27 September 19 - Bouncy Castle Safety And PIPA Testing

Safety is the number one priority at Bounce & Party which is why we have completed and passed the RPII Operator and Attendants course. We also ensure that all of our bouncy castles and soft play meet and exceed the necessary British Standard BS EN 14960 for the inflatable hire industry. Did you know that by law every inflatable must have an independent test once a year that must be carried out by a qualified RPII inspector, just like a car's yearly MOT.

So why is important?

The British Standard BS EN 14960 set certain guidelines to ensure the safe use of inflatables including bouncy castles. Below are the main points and ones that you will be able to look out for on your next bouncy castle hire.

• Does the bouncy castle have at least 6 anchor points? At least 6 anchor points must be used on every inflatable. The bigger the inflatable the more anchor points required. The qualified RPII inspector will make sure that the anchor points are in good condition, secure and safe. Once inflated the weight of a bouncy castle or inflatable decreases considerably which is why it is essential to secure / anchor the inflatable down properly to ensure it can not be town over or blow away.

• Have you been advised of any user height limit? The qualified RPII inspector will also take measurements of the wall height of the bouncy castle as this determines the maximum height the user should be to ensure safety.

• The inflatable should be in good condition! The qualified RPII inspector will also check for sharp edges that may cause injury to the user.

• Take a look at the stitching! The stitching on inflatables is something that has to be checked on a regular basis and the qualified RPII inspector can fail an inflatable if the stitching is not up to the correct standards.

• Make sure the blower tube is at full length and away from the inflatable! The qualified RPII inspector will measure the blower tube and ensure that it is at the right length away from the inflatable. If the castle was switched off unexpectedly this prevents a child from banging their head on the mental blower.

At Bounce & Party all of our Bouncy Castles are tagged with PIPA Tags and can all be independently verified by going to the PIPA website at www.pipa.org.uk and typing the tag number in to the search box.

• Always ask to see the inflatables safety test certificate.
• Always ask to see the companies Public Liability Insurance certificate.
• A safety briefing should be provided at the start of you hire
• For outdoor hires, 1 or 2 sand bagsis not safe!

Bounce & Party will never setup a bouncy castle in unsuitable weather conditions or on a surface that will not be safe.

Bounce & Party will never inflate a bouncy castle outdoors on:

• Decking
• Flags or loose stones
• Mono-block
• Tarmac
• Concrete
• Artificial grass

On a grass we are able to anchor the bouncy castle down using industrial metal ground stakes with a length of 380mm and a 16mm diameter. We will never use sandbags on an outdoor setup as each anchor post requires because each at least 163kgof weight on it to ensure that it is safe. This is the equivalent of using 7x 25kg sandbags on each anchor point. And remember, each bouncy castle has at least 6 anchor points. In total that would be 7 x 25kg x 6 which = 1050kg for a small bouncy castle. Unfortunately we are unable to transport this amount of weight in our van!

We only use sand bags for indoor hirers!

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