For several years now there has been a national scheme to improve safety in inflatable play and it’s fast becoming adopted as the means by which end users can purchase or hire a bouncy castle or other inflatable in the knowledge that it has been tested, inspected and passed by a qualified independent third party.
Prior to PIPA (www.pipa.org.uk) bouncy castles and other play inflatables were already subjected to health and safety legislation. However, enforcement and monitoring was a problem for authorities because standards varied so much throughout the industry. However, that has all changed now since the HSE asked the industry to devise an inspection scheme to meet their strict criteria. After much consultation, the industry trade bodies, AIMODS (Association of Inflatable Manufacturers, Operators, Designers and Suppliers). BIHA (British Inflatable Hirers Alliance), IPMA (Inflatable Play Manufacturers Association), NAIH, (National Association of Inflatable Hirers) and RPII (Register of Play Inspetors International) and the HSE have set up and adopted the PIPA scheme as “best practice” for the industry.