Why drowning detection infrastructure must be included in ALL new pools

In the last 4 months alone, we have been brought late onto SIX projects, where the building contractors have charged the local authorities a combined additional expense in excess of £200,000 - just to install 56 x £50 Camera niches so we can proceed!

None of this unnecessary expense goes to Poolview - it is all just for site works!

Are you in the process of planning to build a new swimming pool and/or leisure centre?
...pondering whether or not to have a 4 a 6 or even an 8 court main hall?
...how many square metres in gym?
...what about a soft play area?
...how many covers do we need for the café?
..25metre pool or 50metre?
...moving floor or not? etc. etc. etc.

All of these questions I would suggest will be considered and answers may well be dictated by budget.

BUT (and it is a big but), have you considered including provision for Drowning Detection Technology (DDT) to support your lifeguards?

Over the last 10 years when I did manage to speak directly with architects and project managers responsible for overseeing new builds, the stock answer has been "we considered drowning detection technology, but rejected it”.  Just like that! End of conversation, no further debate!

Now, if I told you that in the last 6 months - SIX projects that we have been brought late into, the building contractor has charged the local council or operator a combined additional cost in excess of £200,000 to include 56 Camera niches which cost just £50 each!!

None of this unnecessary expense goes to Poolview - it is all just for site works!

The harsh reality about building a new swimming pool and leisure centre is that it's a minefield, it's like putting together a “perfect meal” that everyone will enjoy, pleasing some of the people all of the time, it's a difficult job I know, I have built and managed a few in my time!

You might not believe this, I didn’t write this article to sell or promote any Poolview products, but rather to address part of the Drowning Detection Technology dilemma.

Drowning Detection Technology, is not going away. It will become part of a swimming pools DNA as readily as a seat belt did in a car!

Detection Systems have become part of the facilities Building Management System. They not only help to increase swimmer safety but further provide the ability to operate swimming pools with a “Blended Lifeguarding” methodology and increase efficiencies hugely - often with substantial long term savings on running costs!

Whether or not you believe in DDT “today” - what about next year or in three years time?

Plan your DDT containment BEFORE it gets to this stage!

It makes good business sense to at the very least make provision for the future? It really is such a minuscule part of a new build project to include “containment within the pool” for another day.

So, if you are involved in a new build project, please, please, please, contact us for a set of free no obligation camera position drawings - it might just save someone, somewhere, sometime in the future, one less big headache and unwanted expense!

Thanks to a few individuals with vision, we have 'popped' a few cameras in to a 2012 build without any fuss or threat on the pool tank warranty! Now that makes sense!

Robin McGloughlin

Poolview - Just another Manikin Monday

📷 Ian Pickering

📷 Ian Pickering

Testing times this morning - a continuous improvement process for “Blended Lifeguarding”

📷 Mac Mac Media

📷 Mac Mac Media

It seems the manikins used up and down the country are starting too change and evolve after what seems like forever!.

The demands placed on Lifeguards means that they need more realistic manikins to train with and these includes swimming pool manikins, such as the Pool Rescue Manikin designed by Ruth Lee.

These manikins help trainers to teach a variety of skills depending on the rescue scenario. The Pool Rescue manikin was designed with assistance from the RLSS UK and tested extensively by their lifeguards and lifeguard trainers and assessors

Poolview on the other hand must still complete our series of tests using the manikin described in the European Standard which thankfully at last may well be getting an update to reflect the needs for more accurate and realistic live testing in the pool.

Poolview Technology - Supporting Lifeguards

Poolview - Second Fix Team

📷 Ben Matthews

📷 Ben Matthews

The second fix team arrive on site towards the end of another week in their gleaming white vans!

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Our first fix team have moved on as the commissioning team arrives to take all the glory.

Still some clever stuff to happen remotely, but getting pictures on the screens the priority.

The second fix team tends to work in daylight hours although not always - so it literally is “ships passing in the night”

Great to see the pools coming back to life again though.

Poolview Technology - Supporting Lifeguards

Poolview - All hands on Deck!

📷 Paul Brown

📷 Paul Brown

Another week and another Poolview installation. This is our first fix team arriving at site. Still able to take advantage of the pools closures and avoid the overnight shifts.

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Second fix team follow up next week, whilst our two engineers continue with normal routine maintenance.

The downside for installation is the colder pools. This has come, quite literally as a “bit of a shock” to our guys who have normally enjoyed temperatures of 27º and upwards!

