APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008 - (Page 26)

PREVENTING ENTRAPMENT TRAGEDIES ® Garden Prairie Custom Pool Enclosures Garden Prairie Pool Enclosures are designed to give you a light, crisp garden setting, letting you enjoy summer activities all year, guaranteeing a relaxing and enjoyable environment. CCSI International, Inc., is proud of its longterm acceptance by architects and builders, who have recognized the structural integrity and longevity of Garden Prairie Pool Enclosures, as well as its detail in fabrication. CCSI has served the leisure industry for almost four decades with quality residential and commercial enclosures. insists that when a cover is missing or broken the pool or spa must not be used. While no one can force owners to close their pools, you should advise them accordingly, in the strongest of terms. Other potential hazards include single outlets without an SVRS, gravity system, vent line, or comparable device. Damaged pool covers, fences, latches or gates, non-functioning alarms and non-compliant slides or diving boards also represent potential hazards. While a pool service provider cannot generally inspect for all of the above, any visible hazard should be reported to the owner. Know the law. Beginning one year after passage of the federal legislation, all drain covers sold in the Unites States will have to comply with ASME/ANSI 119.12.8. The Senate bill also would require existing public pools to install outlet covers in compliance with this standard. The fact is, all pools and spas must have proper outlet covers in place. As the trusted pool professional, you should make your customers aware of this opportunity to further protect their families and guests. The bills will provide incentives to states to adopt laws requiring that all new pools and spas be built with multiple outlets, unblockable outlets or no outlets. Existing single outlet installations can also be retrofitted with multiple outlets or other devices that can help prevent certain forms of entrapment. We offer consultation service and design assistance. CCSI International, Inc. Manufacturing - Distribution 8642 Hwy. 20, P Box 98 .O. Garden Prairie, IL 61038 Put it in writing. There is no safe way to operate or use a pool or spa that has a missing or broken outlet cover. These and other potentially non-compliant conditions should be brought to the attention of the owner. Regrettably, not every owner will follow your advice and, in the event of a tragedy and resultant lawsuit, they may even deny the conversation. It is therefore important to follow up your advice in writing, by email, certified letter or both. The writing should confirm the conversation, identify the hazard, suggest a course of action (even if it is to contact “your dealer”) and remind them that failure to take action may expose their family and guests to risk of severe injury. Any writing or email should be retained permanently with the customer file or records. This will place you in the best possible position and may also increase the likelihood that a reluctant owner might take appropriate action. A Q www.ccsiusa.com Email: ccsi@ccsiusa.com 1-800-537-8231 Steven Getzoff is a senior litigation partner with the law firm of Lester Schwab Katz and Dwyer in New York and specializes in product liability and business litigation. He has been representing members of the pool and hot tub industry in liability and other matters for more than 20 years. 343114_CCSI.indd 1 26 | AQ A P S P Q UA R T E R LY 10/11/07 10:30:16 AM http://www.cciusa.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008

APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008 Contents President's Message Guest Editorial APSP Annual Report Hot Tub Council Initiative to Speak with One Voice Suction Safety Challenging the Process Industry Update Keeping Pace: Staying on the Cutting Edge With Lifelong Learning APSP News & Resources Advertisers' Index

APSP Quarterly - Winter 2008

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