Little Softies Health and Safety Policy –Inflatable Devices
Purpose
Little Softies is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all people using our services and the
community, as far as is reasonably practicable. Everyone has a role to play in keeping themselves and
others safe.
The purpose of this policy is to:
– Ensure as far as reasonably practicable the health and safety of everyone involved in setting up, using or
supervising Little Softies inflatables
– To comply with New Zealand health and safety legislation. Health and safety legislation requires us to
have systems in place for managing health and safety, and focusses on the prevention of harm.
As a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) and an operator of LBI’s (Land-Borne Inflatables)
Little Softies has a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to comply to sections 30 and 36 of
the Act:
Section 30:
1. A duty imposed on a person by or under this Act requires the person:
a. To eliminate risks to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable; and
b. If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate risks to health and safety, to minimise those risks
so far as reasonably practicable
Section 36:
1. A PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of other
persons is not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or
undertaking
Health and Safety Controls
1. Manufacturers requirements
1.1 – All Little Softies Inflatables comply to either the British Standard BS EN 14960 or the Austrailian
standard 3533.4.1 – 2005 Land-Borne Inflatable Devices
2. Risk Assessments
2.1 – Hazard and risk assessments identifying potential risks and site-specific hazards have been completed
by Little Softies and can be viewed on request.
2.2 – Site specific risk assessments are completed by Little Softies for every hire before the equipment is
set up on site
3. Equipment inspections
3.1 – All equipment is inspected before and after each hire to ensure that it is fit for purpose. Bi-yearly
inspections are also completed and logged
4. Accidents and Incidents
4.1 – Little Softies has an incident/accident reporting procedure and all incidents are entered into a register
which will be shared with Worksafe if required.
5. Electrical safety and fires
5.1 – All electric leads and plugs are covered and secured to avoid any person/child making contact with
them
5.2 – A residual current protection device (RDC) is provided for all electrical equipment.
5.3 – All electrical equipment is PAT tested by a qualified technician every 6 months
5.4 – Petrol generators are hired from a reputable hire company and all safety instructions adhered to in
relation to transport, storage and operation.
5.5 – For supervised hire Little Softies will take an appropriate fire extinguisher depending on the power
source i.e. petrol/diesel generator=Foam extinguisher and for a carbon dioxide extinguisher for a standard
electrical power source. These are not provided for unsupervised hires. It is the responsibility of the
individual hirer to ensure that they have adequate fire safety measures in place.
6. Inflation/Deflation
6.1 – No persons to be near to/on the inflatable whilst it is being inflated/deflated.
6.2 – The rate of deflation of the commercial castles (Jungle, Deep Sea and Bounce ‘n’ slide) can be
controlled via the zip pockets on the side. The toddler castles do not have this option.
7. Ground suitability
7.1 – Little Softies will complete an on-site risk assessment prior to setting up the equipment to assess
suitability. Inflatables will only be set up on flat stable ground. Little Softies staff will check the ground for
any issues such as such hidden holes, dips, troughs etc before setting up the castle. Little Softies will not
set up castles on ground that is deemed unsuitable. No inflatable will be erected on unsafe ground or a
slope that is more than an 8” slope per 10ft.
8. Safety from falling
8.1 – All of Little Softies inflatables either have high enclosed sides or safety nets. In addition, safety mats
are also used in front of the entrance to the inflatable to reduced the risk of injury when
ascending/descending the inflatable. Clients are educated on the safety rules both verbally and in written
format. See Inflatables Risk Assessment and Bouncy Castles Safety Instructions for us for further
information.
9. Access/Egress
9.1 – All of Little Softies inflatables have safe access/egress and safety mats are also provided. Clients are
advised on how to ensure children’s safety when getting on/off of the inflatables.
10. Maximum number of participants, minimum and maximum height and weight
10.1 – Client’s are advised on maximum number or participants, minimum and maximum height and weight
at delivery. Little Softies staff will monitor this at supervised events
11. Blower System
Only the correct certified blowers are used with Little Softies inflatables. They are checked before and
after every hire to ensure there are no defaults and PAT tested every 6 months
12. Trained operators
All Little Softies staff have been trained and meet the requirements set by the New Zealand Inflatables
Alliance (NZIA) of which Little Softies is a member