Safety starts at the tank
Over the past seven years, our safety expert has visited over 1,000 family entertainment centers and performed loss prevention inspections for these businesses, several of which are insured through the Sterling & Sterling family entertainment center insurance program.
One thing many of these FECs have in common is their compressed gas cylinders safety and, unfortunately, how poor it is. Whether you’re using them for your inflatable business (read more about our inflatables insurance), use them to inflate balloons or for welding in your maintenance shop, these tips will go a long way in helping you make sure your setup is a safe one.
How to properly secure compressed gas cylinders
When it comes to securing these often bulky and very heavy tanks, you have a few options to choose from. If you’re going to keep it in one place, you can secure the compressed air tanks to the wall using a welded chain.
Do:
• Secure each of your compressed gas cylinders separately.
• Use toggle bolts if you are securing it to drywall.
• Use lag bolts if securing it directly to a wall stud.
Do NOT:
• Never try to secure more than one gas cylinder at a time!
• Don’t use plastic or crimped chain (typically used for hanging plants or other lightweight items) – this is an accident waiting to happen.
If you’d prefer to keep your tanks mobile, you can purchase floor stands that are designed specifically for compressed gas cylinders. The brackets for properly securing compressed gas cylinders can be found online through supply warehouses, or you can go to your local hardware store and purchase the materials and secure the tanks yourself (view the photos below to see examples of properly secured tanks).
Ask your local compressed gas supplier if you are having trouble tracking down the right supplies or brackets. They should be able to provide you with information you’ll need to safely secure your tanks.
Don’t take the risk!
We cannot stress enough the importance of properly securing compressed gas cylinders in your family fun center. These cylinders are heavy and contain compressed gas; if one of them were to fall over there’s a high risk of serious injury for your customers. If they fall over and the valve breaks off, even on an empty cylinder, you have a small rocket to deal with and no way of controlling its direction of travel- watch the video below for proof!
No amount of professional liability insurance can prevent a catastrophe from happening, but a solid safety plan and a little common sense are a huge help!
In all of the photos and illustrations shown above, compressed gas cylinders are secured separately. Never try to secure more that one at a time! Far too often we have seen instances where two, three or even six compressed gas cylinders are secured with a single chain.
Handle With Care
The safety training with which this equipment is operated is another extremely important item to consider. Compressed cylinder usage and storage should be included in your FEC safety policies and procedures and training manual. All employees should be properly trained on the usage and dangers of compressed gas cylinders.
Have a question about any of the safety tips we mentioned? Call us toll free at (800) 767-7837 to see how you can make your FEC safer and talk to us about how our client safety inspections work.
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Sterling & Sterling, Inc. is ranked as one of the top 50 Privately Held Insurance Brokerages in the United States. We help our clients reduce risk and spend less with our unique Risk Profile System®. By using these tools, on average, we have saved our clients 25% on their overall insurance costs. To see how we can help you create a safer, more successful family entertainment center and help you avoid owners liability, reach out to one of our insurance professionals today by contacting us here or calling toll free at (800) 767-7837.
