Safety Articles
Safety is the important aspect of operating any amusement or leisure facility. Regardless of how much capital is invested one accident can be very costly and is some circumstances even close your business. Each month Vondriska Leisure Consultants, LLC will provide a short article on safety. The articles may be general in nature or focus on a specific topic.
Articles: (Click on an article title to view or save it)
Important Family Entertainment Center and Bowling Center items - March 7th, 2025
- Insurance: Have the proper and complete coverage regarding the type of Family Entertainment Center in question. Bounce house Family Entertainment Center’s with inflatable bouncers and party rooms will have a different coverage level than the typical Family Entertainment Center with go karts, mini golf, batting cages, climbing walls, etc. The same principal applies to Bowling Centers. Fill out the application completely not leaving out any detail that could be called into question later.
- Loss Control Evaluation: Have your facility evaluated by your insurance company or qualified loss control expert. This evaluation will examine your Family Entertainment Center for questionable items such as trip, falls and laceration hazards, electrical hazards, proper safety signage in place, functional emergency lights, fire extinguisher certification, etc.
- Crisis Management Plan: It’s going to happen so be prepared. An accident or serious injury can ruin your business if not handled properly. When this happens, you must be prepared. Having a Crisis Management Plan in place prior to opening your Family Entertainment Center or Bowling Center helps prepare you for handling the crisis properly and managing any fallout created by the incident.
- Policies and Procedures: Prior to opening your Family Entertainment Center or Bowling Center establish the policies and procedures necessary to operate a profitable company. Procedures for safety, financial controls, employee hiring and training and retraining, maintenance, crisis management, etc. should be in place and carefully thought out.
- Daily Inspections: Inspections for all aspects of your Family Entertainment Center or Bowling Center should be established prior to opening. Daily facility, equipment and personnel inspection procedures as well as the proper documentation are all necessary to operate a successful business.
- Following Manufacturers Instructions: Whatever type of fun equipment you purchase whether it be go karts, inflatable bouncers, climbing walls, pizza oven, arcade game, etc. all have operating and maintenance instructions that must be accurately followed to provide the safest and entertaining experience possible to visitors and employees.
- Periodic Inspection: These inspections will include building, fire and life safety, state, insurance, etc. Also, periodic inspections for facility, equipment and personnel should be established. This could be in the form of weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual inspections.
- Adequate Staffing: Establish your minimum staffing levels. You can consult the equipment manufacturers and check with any state and local requirements. Having well trained adequate staffing will provide enough eyes to help ensure a safe operation.
- Employee Background Checks: Having a complete picture of potential employees is paramount to operating a business that caters to children from toddlers to teens.
- Housekeeping: Good housekeeping can significantly reduce accidents and injuries in any Family Entertainment Center or Bowling Center. By developing good safety habits, and by being aware of their work area and any hazards associated with it, employees can reduce the potential for accidents and injuries. Being safe using good housekeeping practices includes safety awareness, handling of rubbish and excess materials, keeping aisles and stairways clean, securing and/or covering ropes and electric cords, dealing with hazardous chemicals, tool maintenance and maintaining a clean storage area will help to accomplish a safe working and play environment.
- Documentation: Record-keeping is very important in day-to-day operations because it helps ensure that policies and procedures are followed by staff members. Records should be kept for all activities offered at the facility and any maintenance performed on equipment.
- Incident Reporting: Anytime a guest is injured within the facility, an incident report should be filled out immediately. Incident Reports should indicate who was injured, where they were injured, why (if known) they were injured, and if anyone was a witness to the incident. It is imperative that all employees understand the importance of reporting any incident, no matter how small the incident might seem.
- Repair Problems Immediately: Regardless how insignificant you may think a problem is resolve the problem immediately. Small problems lead to big problems and big problems may lead to crisis management.
Fire Prevention - November 23rd, 2024
Fire can destroy your job, your income and even your life. Fires can be prevented. It's a fact that poor housekeeping, poor judgment, carelessness, ignorance and failure to follow instructions cause most fires.
· Fire prevention is everybody's job.
· Don't be a litterbug.
