Whether your institution is civic, government, educational, or a private business, safety is going to be your primary concern when it comes to bleachers and grandstands. Charron Sports Services prides ourselves on providing the design, installation, refurbishment, and maintenance of the best bleachers, basketball backstops, and other sports equipment on the market. After installation or repair is complete, there are certain steps you can take to maximize safety and minimize the possibility of accidents for your clients, students, visitors, or anyone else who may need to utilize your bleachers. We have four important safety tips to help you out:
- Always keep up to date with inspections. To ensure that your facility remains within compliance with legal safety standards, you should have your bleachers inspected by qualified professionals every year and any needed maintenance should be taken care of as necessary. While newly built bleachers may be able to have inspections every two years or so, older bleachers especially should be inspected annually.
- Abide by weight and occupancy limits; no exceptions! If your professional inspection ends with you being given a weight limit or specific number of people who can safely be on your bleachers at the same time, abide by those limits! A popular event may put pressure on you to fit more than is entirely safe onto your bleachers, but that can lead to too much pressure on the understructure, weakening it and possibly leading to added expense or human injury in the future.
- Remember that older bleachers cannot carry the same amount of people they could when first built. If your school last did a full bleacher replacement in 1970, don’t refer to the original occupancy rating, which is based on weight. The rating may have changed, and the bleachers may have weakened over time, allowing them to take on less strain than before. Have your bleachers inspected to get a new, accurate occupancy rating or to see if they require refurbishment or replacement to keep up to code.
- Security is key, especially if you host popular events. It’s gratifying to see your hard work in setting up athletic or community events rewarded with an excited crowd filling the stands. This adds one more safety concern to your list, however; ensuring you have security on hand in case of any emergency that may require a quick evacuation. In the event of an emergency, crowds have a tendency to panic, and without security or employees there to maintain order, stampedes or people attempting to flee by jumping or climbing over guardrails by occur. Keep members of a designated security or safety team stationed throughout the stands to ensure that any called-for evacuation happens in a quick and orderly manner, minimizing the chance of injuries, especially for the very young, very old, or those who need assistance getting on and off the bleachers.
Bleacher safety is often overlooked after the initial installation is complete, but a lack of basic accident prevention techniques can lead to injuries — or worse. If you’re looking for new bleacher installation, the refurbishment or replacement of older bleachers, preventative maintenance or repairs, and a company that will be there as a long-term partner in equipment safety, contact Charron Sports Services! We’d be happy to schedule a consultation and speak with you about your needs and how we can help. You can reach us at (800) 745-0465 or contact us online today!