Why Your Electrical Equipment MUST Be PAT Tested
July 31, 2009 by funfactor
The Law states that it is your responsibility to make sure that all items you hire are safe. PAT testing (Portable Appliance Test) is now law for all electrical items that a business owns which are used by the public, customers, contractors and employees etc.
Put simply if your equipment is not PAT Tested and someone has an accident resulting from a faulty electrical item then you can end up in serious trouble - by PAT testing you cover yourselves, have peace of mind that the equipment is safe and no harm will come to any users. In many cases you will not be able to rent out inflatables at some client’s premises (possibly council, hotel, corporate etc) unless your equipment has a valid PAT test certificate.
So if you don’t have your items PAT tested and an accident happens, it will be very likely you would be prosecuted in court and possibly fined. Your insurance would not normally cover this as it would have been neglect not to have had the item tested. In the worse case you could be fined very severely which could result in you losing your home, car, etc.
The PAT testing should be carried out at least once a year.
The items that need to be tested are basically any item that has a plug, so for bouncy castle operators it would include all fans, extension leads, and any other electrical items that you use.
For the small price of a yearly PAT test, is it worth not to get it done!
The Law For Operators Of Inflatables
July 31, 2009 by funfactor
The law for operators of inflatables
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. This means that the operator, the operator’s employees, the hirer, the hirer’s employees and the owner or manager of the premises should do everything possible to ensure the safe use of the equipment.
In addition Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) require that all work equipment, and that includes inflatable play, must be tested by a competent person regularly (usually once a year).
PIPA helps operators conform with the law by defining a ‘competent person’ as one who has passed a specialised examination and is registered with the RPII.
Inspection by a competent person prior to first use and annually thereafter provides fundamental confidence in the equipment itself, safe operation is not verified by PIPA. For that users and operators should refer to EIS7 which was issued by the HSE as explanatory guidelines for the industry and expanded on the 1974 Act in relation to inflatable play equipment. The latest version of EIS7 can be downloaded from: http://www.pipa.org.uk/publicBestPractice.pdf This document could be used as a measure of “Best Practice” in any legal proceedings.
PIPA is one of only two inspection schemes recognised by the HSE (The other is ADIPS)
Operators using other testing schemes or methods may be required to demonstrate how such procedures equal or better the accepted best practice. Testers with no formal qualifications, however well experienced, would probably not be able to satisfy a court of their competence.
BS EN 14960
In March 2007 the BSI finally published the long awaited European standard for inflatable play equipment.
For some time before that PIPA used the draft standard as the benchmark for inspections. The published standard differs from the draft in some detail only so is now adopted by the scheme. Inspectors will use discretion where these diferences apply and equipment or designs have been in use prior to publication of the standard.
The published standard is subject to copyright so cannot be made available from this site (as was the draft), it can only be purchased through BSI see http://www.bsonline.bsi-global.com/server/index.jsp (opens in new window)
Scope
Not all inflatable play devices are covered by the standard and therefore PIPA.
For example such devices as:
- Devices classified as toys
- Devices designed for use in pools
- Privately owned devices not hired out for reward
are not included
Information from PIPA website at: www.pipa.org.uk
TIPE- The Inflatable Play Enterprise
July 30, 2009 by funfactor
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Bouncy Castle Network
July 29, 2009 by admin
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