POOL & SPA INDUSTRY
Setting Standards For A Safer Industry
I
t is the moment every parent dreads having to face, the realisation that your child is missing and then after frantically searching, the dread turns to shock and then horror when the terrible truth unfolds and you find your child is lifeless in the swimming pool.
This situation happened last summer to the parents of a three year old in Wiltshire and the thoughts of our industry were with them then and in recent weeks, as the inquest has held into his death. The Assistant Coroner has written to the Government requesting that a law be passed so that all domestic swimming pools should have some kind of lockable safety device to protect the pool from unauthorised use. One death in a swimming pool is one too many and SPATA totally understands why this action is being pursued, but for many reasons the most appropriate solution at this stage is not to seek a law that would affect the estimated 250,000 domestic pools in the UK, but to continue winning the hearts and minds of the pool owners and the wider pool industry to ensure that conversations about safety features are undertaken, so that there is the opportunity for every pool in the country to be better protected with a safety device by choice. The most obvious devices that pool professionals will want to sell are the safety covers, enclosures and pool fences. Some people may choose to use alarms and SPATA has also ensured that the new European standard for domestic pools being developed recognises the potential importance of having a boundary property fence / wall to reduce the chances of unauthorised access to a swimming pool.
This voluntary self-regulation on safety has been the basic principle from which SPATA and many other Pool Associations across Europe have been working on to develop the domestic swimming pool standards that are due for Final Vote now. The standards should be available from later on this year and although they are not a Law, they are considered the relevant guidance that pool
www.swimmingpoolnews.co.uk
With safety issues always a priority, BSPF Managing Director Chris Hayes puts the topic under the spotlight and highlights the work that SPATA undertakes within the industry
professionals will be expected to follow. SPATA members will be expected to conform to the European standards and in terms of safety, in simple terms, this will mean that pool professionals will be expected to show evidence that they have had a conversation about the relevance of safety devices and that they have confirmed with the client what device, if any, they will be requiring. SPATA is recommending that a written record of this conversation is provided by the pool professional. This will be useful for not only the new projects, but also the existing pools maintained by pool companies. SPATA believes this approach is the best way forward, as it will balance the safety demands with the economic benefits of installing / retrofitting safety devices.
During June (20 – 28) it is Drowning Prevention Week and a number of wet leisure organisations are working to promote awareness of the number of accidental drownings that happen every year in the UK. From the last set of figures for a complete year – 2013, there is (on average) one accidental drowning every day and of these, approximately two months of this is accounted for by people ‘swimming’. However, nearly all of these drownings were people swimming at locations such as lakes, canals, rivers and at the coast. The number of drownings in a swimming pool in 2013 was actually quite high at six people (some years it is none) and on average it is between two and three people per year in pools that did not have a lifeguard. In this issue, there is more information about swimming safety and Drowning Prevention Week from the perspective of RLSS UK and also RoSPA on pages 39 and 40. These type of incidents are quite sobering, but they should not detract from the fact
that our industry provides people with an unrivalled opportunity to get fit, have fun, lead more stress-free lives and to promote their wellness through the use of the many wet leisure products that we have available. While we must be vigilant about safety, we also must help to ensure that the growing demand for our products is met with good quality workmanship, impressive customer service and a desire to keep on improving. One way that our industry can demonstrate the quality that it produces is through the annual winners from the British Pool and Hot Tub Awards, some of whom will be short listed to represent the UK at the forthcoming EUSA awards being held at Piscina & Wellness Barcelona 2015. The list of companies shortlisted will be expected to be named in the next issue of SPN, so good luck to all of our entries at this year’s awards. I hope that you enjoy the other articles in the magazine and there are contributions on PIP and also Peter Lang and Patrick Thorpe answer some of your questions on page 41. Enjoy the summer!
DIARY DATES 2015 3 June
25 June 13 August
BISHTA Committee BSPF Board Meeting PIP Committee
18 to 20 Sep President’s Weekend 22 to 23 Sep LIW 29 Sep
8 October
BISHTA Technical Committee, BISHTA Committee and AGM
SPATA Council and AGM
Full list of Diary Dates available on
www.spata.co.uk /
www.bishta.co.uk – look under the Trade heading
SPN June 2015 37
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