Getting Ready for Amusement Ride Season

As summer rolls around, amusement parks are not the only places opening their doors for a season of thrill and fun.

With summer upon us, event organizers in schools, camps, townships, municipalities and shopping malls may be holding various events that involve amusement and inflatable devices like bouncy castles to draw crowds, raise funds or simply generate excitement.

Renting amusement and inflatable devices from licensed owners who drop off these devices on their customers’ premises can create safety gaps, such as failing to ensure these devices are installed properly and operated by trained attendants.

Before renting inflatable devices, it’s important to be aware of the safety requirements you need to comply with and how to ensure the amusement and inflatable devices on your premises are operated safely.

Staying in Compliance

To help event organizers understand their safety obligations, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) provides the following information on what they need to know and do when operating rented amusement and inflatable devices in non-private dwellings:

Installation
- Only a mechanic or mechanic-in-training under the supervision of a mechanic can erect and maintain amusement devices.

Training
- The amusement device attendant shall be sufficiently trained and responsible for the safe functioning and use of the amusement device and be able to perform their duties without supervision. The owner or operator shall ensure that a record of training provided to operators and attendants on amusement devices is kept in the logbook. The record of training shall indicate the following information:

1. The date of the training
2. The specific device on which the training took place
3. The printed name of the supervisor who conducted the training
4. The printed name of the trainee
5. A statement signed by the trainer that the trainee is competent to perform the assigned duties after having taken the training specified in a documented training procedure that includes the manufacturers’ recommendations.

- The amusement device attendant on site should be able to provide the required documentation for the device, including the training records of that attendant, if TSSA conducts an operational inspection.

Attendant Responsibilities
- The owner or operator must ensure the amusement device attendant knows his or her responsibilities on incident response, incident reporting and removing a device from service. Refer to incident reporting guidelines on TSSA’s website. All incidents and near misses must be reported to 1-877-682-8772.

- The amusement device attendant shall be trained to respond to an evacuation situation. (For example: Power loss to the blower or wind speed exceeding the maximum operating threshold indicated in the technical dossier)

- An amusement device attendant can only supervise one inflatable device at a time.

- Each attendant or operator should be readily identifiable by wearing company T-shirts, vests or VIP neck badges.

For more information, refer to the following resources:
Advisory: ‘Drop-off’ Practice for Inflatable Device Rentals
Bouncy Castle and Inflated Device Safety
Amusement Ride Safety

Photo Caption: Ontario Regulation 221/01 (Amusement Devices) does not apply if the rented amusement devices are operated in private dwellings (including the land upon which the private dwellings are situated) and used exclusively by the owner or occupants and their guests. Private events held in churches, schools and parks are not considered private dwellings. Amusement and inflatable devices that are not used in a private dwelling must comply with O. Reg 221/01.

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