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Frequently asked questions surrounding athletic facility safety and its connection to facility inspections (link)/planning for safety as well as a little about BROC's credentials.
Why do I need an inspection?
YOU are legally responsible for routine/regular maintenance, cleaning, and inspection schedules. Failure to keep these schedules may lead to excessive wear, cause operational problems, and jeopardize the overall safety of the systems.
According to statistics published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) between 2005-2010 and 2010-2015, there have been on average 35,041 reported accidents involving children in schools each year – the number of real accidents is probably higher as many smaller, less serious accidents go unreported.
Slips, trips and falls are the most common accidents in schools resulting in 42% of all reported injuries; statistically, accidents are most likely to occur during PE lessons and playtimes than any other time of the day – many of these are due to faulty or damaged PE and playground equipment.
The standard states that all sports equipment, both internal and external, should be inspected at least once a year for condition and safety. The Sports and PE equipment inspections ensure equipment safety and can be beneficial in the case of any insurance claims. In this era of litigation, having peace of mind from an inspection is very important and using a competent contractor for your inspections will allow you to feel secure in your sports equipment’s condition.
With so many children in your care, school playground safety and the assessment and maintenance of play and sports equipment is an essential factor in keeping those in your charge safe from harm. While the number of children attending a school can vary, there’s no doubt about it that your facilities will be well and regularly used – which in turn can lead to damage and wear that can put users at risk should these issues go unidentified.
In addition to your responsibilities for pupils’ safety, head teachers, governors and site managers also need to satisfy the requirements of their insurers, while also adhering to legislation surrounding risk assessments and the ‘best practice’ advice of the Health and Safety Executive.
Our comprehensive sports, play areas, equipment and school playground safety services give you the confidence to let children enjoy these vital aspects of their education, knowing that you’ve done everything you can to protect them from potential hazards.
What equipment needs inspected in gymnasiums and athletic facilities?
- Audience and recreational seating
- Telescoping bleachers (bench and full seat assembly)
- Fixed seating (auditorium and gymnasium)
- Outdoor stadium seating
- Indoor arena seating
- Basketball backstops
- Winches
- Cables
- Pulleys
- Slide pipes
- Brace pipes
- Safety straps
- Height adjusters
- Electrical components
- Rims/goals
- Nets
- Divider curtains
- Volleyball sleeves
- Wall padding
- Climbing ropes
- Scoreboards
- Gymnasium recreational play equipment
How often do I need to have my equipment inspected?
BROC, LLC recommends a maintenance inspection take place at least once a year by a BROC, LLC Certified Inspector. The standard states that all sports equipment, both interior and exterior should be inspected at least once a year for condition, operation and safety. The sports and PE equipment inspections ensure equipment safety and can be beneficial in the case of any insurance claims. In this era of litigation having peace of mind from an inspection is very important and using a competent contractor for your inspections will allow you to feel secure in your sports equipment’s condition.
Where do you travel to inspect?
Anywhere in the continental US where administrations share our mission toward ZERO (incidents, near misses and liabilities) in our local athletic and recreational facilities.
Do you offer services to repair and maintain equipment if something is uncovered after an inspection?
Yes, you can call us at any time and we will make sure to get your equipment repaired or provide input/consult on a suggested maintenance program.
Do you use sub-contractors to perform your services?
We do not sub-contract our service, we require our inspections to be done by staffed experts that are certified to inspect the equipment. Our lead inspectors are required to have installed and serviced the equipment in a lead position prior to becoming an inspector so that we can leverage the expertise in application to every inspection we do. Our inspectors have the additional knowledge and experience of seeing how every piece of equipment we inspect is installed or how it can malfunction along with implement the appropriate service or repair to abate the issue. This is what sets us apart from our competition.
Do you have a clear health and safety policy?
We have a written Health and Safety policy and program available upon request.
What type of training and how much experience do your inspectors have?
Our inspectors go through installation, service and maintenance positions prior to becoming an inspector so they are armed with the knowledge to make recommendations and diagnose any hazards, tapping into past field experiences, services and repairs to ensure the proper experience to identify problems or concerns. Our team has over 100 years of combined experience installing, servicing, repairing and inspecting the equipment we review daily.