The safety of your jumping castles is incredibly important to your bottom line - not just to make sure that you don't end up paying out on your public liability insurance, but also for your reputation. Your bottom line is, of course, less important than the wellbeing of your customers!
So you should bear in mind that not only will maintaining good safety standards keep you protected from lawsuits and reputational damage, but it will also mean that people are happy to use your products and will therefore be happier to recommend you to their friends and family.
What will customers look for with your jumping castles?
An astute customer will want to make sure that your products are safe before they let their children use them. According to the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, customers will want to make sure that jumping castles are:
- Anchored to the ground properly. This means that you will want to use all available anchorage points on your inflatables, and that you should use mooring straps on solid points when setting up an inflatable on hard ground.
- Properly protected, with mats positioned on the outside of the bouncy castle (this may not be necessary on very soft ground).
You will also want to make sure your inflatables are properly manned, even during an inflatable rental. Make sure you tell your customers that small children should be supervised on the inflatable at all times and give them some proper usage instructions, and make sure that adults only use adult-safe inflatables. However, you may man your own inflatables, especially at events like community fetes and school fairs. In these instances:
- Make sure the inflatable is not overcrowded by paying attention to maximum load as outlined by the manufacturer. You should also try to make sure children of similar age ranges and sizes are using the jumping castle and avoid mixing bigger and smaller children - the older kids could bang into young children and hurt them.
- Children will have to be controlled when they are bouncing on the inflatable. You will need to make sure kids don't take any sharp objects, such as boots and belts, on to the bouncy castle, and that they abide by any other rules, such as by not climbing on the walls or play-fighting.
Safety information you should know about every bouncy castle
To make sure your customers are confident in your commitment to health and safety, you should keep a record of the following information for every inflatable castle in your portfolio:
- Maximum users
- Previous safety inspections, the regularity of inspections, and the legal requirements that relate to this
- Any other features or items that are required for the use of this inflatable
- What constitutes unsuitable weather conditions and what to do in these conditions
- Necessary anchorage
- The size of the inflatable
- Appropriate locations and surfaces for the inflatable
If you have a log of the answers for all these questions, and you maintain your inflatables to ensure they reach legal standards, then you will be able to impress your customer base with your dedication to health and safety.