By Carl Hagemann, General Manager, ADIPS
Those of you involved in managing the safety and health risks on your park will know only too well that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is keeping a keen eye currently on safety standards on parks and fairgrounds nationwide.
ADIPS works closely with HSE and recently the regulator gave an overview of its work plan for 2024. We can expect around 100 visits to theme parks and fairgrounds throughout this year, said the industry’s HSE Inspector, David Kivlin.
At the Fairgrounds Joint Advisory Committee (FJAC) meeting in December hosted by ADIPS’ governing body, the Amusement Devices Safety Council (ADSC), David gave us the headline figures for 2023, which included a much-publicised Summer campaign of inspections. They were:
• 100 visits to be completed by end of year
• by December, 29 had resulted in enforcement action – just over 40% of those sites visited, representing a rise of approximately 5% on 2022
• Enforcements were issued on the following: Twist rides (six), high speed (five), log flume (one), integrated frogs (five), Star Flyers (four) and general electrical issues (six)
• Three improvement notices were issued, five prohibition notices and notification of contravention letters as part of FFI (fee for intervention)
• Issues included electrical safety breaches, missing bulbs, faulty restraint systems and incorrectly terminated cabling
The enforcement actions, a slight rise in number on the previous year, are a clear indicator that work must be done to tighten up safety standards in our industry, and this year the HSE has told us its areas of focus. Again, 100 visits will be conducted in 2024 across the UK, to a mix of fixed and travelling sites. Issues under investigation will include:
• Electrical controls and high speed rides
• Round-ups
• Tagedas (a new piece of work looking at construction integrity of sub-frame)
• General electrical safety
• Miamis, Twists, Crazy Frogs
• Safe working practices on fixed sites for people entering prohibited areas
• Further guidance from HSE on foreseeability and taking reasonably practicable measures to manage risks
Our industry takes the safety of its visitors, employees and contractors very seriously and ADIPS inspection bodies work effectively with controllers all year round to ensure standards are maintained. The non-conformances do tell us, however, that the job will never be done when it comes to people’s safety and it’s clear from the HSE update that in some areas, we could do better.
For ADIPS’ part, we recently announced a partnership with RKMS to deliver a comprehensive auditing programme for inspection bodies in the amusements industry. The standards set by our IBs are generally very high but audits guard against complacency and highlight areas where we could improve.
Compliance specialists RKMS and ADIPS will work together with IBs to enhance safety standards for amusement devices on theme parks, fairgrounds and piers, and outdoor events. We believe this is a very positive step forward not only for ADIPS, but for the amusements industry as a whole. Audits underpin our inspections regime and we wanted to put in place a secure, sustainable system with a partner that understands the importance of safety to our sector. With RKMS, I believe we have done just that.
A final update of note from the FJAC meeting in December was news of a review of HSG 175, the HSE’s safety and health guidance for the amusements industry. HSE is sending invitations to join work groups, inviting representations from across the board, including inspection bodies and operators.
Initial meetings were due to be held in late January with information gathered to inform draft guidance in March. HSE will take on board comments, plus parts of the guidance, HSE considers require revision, with the aim of formulating text and meeting again in mid-July to discuss those revisions to hone it down.
There will then be an ongoing iterative process from mid-July until a text is finalised for comment towards the end of 2024. It is hoped the new revised guidance will be published before the middle of 2025.
HSG 175 guidance is important because it sets out what the Fairgrounds and Amusement Parks Joint Advisory Committee (FJAC) considers are appropriate measures for those involved in the industry to reduce risks, work safely and comply with the law. For this reason, ADIPS will give whatever support we can to David and his team to ensure the next iteration of HSG 175 is fit for purpose for a safe and thriving amusements industry.
This article was published in the Jan/Feb edition, please click here to find more features.