· Don't smoke in "No Smoking" areas.
It's your job to see that you and your co-workers don't become litterbugs. Litter that piles up becomes a fire hazard. Throwing trash and litter under and around equipment is an act of poor housekeeping. It also causes many fires.
Hazardous materials are another source for fires to start.
· A leaking drum of oil can be a real fire hazard if you don't take proper precaution.
· Keep hazardous material in a designated area.
If you respect hazardous materials, the chances of fire, spills and accidents are greatly reduced.
If a fire or emergency occurs, DO NOT PANIC -- KEEP CALM -- follow established procedures.
· Know where fire extinguishers are located.
· Always aim the extinguisher or hose at the base of the fire and remember: don't exhaust your extinguisher before you get to the fire.
· Keep low, out of the heat and make sure you always have a clear path to safety. Your life comes first.
Know which extinguishers are to be used for different types of fires.
Class A Extinguishers will put out fires in ordinary combustibles, such as wood and paper. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher refers to the amount of water the fire extinguisher holds and the amount of fire it will extinguish.
Class B Extinguishers should be used on fires involving flammable liquids, such as grease, gasoline, oil, etc. The numerical rating for this class of fire extinguisher states the approximate number of square feet of a flammable liquid fire that a non-expert person can expect to extinguish.
Class C Extinguishers are suitable for use on electrically energized fires. This class of fire extinguishers does not have a numerical rating. The presence of the letter “C” indicates that the extinguishing agent is non-conductive.
Class D Extinguishers are designed for use on flammable metals and are often specific for the type of metal in question. There is no picture designator for Class D extinguishers. These extinguishers generally have no rating nor are they given a multi-purpose rating for use on other types of fires.
Class K Extinguishers Dry and wet chemical extinguishers for kitchen fires. Due to the higher heating rates of vegetable oils in commercial cooking appliances NFPA 10, Portable Fire Extinguishers, now includes a Class K rating for kitchen fires extinguishers which are now required to be installed in all applicable restaurant kitchens. Once a fire starts in a deep fryer, it cannot always be extinguished by traditional range hoods or Class B extinguishers.
Multi-class rating Many extinguishers available today can be used on different types of fires and will be labeled with more than one designator, e.g. A-B, B-C, or A-B-C. Make sure that if you have a multi-purpose extinguisher it is properly labeled.
Check the extinguishers regularly. Are they the proper types?
Inspection Checklist In accordance with NFPA 10
Monthly Service
· Inspection of cylinder for physical damage or tampering
· Check gauge for correct cylinder pressure
· Inspection of nozzle, valve and hose assemblies
· Check for broken or missing seals and pull rings
· Note all hydrostatic test and 6-year dates
· Record of all necessary corrective actions
· List type of service required for the next year.
Annual Service
Annual service is intended to give maximum assurance that the extinguisher will operate safely and effectively. It includes all topics covered in our inspection, and any necessary repair, replacement and/or testing. A tag is securely fastened identifying the service technician having performed the service.
6-Year Maintenance
Stored pressure extinguishers must be emptied and put through a full internal inspection and appropriate maintenance procedures, every six years from the manufacture date. Including a thorough examination of all mechanical parts, extinguishing agent and expellant. A label marking the 6 year inspection is placed on the extinguisher.
Hydrostatic Testing
Periodic test mandated by NFPA requiring highly specialized test equipment to ensure the integrity of an extinguisher or cylinder at its listed operating pressure. Dry chemical, Halon and other clean agent extinguishers are to be hydro tested at 12 year intervals. High-pressure carbon dioxide extinguishers are to be tested at 5 year intervals. Once these extinguisher have gone through the 12 year hydro testing a special label is placed on the extinguisher showing the year of the test.
The following checklist is a good place to begin practicing good fire prevention.
· Trash and litter - no unnecessary accumulation.
· Housekeeping - keep equipment and back areas neat and clean.
· Fire extinguishers - well marked, the correct types for their location, inspection up to date and all employees trained on how to use them.
· Hazardous materials -- stored in designated areas in proper containers.
· Exits-- unobstructed.
