Posted By ken sinclair Hi all I work for a local authority and have 5 sports centres which have bouncy castles. With PUWER in mind, are there any examinations/tests we should be conducting under these regulations with respect to this piece of equipment? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Posted By jom Ken, A few years ago in South Australia a bouncy castle flipped in windy conditions, threw the children all over and one was killed. There must have been some coroner's recommendation come out of that. John.

Posted By Saracen11 Hi Ken, (again) I’ve dug out some stuff I have on this. Imagine you need to check the equipment at intervals similar to a scaffold tower i.e. after first installation, following bad weather, an examination after a set period of time, and a daily inspection. You’ll need to look for signs of visual damage e.g. Cuts, tears, rips, frayed areas, worn stitching. You’ll need to check daily that the equipment if securely anchored to the ground and said anchorage points don’t protrude (I think this depends on the size and if it’s outside – following on from the previous post). You’ll need to monitor the use of the equipment in terms of the size, weight, height of users. Prohibit adult use (except from an emergency child extraction). Remember your insurance and First Aid arrangements! Have a regime for cleaning up bodily spillages i.e. vomit and ensure your cleaning products are compatible with the material of the item. Ban the wearing of jewellery, have a plentiful supply of drinks (to reduce the risk of dehydration) etc… the list goes on… Regards

Posted By Linda Crossland-Clarke Hi Yes I must watch myself. The kids woke me up and have taken over the TV. I just put the PC on for some music and the IOSH site called me..... oh dear. Treat the castle like scaff, or a PAT regime - my thoughts exactly. If you look at the regime for electrical inspections of a childs ride outside a shop, then it would seem reasonable to adopt that frequency. regards Linda

Posted By Ron Impey Hi Ken, Yes, so far as I am aware Entertainment Sheet 7 has not yet been re-issued following its being withdrawn by HSE. In the interim they following may be useful. http://www.pipa.org.uk/publicBestPractice.pdf http://www.pipa.org.uk/ I have e-mailed my guidance on the H&S of bouncy castles.