Tag Archives: fun center safety

Inflatable Safety Tips For Your Family Fun Center: Gas Cylinders

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).

insuremyfec gas cylinder safety

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.

Electrical Safety Tips For Your Family Fun Center

Insure my FEC electrical outlet safety


Electrical Safety in Your Family Fun Center

Does the picture above look like something you have lying around in your family entertainment center? We hope not! Electricity powers everything around us, providing comfort, convenience and security.

When it comes to family entertainment centers, electricity is not only an integral part of daily routine; it’s also one of the major reasons your FEC needs to have liability insurance. How can this be so? While vital to running your FEC attraction, electricity can also make matters take a turn for the worse if not cared for properly. When it comes to electricity, safety needs to be a major concern.


How Safe is Safe Enough?

Any business owner will tell you that it’s important to find the right owners insurance for your business. But having even the most comprehensive insurance policy doesn’t mean you can (or should) throw caution to the wind. When it comes to electricity and safety, there are a few rules to follow that will help keep your center safe for all. If you offer indoor or outdoor attractions, you should take the following into consideration:


Electrical/Water Hazard Safety

• Water and electricity don’t mix. Together, they can form a deadly combination.
• Keep water away from electricity and electrical appliances.
• Never use electrical appliances while standing in water.
• Always make sure your hands are dry when using an electrical appliance.
• Never use appliances while near water or outside when it’s wet or raining.


Use electrical cords wisely

• Repair or replace cords that are frayed or cracked.
• Always remove a cord from the outlet by pulling on the plug rather than the cord itself.
• Extension cords are only for temporary use. Prolonged use of extension cords can cause overheating and fire.
• Cords should never be nailed or stapled to a wall, baseboard or any other object.
• Cords should not have any furniture resting on them or be placed under a carpet or rug.
• Do not leave a cord where it can be stepped or tripped on.
• Never remove the third prong from a three-pronged plug. The third prong grounds electricity and are there for safety. If you don’t have a three-hole outlet, adapters are available at your local hardware store or home supply center.


Stay safe throughout your FEC

• Always install light bulbs that are the correct wattage for your lamps and fixtures.
• Cover unused wall outlets with plastic safety caps to protect children.
• Never overload outlets by using multiple plug-in adapters or power strips.
• Install ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). These special outlets prevent electric shock by detecting faults and shutting off electricity to the outlet when necessary. They are especially important in kitchens, bathrooms, and other places where water is present.


Have Your Center Inspected for Dangers

To really spot all the dangers, you need a professional eye. At Sterling & Sterling FEC Insurance, we offer our clients routine safety inspections to help make their fun centers safer. From common safety hazards to situations you’d never think of, our on-staff licensed safety professional can help you spot the dangers you’d never see coming. For more information, call us toll free at (800) 767-7837.

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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, reach out to one of our insurance professionals today by contacting us here or calling toll free at (800) 767-7837.

Family Fun Center Safety: When is ‘Safe’ Not Enough?

In 2008 a young woman was partially scalped when her long hair got caught in the drive mechanism of a go kart in southern Utah. She survived – but had to endure 50 staples, plastic surgery and had to have her left ear reattached. The doctors said she’ll make a full recovery, but will probably never overcome the emotional injuries.  This safety warning was on each go kart “DANGER Hair longer than shoulder length must be secured above shoulder.  Keep arms and legs in kart at all times.”  (A similar injury occurred at a go kart track in northern Washington State in 2007).

While not fun to read, these situations are all too real. Even the safety rules and regulation sign contained the warning about long hair. So, what happened here?  The safety warning signs were in place, true, but what about the operators?  Whenever we hear about an incident like this, our first thoughts are training, taining and even more training! You can never over-train your employees.

Another piece of the training puzzle is supervision.  Here are some important questions to ask:

• How well are your employees supervised?

• Is there a supervisor on site at all times?

• How well is the supervisor trained?

• Is the supervisor a responsible, well trained adult, or just one of the operators with the most time on the job?


Develop a Training Manual for Employees

Training should be done from the company approved training manual. Regardless of your facilities size, a formal training manual should be in place and used frequently.

Throughout the year, our safety expert visits many “true” family-owned and operated family fun centers.  They’re small and in many cases only family members work at them. Even in this situation, a formal training manual should be developed and utilized.  All employees, EVEN THE OWNERS, should be trained.

On file should be the documents signed and dated by each person that they have read, understand and will adhere the policies, procedures and the training they received.  And each time they are given additional training, the documentation should be updated.

Training should be performed with all new employees or newly promoted supervisors, and whenever there is a change in the operating procedures of the attraction or in the general operation of the family entertainment center.  We recommend that training should take place every three months for all employees and owners (we all have short retention spans, to some extent).  Training should also be performed when an incident takes place on an attraction or at the FEC.

The bottom line?  Training should be taken very seriously and done very often to keep your guests and employees safe.

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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, reach out to one of our insurance professionals today by contacting us here or calling toll free at (800) 767-7837.