Tested safety for swimming pools

A European set of rules and regulations on safety requirements concerning the design, construction and operation of swimming pools has recently come into force but is as yet rarely observed in practice. TÜV AUSTRIA has developed a system to support planners and operators in regard to safety in the scope of which the swimming pool in question is tested comprehensively and upgraded to the required level of safety.

Swimming pools are potentially slippery slopes. It is safe to say that tripping and falling are the main causes for accidents in public swimming pools. Around a third of all accidents in swimming pools are attributed to this. Damp or wet tiles pose a hazard in swimming complexes that must not be underestimated. Another source of danger is the grated cover of a swimming pool’s overflow channel, for example.

TÜV AUSTRIA is able to increase overall safety by testing the slip resistance of various facilities.

The risk of accident in swimming pools is not limited to slippery surfaces. In reaction to some severe accidents, the Federal Ministry of Health issued a decree that requires swimming pool operators to have the suction points of pool water inspected.

TÜV AUSTRIA has reacted to the call for hair entrapment tests by procuring special testing equipment: the TÜV inspectors have been provided with special measuring instruments and diving equipment so as to be able to identify critical spots on a pool’s floor and walls.

TÜV AUSTRIA has tested pool outlets where forces were so high that the testing equipment holding the test hair could only be removed from the suction grate by destroying it.

Water slides pose a major accident hazard. 10 to 14-year-old children are most at risk. Users may fall off the slide, collide with the slide or with other users who are mostly children, etc. This is why TÜV AUSTRIA has developed a testing procedure that helps establish the hazards for users on such leisure facilities to make critical spots safer.

Operators benefit from the testing procedure in that TÜV AUSTRIA informs them about which parts of the slide are particularly adventurous and where they must take special care that users refrain from romping about.

This attraction, where users are carried through the chute by the speed of the water alone, is very popular with young and old alike.

Ill-suited passage of the water in particular poses a risk, as it may cause users to bump against parts of the facility, to get stuck or be injured by the water nozzles.

TÜV AUSTRIA ensures the safe use of such facilities for swimmers.

Swimming pools are also frequented by people with limited mobility. There are lifting devices on the market to help these people by lifting them into and out of the pool.

Mandatory testing of such devices is carried out by TÜV AUSTRIA on a regular basis. It is crucial that the devices are sufficiently stable.

Since small children need constant activity in public swimming pools, great fun is provided for them in the form of water features, i.e. a cross between playground equipment and a swimming facility. No standards or test specifications exist for such facilities.

TÜV AUSTRIA helps manufacturers to realise a version of their facility that complies with the local conditions of the serviced bathing complex. Safe swimming pleasure is guaranteed in TÜV-inspected facilities, provided that visitors follow some simple rules of conduct.