10 May 18 - Bouncy Castle & Inflatable Testing, The Law

When a Company, organisation or individual hires any equipment they become subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

This Act places a duty of care on everyone involved in the transaction / hire. This means that the operator, the operator's employees, the hirer, the hirer's employees and the owner or manager of the premises / location where the equipment will be used should do everything possible to ensure its safe use at all times.

In addition, Provision and Use of Play Equipment Regulations (PUWER) require that all work equipment and this includes inflatable play, must be tested by a "competent person" on a regular basis (usually every 12 months). Inspection by a "competent person" prior to first use and annually thereafter satisfies the provision that the equipment is suitable and safe for its intended use.

A competent person is someone who has experience in the operation / manufacture of inflatable devices and who can demonstrate this "competence" under scrutiny of the Law.

All inflatables purchased by Bounce & Party have been tested prior to its purchase and annually thereafter. Our bouncy castles have been tested and inspected by a registered RPII inspector who carries out an in-depth inspection, test and ensures that our bouncy castles are safe to use in accordance with the PIPA. scheme which is endorsed by the Health and Safety Executive. All of our bouncy castles are PIPA tagged and test certificates available to view and download from the PIPA website or from the Health and Safety section of our website.

The P.I.P.A scheme involves more than 52 separate safety checks and is effectively an annual "MOT" for inflatable play equipment.

A brief outline of these checks are below:

• Height of walls in relation to user height.
• Measurement of the pressure of air inside the inflatable whilst the fan is running.
• Measurement of fall off height.
• Depth and height of step in relation to the bouncing surface.
• Blower size and suitability and electrical PAT Test.
• Suitability of anchorage and state of repair.
• Stitch lines.
• Fire retardancy.
• Air loss points.
• Entrapment points.

In addition to the above, All electrical items that are hired out must also be PAT tested every 12 months.

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