· Wiring -- good connections and good grounding.
· Smoking --only in designated areas.
· Equipment-- keep clean and use properly.
· Flammable materials --handle with care.
· Evacuation plans-- practice--know your responsibility.
Family Entertainment Center General Safety - June 1st, 2024
In February 2008 a suburban Chicago man died in a go-kart crash in Indianapolis during an outing with co-workers. He suffered a spinal fracture after he lost control of his go-kart while making a 180 degree turn. He hit a wall and became airborne. As he descended, his neck struck a guard rail. He was wearing a helmet and was securely fastened in with seat restraints at the time of the crash. According to the Indianapolis police his death was an accident.
In December 2007, a 3 year old child died during an outing to an FEC in Washington State. It’s a dangerous world and anyone who thinks just because they own and operate an FEC with games, inflatables, miniature golf, go-karts, etc. that they have less risk than the local theme park or water park are sadly mistaken. A person killed riding a go-kart is just as dead as a person killed on roller coaster and it’s just as big a tragedy and loss to the families.
Review all of your safety policies and procedures and make sure they competently and completely cover your facilities operation.
Make sure all employees are competently trained, that the employees are trained from your FEC’s approved written training guidelines and that the training is documented.
Regardless of the size of your operation, make sure that you have a crisis management plan in place and all employees are trained properly in the event of an emergency.
Have a first aid kit available and check it monthly to make sure it’s always stocked, make sure your employees are trained in CPR and have an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) available.
Review your FEC’s maintenance policies and procedures. Regardless of your FEC’s size your facility and attractions within the facility should be inspected DAILY. There are absolutely NO exceptions in this category. No shortcuts should be taken. Review the competence of your maintenance staff and if they are lacking in skills and experience, get rid of them and get someone who is qualified. And YES you may have to pay a little more money for competent maintenance personnel, but then again do want to diminish the safety of your operation for few dollars?
Finally make sure your FEC is clean. Nothing says this place has questionable safety practices than a dirty family fun environment.
Lost Control Planning - July 28th, 2023
As an amusement park, waterpark, family entertainment center, carnival, bowling center or other type leisure facility owner you are probably looking for ways to reduce costs. One way you can lower your insurance costs is by implementing a loss control plan.
Inspect Thyself - June 17th, 2023
During my tenure in the amusement industry, I’ve inspected over 1200 family entertainment centers nationwide and too many to count amusement parks, theme parks, water parks, carnivals, and many other types of amusement facilities. My collection of interesting photos is vast, and the kinds of safety problems are interesting, although at times scary. Some of the things I find, I should not be finding.
Planning a Successful Safety Program - April 26th, 2023
Not knowing where you are going is how some operators might feel in these tough economic times. However, regardless of how tough the economy is, reducing, downsizing, or eliminating safety is an absolute No! No! The following outline provides you with a quick summary of what is required to establish and maintain a successful safety program.
Written Hazard Communication Program - December 3rd, 2022
General Information
The amusement park, water park, theme park or FEC owner/operator (“Facilities”) must be committed to the prevention of incidents or happenings which result in injury and/or illness, and to comply with all applicable federal and state health and safety rules. Therefore, these Facilities should spare no effort in providing a safe and healthful work environment for all employees.
Thunderstorms and Lightning - September 1st, 2013
According to NOAA, an average of 67 people are killed by lightning each year and about 300 are injured.
Accident Investigation Planning - July 16th, 2013
Accidents happen. Sooner or later an accident will happen at your Amusement Park, Water Park, Family Entertainment Center or Bowling Center. It may be a minor trip & fall or laceration. It may be a more serious accident that requires the visitor to be transported to the hospital.
Inspect Thyself - March 3rd, 2013
Over the past 8 years I have performed facility inspections at over 1,000 family entertainment centers nationwide. My collection of interesting photos is vast and the kinds of safety problems are interesting, although at times scary. Some of the things I find, I should not be finding.
When is Safe not Safe enough? - February 15th, 2013
When is safe not safe enough? In 2008 a young lady was partially scalped when her long hair got caught in the drive mechanism of a go kart in southern Utah.