Following a successful Fairgrounds Safety and Health Awareness Day (SHAD) Roadshow at the Hoppings in June 2015, ADIPS hosted a Roadshow at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) on 14th January.

This is the fourth SHAD event that ADIPS have hosted and the second in the Roadshow format which are planned to run alongside major fairs. This format has many advantages over the stand-alone style used for the first two events and can be targeted at different fairs so Members of the various Guild sections get the opportunity to attend. The Roadshow format also provides value for money being delivered at a fraction of the cost of the stand-alone events.

The event was organised by ADIPS and received support from the Showmen’s Guild. In particular, Keith Carroll who helped to secure the venue for the event free of charge, and the SGGB Senior Vice President, Philip Paris, who attended and opened the event.

The event was planned around the Irn-Bru Carnival event taking place at the SECC and event timings worked around the fair’s opening hours so showmen could attend the event and be back with their rides in time for opening.

Attendees were encouraged to book their places online prior to the event allowing the check-in to be a seamless process, with ADIPS using smart devices to register delegates upon arrival. Despite the location, a number of Showmen travelled to attend the event, including attendees travelling from London and Northern Ireland.

The event took place in one of the SECC’s function rooms and approximately 90 showmen attended the free of charge event to listen to a range of sessions presented by health and safety and technical experts. The room was generous in size and benefitted from a high standard of technical equipment and support provided by the SECC. Attendees were sat around large tables and presenters sited in front of a large screen at the front of the room. Although professionally delivered the overall style was informal and engaging and the audience participated in healthy discussion throughout.

The event was opened at 10.00 am by SGGB Senior Vice President, Philip Paris, who emphasised the importance of safety and that everyone attending will learn something from the event. Philip explained that he had attended the first event in Newark and had found the day incredibly beneficial.

ADIPS General Manager, Luke Ditchburn, informed the attendees of the format of the day and explained that certificates of attendance would be given out to all delegates at the end of the day. Luke explained that a couple of speakers had been unavailable to attend last-minute, but all topics would be covered thanks to ADIPS Inspector, David Geary, who had kindly agreed to cover three of the day’s sessions.

The six sessions that were covered on the day were:

Hydraulics Safety presented by David Geary from ADIPS registered Inspection Body, DMG Technical, with delegates gaining an insight into fluid injection injury and safe working practices when around hydraulic hoses and components.

Passenger Containment presented by David Riley from the Health and Safety Laboratory, who advised delegates on the various designs of passenger containment and restraints, how people may be ejected from rides and the factors affecting this, such as passenger size and behaviour. Following the presentation are number of questions were asked about refusing entry for health and behaviour reasons and the HSE stated that they would support decisions to exclude people who are at risk where justified
HSE update presented by Melvin Sandell and Sal Brecken, HM Inspectors of Health and Safety for the Entertainment and Leisure Sector, who provided information and advice on a number of items of interest for showmen. Topics included reporting of accidents (RIDDOR), industry accident statistics, recent incidents and fencing of juvenile rides. The HSE answered several questions on accident statistics and RIDDOR and highlighted the ‘over reporting’ of accidents, encouraging delegates to only report accidents where:

• someone is injured as a result of a work activity, and;
• is taken directly to hospital, and;
• receives treatment for the injury.

ADIPS pre-use inspection presented by David Geary from DMG Technical, who ran Members through the pre-use inspection procedure which every new or imported ride must go through before it operates for the first time. Members learned of the three stages of pre-use inspection and the comprehensive range of checks on design, manufacture and initial testing of safety functions that each ride must go through before a DOC may be issued. This session built on earlier advice given during the HSE’s session who advised that anyone importing rides had specific legal duties and rides may be stopped from running if pre-use inspection is not carried out.

A drama based presentation on behavioural safety was delivered for the first time at a SHAD event by Macnaughton McGregor aimed at creating a long-term change in viewers’ attitudes, rather than just a short-term change in behaviour. During this engaging session, attendees participated in a number of exercises before listening to a scene where someone expressed their feelings following a serious workplace incident. Delegates were asked ‘who has been affected by this accident’ before identifying a range of people and how they had been affected. Attendees then viewed the scene leading up to the incident which involved a workplace disagreement before finally interacting with a rerun of the scene and influencing the actors to not react emotionally and communicate calmly until a safe method of working was performed and the incident avoided.

Electrical Safety presented by David Geary who informed members of a number of practical tips on working safely with electrical systems and the use of of protective devices including RCD’s.

The advice and discussion was once more practical and informative and delegates provided extremely positive feedback on the event, with the vast majority ‘extremely satisfied’ with the event and keen to see a repeat event at the SECC next year.

ADIPS now plan to roll out the SHAD Roadshow format at a couple of other major fairs in 2016, all the while encouraging showmen to not be complacent when it comes to all matters health and safety and to understand their legal duties and responsibilities so collectively the industry can continue to make fairgrounds a safe environment for staff and members of public.