Fairground Safety

The Guild requires all members owning rides to submit their equipment each year for thorough examination.

The annual inspection scheme is carried out by firms of independent engineers.

The scope of the inspection is comprehensive and can involve, in the case of certain components, non-destructive testing. If the examination proves satisfactory, the inspecting engineer issues a pass certificate of inspection. Should the ride fail the test, the engineer issues a ‘Stop’ order with immediate effect. This bans the operation of the ride until it can pass a further inspection.

The UK is currently experiencing a public health emergency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical that employers, employees, the self-employed and customers take steps to keep everyone safe.

This document is to help all workers in the UK Travelling Fairground Sector understand:

· how to work safely and keep their customers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,

· keeping as many people as possible socially distant from those they do not live with and are not part of their support bubble.

We hope it gives you freedom, within a practical framework, to think about what you need to do, in order to continue, or restart, operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We understand how important it is to work safely and support the health and well-being of workers, volunteers, customers and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic and not contribute to the spread of the virus.

This document has been prepared in consultation with all major Travelling Showmen’s associations:

· Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain (SGGB),

· Association of Independent Showmen (AIS),

· Amusement Catering Equipment Society (ACES) and

· Society of Independent Roundabout Proprietors (SIRP).

As well as consultation with HSE.

Public health is devolved in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales; this guidance should be considered alongside local public health and safety requirements and legislation in those areas

For advice to businesses in other parts of the UK, please see guidance set by the Northern Ireland Executive, the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government.

· For Scotland, please see: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-tourism-and-hospitality-sector-guidance/pages/overview/

Operators in Scotland must pay close attention to requirements around face coverings in public places and numbers of households that can mix indoors and outdoors, which may vary from other parts of the UK

· For Wales, please see: https://gov.wales/tourism-and-hospitality-businesses-guidance-phased-reopening

· For Northern Ireland, please see: https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/news/executive-daily-update-initiatives-deal-coronavirus-9-july-2020

While this guidance applies to England, you should always consider whether there are local restrictions in place in your area. If so, you should first read the guidance relevant to your area as this may supersede guidance in this document. You can find information on the current lockdown in Leicester here.

We expect that this document will be updated over time. This version is up to date as of 8 July 2020.

As the main trade association for the travelling fairground industry, we are active in putting the safety of the travelling public at the centre of our Members’ operations and are keen to learn all lessons from any incident however rarely it may occur.

We regularly communicate the safety advice and any updates to the safety procedures that are already in place, to our 2144 operating Members, who control 652 of the inflatable amusement devices in the UK, among the 4067 fairground attractions overall, operated by Showmen’s Guild members. (There are also others with inflatables in smaller associations and further non-aligned individual operators).

Safety is the number one priority for the Showmen’s Guild and it is central to the operation of our Members within the industry.

While we are not complacent, we acknowledge that although the Fairground Industry gives approximately 305 million passenger rides annually, the H&SE calculate that the risk of being injured on a fairground ride is 0.0000278%.

Created: Wednesday 9th May 2018

The Guild places a very high value on the maintenance of proper safety precautions and played a large part in the drafting of the Code of Safe Practice at Fairs, published by the Health and Safety Executive in 1984. This is the most comprehensive safety manual for the industry ever produced. Since its introduction, the Executive has published the first titles in a projected series of safety manuals covering individual types of fairground rides, again with the active co-operation of the Guild.

The stakes need to be positioned so that the ropes or webbings go upwards from the stake towards the inflatable at between 30 and 45 degrees.

Moving the stake close makes the angle bigger. Moving it away makes the angle smaller.

The stakes should be driven into the ground slightly inclined away from the inflatable and the ropes or webbings should not be pulled too tight. They should curve gently up to the inflatable so as to allow movement of the inflatable up and down when in use. They should not protrude more than 25mm above the ground.

The wind-speed must be no more than Force 5 on the Beaufort scale (maximum 24 mph/38km/h) which is when small trees in leaf begin to sway. On the morning of the event or the night before, listen carefully to the weather forecast so that you have a good idea of what wind to expect. On the day and during the event, you can check the wind-speed using an anemometer.

If ropes form part of the anchorage system, attach them to the anchor-points. The windward side of the inflatable needs to be anchored temporarily while it is inflating so drive anchor-stakes into the ground on the windward side and loosely tie on the windward side ropes. Using industry standard 380mm long x minimum 16mm diameter stakes, there is a little risk of penetrating underground services. However, you should check that there are no obvious signs of excavation for cable runs, pipes etc and check with the client for the location of any underground services before driving the stakes in.

You MUST use every anchorage point on the inflatable because their number and positioning has been calculated for each inflatable.

Drive an anchor-stake into the ground for each remaining anchorage point and securely connect the ropes of webbings. ROPES NEED TO HAVE A BREAKING STRAIN OF 163kgs.

If the inflatable requires Anchorages in the impact area, make sure the stakes are as close in to the base of the inflatable as possible. Could also cover with a safety mat.

Traditional inflatable devices should be designed and manufactured in line with BS 14960:2013,
used in accordance with the manufactures instructions, and under a suitable and sufficient regime
of ongoing maintenance and inspection. The HSE has freely available published information on its website for the safe use of inflatables,
which is set out below, and will assist your members with discharging their legal duties.

BS EN 14960: 2013 Inflatable play equipment. Safety requirements and test methods is the
European Standard regarding manufacture and operation.
• HSE Guidance can be found at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/fairgrounds/faqs.htm#inflatables
• Information on the PIPA scheme can be found at: http://www.pipa.org.uk/
• Information on the ADIPs scheme can be found at: http://www.adips.co.uk

The Guild places a very high value on the maintenance of proper safety precautions and played a large part in the drafting of the Code of Safe Practice at Fairs, published by the Health and Safety Executive in 1984. This is the most comprehensive safety manual for the industry ever produced. Since its introduction, the Executive has published the first titles in a projected series of safety manuals covering individual types of fairground rides, again with the active co-operation of the Guild.