The VDH Code of Honor Tom Boye President of VDH (German Indoor Playground Association)

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Clifton Bailey
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1 The VDH Code of Honor Tom Boye President of VDH (German Indoor Playground Association)

2 Table of contents (1) Why do we have a VDH Code of Honor? (2) What is the VDH Code of Honor about? (3) Practical experiences with the Code of Honor (4) Current Incident Statistics (5) Outlook

3 (1) Why do we have a VDH Code of Honor? In Germany there are no legal or official safety regulations for indoor playgrounds. Only for the construction of playgrounds exists the DIN EN 1176 norm. In order to bridge this gap and to sharpen the profile of the association as a quality community, in 2012 the Code of Honor was developed and approved at the General Meeting in March Came into force at 1 January Transition period for existing members until 31 December Indoor playgrounds who are not members of the association do not necessarily have to be worse, but consumers have no way to recognize this.

4 Notice for the entrance area

5 Objectives of the VDH Code of Honor Increased quality and safety in the individual facilities. The VDH Seal of Approval is to be recognized as a quality seal of consumers, consumer associations, customer portals, media, business and politics. The membership of VDH gives members a positive image. Generation of new members by "magnet effect" of the positive image. In the end: a clear advantage for the VDH members against non-members, which can also have a financial impact, e.g. through the ability of charging higher entry fees.

6 (2) What is the VDH Code of Honor about? Public part (will be displayed at the entrance) Review of the indoor playground once a year by a recognized expert Regular safety checks in accordance with DIN 1176 Purchase only high quality equipment, with GS, CE, TÜV marks VDH members force themselves to properly manage their indoor playground and to comply with all statutory hygiene standards.

7 (2) What is the VDH Code of Honor about? VDH members conduct open and fair competition with other VDH members. To take the copyrightholders for text and pictures in account Positive presentation of competitors The promotion of an economically fair competition Transparent communication and prices VDH members treat their employees fair and with respect. The staff members are regularly trained, are friendly and service oriented.

8 (2) What is the VDH Code of Honor about? Non-public section The indoor playground is audited annually by an expert recognized by the VDH. The audit has to be done in line with the checklists, developed by the VDH. Test according to DIN 1176 for indoor and outdoor use Not only testing individual devices, but also the context of the hall Checks of the protocols for daily inspection Checks of specific finger- and headcatches Presence of usage instructions on all large play equipments

9 (3) Practical experiences with the Code of Honor External: Increased interest of the industry in cooperation with the VDH Consumer portals are coming to the VDH themselves Business Insurance Framework Contract Play-Protect : 10% VDH discount Internal: A lot of positive feedback from the members Partial difficulties with the implementation (for example, sending the annual test reports) Gaining new members is sometimes more difficult, while expectation of the membership get higher.

10 (4) Current Incident Statistics Basics For more than 10 years, the VDH has had a large framework contract for the insurance protection of indoor playgrounds. Up to now 102 companies have been insured. The liability claims for the past 5 years have been evaluated in cooperation with the insurer. A total of 73 indoor playgrounds, which are currently insured under the framework agreement, were evaluated. The reported annual turnover was 23,790,000. With an average revenue of 9 (net) per visitor, this is 2,643,333 visitors per year.

11 (4) Current Incident Statistics Details Period of investigation: January 2013 to August Liability Damages 1 have been reported to the insurer This corresponds to a rate of 455,747 visitors per liability. 1 All claims were counted where a visitor got injured and where the visitor (in most cases the parents or healt insurance or lawyer) have been guilty of culpability. The incidents were counted even if the claim of liability was waived or cleared. The number of accidents where the facility was liable is significantly lower, about 50%.

12 (4) Current Incident Statistics Details 41% of the accidents are caused by trampoline jumping Also, 41% of the liability claims are attributable to injuries of parents or grandparents With regard to the calculated number of visitors, VDH-facilities have significantly less incidents. VDH-Facilities: 1 incident / Visitors Not-VDH-Facilities: 1 incident / Visitors. A non-vdh system therefore has a 35% higher damage frequency.

13 (5) Outlook The VDH Test Seal is to be protected as an image mark Collaboration with authorities at country level will be intensified, as statutory regulations for the safety in indoor playgrounds are expected Improvement of communication with consumers, so the VDH and thus its member companies are perceived more as a security and quality association.

14 Thank you very much for your attention! For more information please refer to

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