users responsibilities. A copy of this documents is provided below. Please read these instructions and advise us if you have any questions on or before your hire.

Bouncy Castle Hire Disclaimer

biha-safety-guide-Graphic.jpg

Zero harm policy and near miss reports

At Crown Castles we are proud of our health and safety record to date. This is why we employ an accident prevention policy for customer and employees alike. We encourage our employees to give feedback regarding their own well being at work and always record near miss reports to improve the way in which we manage risk going forward. This applies to any customer who has hired from us also. Therefore, if you witness any 'near miss' during the hire of any piece of equipment provided by Crown Castles, please report this to us so that we can reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future.

Risk Assessments & Insurance

At Crown Castles, our staff are trained in the setup, installation and and maintenance our equipment. We will advise of any potential hazards as and when we see fit. However, every customer should also conduct their own risk assessment prior to the hire to ensure that all possible measures have been taken where appropriate. For example, you may wish to designate a responsible adult to ensure that there is a supervisor present for the duration of hire. Alternatively, you may wish to check the site for any obstructive hazards which can be removed prior to installation. Subject to a satisfactory risk assessment, our equipment will be covered with upto £5m public liability insurance. Our cover note is provided below along with a copy of our Terms and Conditions of hire.

rodeo-bull-safety-information-Rodeo.pdf

bungee-run-safety-information-Risk-Assessment.pdf

pillow-bash-safety-information-Pillow-Bash.pdf

gladiator-duel-safety-information-Gladiators.pdf

large-platform-unit-safety-information-risk-assessment.pdf

assault-course-safety-information-Risk-Assessment.pdf

CROWN_SCHEDULE_2017.pdf