Health & Safety Issues

Fairground ride failure

 On Wednesday 10 May 06, an employee died whilst at work at a theme park near Milton Keynes. HSE is currently investigating the incident.

New guidelines for off-road motorcycle facilities

 The HSE welcomes and supports the manner in which the Auto-Cycle Union has worked in partnership with operators and others to produce the 'Best Practice Guidelines' for off-road facilities and venues and for those who operate and manage any location where non-competitive motorcycle activities take place. The guidance is designed to ensure that those who operate and manage such facilities can focus on the need for competence in the management of safety in their facilities, based on the implementation of sensible control measures following thorough risk assessment of the activities that take place. HSE recognises that those who operate motorcycling facilities are best placed to identify and make safe these facilities by working with those who use the facilities, other operators and industry associations. The HSE commends these guidelines and hopes that they will assist the industry to improve standards of safety based on assessment of risk of the venues and the activities that take place there. This is an important step for the industry in ensuring that the safety standards they set are maintained and improved, and the image and credibility of the activity is upheld.

Inspecting bouncy castles and other inflatables

 HSE has recently been asked to comment on inspection schemes for play inflatables, more usually called bouncy castles or bouncy slides.
Currently, HSE supports the work of two inspection schemes, namely ADIPS and PIPA. Both of these are independent voluntary schemes, funded and run by industry members. While compliance can be achieved using other equally effective means, HSE is content that when an operator or other dutyholder has their inflatable devices examined by an inspector who is registered with either of these schemes, they will normally have done enough to comply with the relevant part of their duties under Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
 The fundamental precept that underpins both schemes is that they require the examination of an amusement device to be carried out by an independently accredited and registered examiner, who can only be registered when they have provided the registration body with evidence of their competence. In addition, the PIPA scheme requires that anyone who wishes to inspect devices as part of the scheme be verified as competent by the Register of Play Inspectors International. It does not automatically follow that because someone has been involved in the business of hiring inflatable amusement devices for a number of years, they can be considered as competent to carry out a thorough examination of a device.
HSE cannot support schemes that risk encouraging any reduction in the high standards of inspection currently achieved, as this would lead to confusion for both enforcing authorities and members of the public.

The new Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005

 The Regulations came into force on 6 April 2006, with a two year transitional period for the music and entertainment industry until 6 April 2008.