I'm after information on whether there is a specific BS/regulation/COP or such on the need for safety casters on pianos (to prevent over tipping) which need to be moved, such as in schools or churches? I've been told that it is 'the law' for schools to have them, and although I thoroughly agree with the need for them, it would undoubtedly help my case if I could cite an official publication rather than 'industry acknowledged standard', foreseeable risk and practicable means.... Many thanks in advance

mootoppers Though I worked mostly with schools during my previous lengthy employment, I'm not aware of the any regulations or British Standards about safety castors for pianos in schools or anywhere else - but am happy to be corrected. Contrary to what some forum users seem to think, there are some items and situations in workplaces - and life generally - which aren't the subjects of specific legislation or British Standards. My risk assessment guidance for my former employer's schools included piano moving as one of the common topics for assessment and management within each school. It mentioned that upright pianos can be heavy and awkward to move, and therefore consideration should be given to stability, using more than adult to push/pull them, keeping castors lubricated and checked and also ensuring that floors don't contain defects which could cause a piano to topple while being moved. Some schools, sometimes with advice from their piano tuners, replaced old standard castors with ones fitted to a slightly protruding metal frame to increase the wheelbase and stability of their pianos.

The general non-specific requirements of the 1974 HSW Act include the provision and maintenance of safe equipment in workplaces, and thus include pianos in schools. Therefore, piano tuners and others who say that "the law" requires pianos to be safe and stable could be technically correct. What some of them might not be able to do is say which part/s of "the law" are involved. I don't know of any instances of upright pianos toppling over, whether causing injury or not, but think such incidents are foreseeable in view of the weights and dimensions of such pianos, especially older ones which tend to be tall in relation to their minimum base dimensions. Hopefully, other forum users who know of such incidents can tell us of them. Also, some schools might well have older pianos which have been donated, e.g. by parents, and weren't intended to be moved about in schools. By contrast, newer pianos or ones intended for schools tend to be lower in height (perhaps so that teachers playing them can see pupils beyond) and probably have a lower centre of gravity. On a personal note I've perhaps been especially aware of stability safety issues regarding various work-related items since investigating a fatal accident during my early years with HSE. It involved a heavy "solids squeezing" machine mounted on a tall frame with castors which toppled on an uneven floor at a sewage works and killed an employee who was moving it. The investigation led to a prosecution of the sizeable company which made and supplied the machine on the grounds that its designers and engineers should have realised that it was top heavy and posed a foreseeable risk of causing serious injury when moved. On a much wider note I guess that older forum users who studied O-Level physics as I did while at school will be familiar with stability and centre of gravity as basic topics. However, can younger forum users or those with kids at school confirm whether or not GCSE courses include these topics? If not, this might perhaps make it harder nowadays for people at work to grasp why stability is so important for equipment such as tower scaffolds and telescopic access platforms.

Many thanks Ron and Graham - much appreciated.

jwk - no arguments from me on those points. My other half still vividly remembers being asked as a 17 year old student to wait in for the 'men who had bought the piano' and help them take the piano down the 3 garden steps to the road. The men gave over their money for the piano and my husband offered/tried to persuade them to accept his help for the 'really, really heavy piano'. The gentlemen, shall we say, were rather dismissive of his offer (being teenage he assumed...they should have looked past it to see the six foot rugby player!) and proceeded to try it themselves. Unfortunately momentum took over and it then went shooting down the steps, tipped over and ended up in several pieces on the pavement. I don't believe they commented as they picked everything up and put it in the van....

I know this is an old thread, so I am sorry for a late response. But as it's a genuine safety concern, I wanted to make a some observations, from working with pianos for years. One person comments here on upright pianos having a low centre of gravity. Another refers to not having ever encountered a case of a toppling piano. I'd like to comment on those two things, and to add some general observations. In 2014 I came across two cases of toppled pianos within a space of six months, and I've known of other instances in the past. The second of the two in 2014 happened, curiously, within the few days when I was waiting for safety Rear Toe castors to arrive, which I had ordered for that very piano. I have written this up, with photographs, on the relevant page of my website and will give the link in a minute. It was in a church community hall used by various community groups, and in fact it fell on the minister's foot, though happily he seems to have been wearing sturdy shoes. Upright pianos do NOT have a low centre of gravity. Next time you are beside one - and making sure you have someone else with you - try this: Simply push the piano at its front top edge (assuming it is not against a wall). See what happens! The second person should be alert to catch and stop it. (This is assuming it is not already fitted with Rear Toe Safety Castors in which case it will not topple). In school halls and community halls used by scouts, Boys Brigade etc, you have eager lads willing to demonstrate their strength and helpfulness, but without necessarily knowing what they are doing. It is really very easy for them to topple a piano. An upright piano is extremely heavy and if a young child got in the way, could cause serious injury in falling. Like others here, I'm not aware on any piece of legislation specific to pianos, but I am sure plenty of regulations concerning the 'Duty of Care' could be applied. There are two kinds of safety castor arrangement for upright pianos: Rear Toe Castor sets (two plain sturdy front castors and two on heavy brackets for the back), and Cradle Bracket Castors. Both types are shown on my web site. The Rear Toe Castor sets are for traditional style piano case with front legs and 'feet'. Cradle Bracket Castors are for smaller pianos having plain fronts without legs and feet. It is important to use the right type of castor. Cradle Bracket Castors sometimes get inappropriately fitted to larger uprights with legs (I am thinking of new pianos in two schools near me) and they are really not suitable for this. Barrie Heaton, who also has info on his website and who supplies castors, comments on this, as I do on my site. Tradtional style pianos with Cradle Bracket Castors fitted do not move well and are wobbly in playing. There is an unfortunate tendency for willing local volunteers to source castors of some kind from local hardware shops, and these are not suitable. They don't work well and are dangerous on pianos. It has really GOT to be 'proper' piano safety ccastors or the correct type. They are expensive, but so might be a lawsuit. For fitting, I an other technicians use an Uptight Piano Tilter, which enables one operators to put the piano on its back safely (see pics). Another aspect to having the correct castors, is that it avoids damage to high quality flooring. Often the original castors on a piano are mean little steel things, and as well as the risk of toppling, the are hard to actually move, and they mark the floor. Anyway, for a fairly comprehensive and well-illustrated discussion of all this, go to http://www.davidboyce.co.uk/piano-castors.php

Graham, Ron etc. are correct and such day to day items are almost always missed, can be very hazardous and are always managed [e.g. moved etc.] by amateurs. Additionally PUWER specifically applies as its work equipment when supplied for work; and yep we are always learning