Application, Inspection, and Appeal Requirements:

Applications:

1. Application forms for approval will normally be sent to participating providers in May/June of each year. New entrants to the scheme should request such forms at this time.
   
   
2. Completed application forms will be returned by the end of June and be sent to the Board through the 'Amuigh' office.
   
   
3. Applications will be accompanied by the appropriate fee and by proof of adequate Public Liability insurance.
   
   
4. Applications will not be accepted unless returned on the official CSB form. If there is insufficient space for all staff qualifications or other requested details, the appropriate page of the application form may be copied and attached to the form.
   
   
5. Computer printouts or other forms of presenting staff details must not be used unless these correspond exactly to the format and lay-out of the application form.
   
   
6. Further documentation, for example certification of staff qualifications, especially non-Irish awards. may be required if such details are not contained in the AFAS database. Centres will be informed if such documentation is required.
   
   
7. Providers are requested to ensure that staff certification is up-to-date. This particularly applies to First Aid awards.

Inspection:

Annual Inspections:

These are normally carried out during the months of July and August. In exceptional cases other dates will be considered.

Spot Checks:

These will be carried out at any time.

Notice of Inspection:

In the case of annual inspections CSB monitors will normally give two weeks notice of the intended date of inspection. Monitors will try to facilitate the needs of managers / owners, but it is evident that it is not always possible to arrange a suitable day for each operation in a given geographical area. In the case of spot checks no prior notice need be given.

Access:

By virtue of participating in the scheme, providers agree to allow monitors access to all activity facilities including stores, drying rooms, repair shops, indoor activity spaces such as climbing walls, rolling or snorkelling pools, outdoor locations such as orienteering courses, climbing crags, canoeing locations etc. Permission to speak to individual members of staff may be requested but usually monitors will not wish to distract instructors who are engaged with their groups.

Documents Required:

Accompanying the application form the monitor will require a copy of the relevant sections of the Operations Manual, proof of public liability insurance, staffing qualifications and an equipment inventory.

On arrival at the centre or providers premises, the monitor will require to see the following documents:- safety statement, staff roster, activity programme and details of client numbers.

Safety Statement:

A provider will if requested, allow monitors to inspect the provider's Safety Statement. While monitors have no legal function in this matter, the drawing up and possession of such a statement is taken as an indication that a provider has given proper thought and planning to the general safety of the operation. It is expected that the Safety Statement will comply with the requirements of The Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989.

Operations Manual:

Attached or filed with the Safety Statement, the monitor will require to see the providers Operations Manual. The Manual will concern itself with the safety and general welfare of clients whilst engaged in adventure activities. This document will contain details of operating procedures for each adventure activity. It will lay out the operator's required procedures for the conduct of activity sessions from the time the client comes under the control of the supervising instructor until the end of the session when the instructor hands over responsibility to a competent person. A precise format for this manual is not always feasible since they may fail to cover every significant aspect of all eventualities.

The manual will deal comprehensively with such things as:

1. likely hazards and necessary precautions.
   
   
2. client / instructor ratios relative to the type of activity and venue.
   
   
3. appropriate instructor qualifications bearing in mind the conditions and level of skill required.
   
   
4. division of areas of responsibility between instructors.
   
   
5. appropriate equipment at different levels and locations.
   
   
6. geographical limits.
   
   
7. procedures relating to obtaining information on and dealing with adverse weather and other variable conditions.

Each provider or centre will have its own local conditions and hazards and should approach the preparation of the manual with this in mind. Ideally, an instructor new to a centre provider should obtain in the Manual all the necessary information to enable him/her, while conducting an instructional session, to remain within the safety parameters set by the provider.

Safety Officer:

It is a legal requirement that in completing a Safety Statement a staff member must be given the duty of Safety Officer. The Centre Standards Board requires that a suitable member (who may also be the statutorily-required Safety Officer) with adequate experience and qualifications, is appointed to a similar position in order to oversee the implementation of safety procedures laid down in the Operations Manual.

Staff Signatures:

All operational staff, including stores and repair staff, are required to read both the Safety Statement and Operations Manual. Their signatures testifying to this will be appended to both.

Adequate Staffing:

On arrival, the monitor will require to see a copy of the staff roster and activity programme for that day and week - and for any day in the previous four months - as well as evidence of client numbers. This is to ascertain client / instructor ratios. If such rosters / programmes are not kept by a provider - and it is strongly urged that these should be kept - then some other means of ascertaining staffing ratios and total client numbers for the periods in question should be readily available.

Equipment Inventory:

Because equipment may be in use in scattered locations it is not always possible for a monitor to see the entire stock of a provider's equipment. An inventory of the entire stock should therefore be available for inspection, preferably with year of purchase of the various items, repair record and in the case of such items as lifejackets, dates of required periodic checks.

Equipment Stores and Repair Shop:

Equipment for sporting activities will be stored neatly and in such a manner that items will not be borrowed or used by clients or others without the express permission and supervision of qualified instructors. Such gear will not be at risk of physical damage from trampling, mishandling or sharp edges. Equipment will not be stored in close proximity to corrosives, chemicals, fuels or paints which could cause damage. A clear procedure will be in place for the removal from service of damaged, defective or unsuitable equipment. Such defective or unsuitable equipment will be clearly marked for repair or destruction and precautions taken to prevent its use, deliberately or in error. In examining equipment the monitor will not usually carry out a comprehensive check on every item, but will select a few of each type at random.

Activities:

Activities will be run in accordance with guidelines laid down by the relevant National Governing Bodies and which are outlined in the appendix attached to this booklet. If a monitor becomes aware of unsafe procedures or conditions which have not been anticipated in National Governing Bodies' guidelines, these will be noted in the monitor's report. Monitors will take into account, inter-alia. such things as client / instructor ratios, instructor qualifications, suitability of equipment, availability of First Aid equipment, local conditions, procedures on the ground or water throughout a session and where appropriate, rescue equipment or craft. Monitors will use whatever means they deem necessary to record what they observe.

Report Form:

Before leaving the centre the monitor will complete the standard report form and show this to the Manager, Chief Instructor or whoever is nominated by the Manager. This person will be asked to append their signature and if it is desired. will add his / her comments in the appropriate place.

Written notification of monitor's recommendations:

As soon as is practicable the monitor will write to the provider informing him / her of what the monitor's recommendation to the Centre Standards Board will be. The provider may be required to rectify a specific faulty procedure or equipment (if any) or to take action which the monitor fees is necessary in order to recommend approval. The provider will be allowed four weeks in which to do this or to write to the Centre Standards Board with an explanation of why the monitor's requirements cannot be met.

Approval:

The Centre Standards Board will consider monitor's reports in September of each year and at any other time it deems necessary.

• The date of the meeting will be made known to affected providers at least four weeks in advance.
• The Board will also take into account any submissions from providers.
• The Board may grant approval, refuse to grant approval or attach such conditions to approval as it deems fit.
• The Board will write to providers informing them of its decisions within a week of the meeting.
• The Board will at this time publish a provisional list of approved centers in order to meet Bord Failte's publication dates for the following years tourism literature.

Conditional Approval

The Board will on occasion grant approval which is conditional on some requirement being implemented within a given time-frame. In such cases the fact that the approval is conditional will be made clear on the Board's list of approved providers. In a case where a provider operating with conditional approval is found to have breached the condition, approval for the activity in question may be withdrawn by the monitor or the Board forthwith. Approval will not be renewed until the provider has satisfied the Board that the condition has being implemented.

Limited Approval

The Board will on occasion grant limited approval, the terms of which will set certain geographical or other limits to the practice of a particular activity. This is usually an ongoing, year-to-year form of limited approval which operates within the parameters set in the original correspondence and need not be the subject of separate letters each year. While this kind of approval will not appear as such in the Board's list of approved providers, it may be mentioned in the certificate of approval issued to the provider. Breach of the limitation may result in the same sanction as in the case of a breach of conditional approval.

Certificate of Approval

When the Board grants approval, a certificate to this effect will be issued. This certificate will be displayed in a public place by the provider where clients and members of the public can readily see it. Monitors will check that this is done.

Appeals:

The timing of the appeals process is designed to allow appellants to complete the process before the Board issues its final list of approved providers in mid-December.

• The provider has four weeks in which to object to the monitor's recommendation, or to carry out procedures requested by the monitor before the Board meets to consider the recommendations.
• If the Board decides not to grant approval, written notice of this decision will be sent to a provider within ten days.
• If a provider disputes the Board's decision he she may appeal to the Appeals Panel which will meet six weeks from the date of the meeting at which the Board makes its decision.
• Notification of intention to appeal should be received at the AFAS Office twenty days before the meeting of the Appeals Panel. Notification of intent to appeal, must be accompanied by a fee which will cover the administration of the appeal. Should the appeal be successful, this fee will be returned in full.
• The appeal itself must be received at the AFAS Office at least ten days before the Panel meets and should state in writing the grounds on which the appeal is being made.
• The appeal will be heard by an Appeals Panel chaired by a former CSB chairman or someone of similar stature appointed by A.F.A.S in consultation with the organisations representing centres and other providers.
• Also sitting on the Appeals Panel will be one representative from each of the appropriate National Governing Body and of the organisation (OEC managers or IAAC) to which the provider belongs. If the provider does not belong to one of the representative organisations the chairman will consult with the provider prior to appointing an alternative panel member.
• The provider will be entitled to make written and / or verbal submissions to the Appeals Panel. as will the monitor.
• The appellant has then four weeks in which to implement such actions as are required by the Appeals Panel and to furnish, at the provider's expense, such proof of implementation as is requested by the Panel. Failure to do so will result in withholding of approval for one or more of the activities offered by the provider.
• Should the provider continue to offer professional instruction in the activity or activities for which approval has been refused, the Centre Standards Board will decide on further action in consultation with the various interested bodies.

Back to Approval Scheme

Secretary Centre Standards Board, Duncannon Fort, Duncannon, Co. Wexford.
Information Line: (01) 450-9845    Email: enquiries@adventuresports.ie