Wet suits have become the new normal!

Great to see the pools coming back to life again though.

Poolview Technology - Supporting Lifeguards

Recreation Aotearoa with Tracey Prince-Puketapu & Gary Johnson

“View from the Pool” is a unique series of conversation podcasts between Poolview’s Robin McGloughlin and his guests, who uniquely have all been Lifeguards at some point in their career. 

In this episode we venture once again into the southern hemisphere and chat with Australian Aquatics Professional Gary Johnson and Recreation Aotearoa Aquatics Program Manager Tracey Prince-Puketapi

How the Kiwis coped with "the Covid" gets a personal experience airing - the different attitudes between the Health & Safety Culture in NZ compared to those in the UK are discussed as is the Maori Culture, Earthquakes and the infamous "Swim Reaper".

Why the art of "bombing" is actively encouraged in NZ swimming pools and the new super splash skill sets required to perform a "Manu", which is taken a seriously as rugby!

An entertaining and educational podcast from opposite sides of the planet.

Warning  - This podcast bring together three different accents that you will enjoy listening to again and again!


View from the Pool podcast with Kov Bahadori

https://bit.ly/3qtcS2H

https://bit.ly/3qtcS2H

In this weeks podcast we venture to Yorkshire and meet Kov Bahadori - Leisure Operations Manager for Wakefield Council.

“View from the Pool” is a unique series of conversation podcasts between Poolview Limited Director Robin McGloughlin and his guests, who, uniquely have all been Lifeguards at some point in their career.

We hear Kov describe his "Park Run" obsession, grasping opportunities, his "wild card" entry into leisure management and the frustrations of having the brand new Aspire@The Park leisure facility completed and handed over during lockdown!

Includes a couple of good "chuck them out of the pool" stories

Connect - Share - Laugh - Learn

Choose your listening platform from here https://bit.ly/3qtcS2H

#istartedasalifeguard #supportinglifeguards #thisisnotagame#blendedlifeguarding



Poolview at Center Parcs

📷 Daniel Collier

📷 Daniel Collier

We are delighted to announce today that we have been awarded the contract to fit our Poolview System into Center Parcs.

All being well - on site from next week - taking advantage of the enforced lockdowns around the country.

This partnership has been developing over the last few years and we are proud and excited to become a nominated supplier for Center Parcs.

Happy New Year to everyone and what a bright start to the year for Poolview.

Stay safe and take care - things will return to “some sort of normal”

#thisisnotagame #supportinglifeguards #blendedlifeguarding

Mizen to Malin for Hospice

Derek Moorhead and Poolview Business Director, Robin McGloughlin at Malin Head

Derek Moorhead and Poolview Business Director, Robin McGloughlin at Malin Head

On 1st July, Derek Moorhead and Poolview Business Director, Robin McGloughlin, set off on a 500 miles scenic journey from the southern tip of Ireland to the most northern point ie. Mizen Head to Malin Head.

The pair were aiming to raise funds for the Southern Area Hospice which needs £2.7million in donations per annum to remain open.

The challenge was to “wild bike-pack” the length of Ireland, without any support and wild camping in open fields along the way.

Unfortunately the weather proved to be very typically Irish and it rained hard for 4 of the 5 days. Strong gusting winds in excess of 25knots were not welcome on the heavily laden road bikes.

However the two friends made it to Malin Head on Sunday, mid-afternoon with a total raised in excess of £5,500. The total now has exceeded £6,600

If you want to see more of their route etc. click here

Well done guys.

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Face shields for the NHS

When the call came out for people around the country with 3D printers to create face shields for hospitals and other health workers, our Technical Director - Chris Day reacted to the challenge.

Chris reached out and was then sent the appropriate print file.

Over the weekend he furloughed our printers from their camera duties and has now transferred them to NHS face shield production.

If anyone would like to help and join in, drop us a line through our contact page or drop us a message on Facebook.

Stay at home and stay safe from us all at Poolview

The Gorilla in your Pool!

Not quite a Gorilla in your Pool but two Baboons!

Sometimes things just “hit you in the face” and you know you have to stick your head above the parapet and hopefully encourage some debate or fresh thinking.

Every week I visit a lot of pools the length and breadth of the country, encouraging others to consider the use of technology in their own swimming pools.

I often arrive with a little time to spare (and normally anonymously), grab a coffee and sit down with the laptop which I ignore and I watch the Lifeguards and the swimmers before I meet a member of management.

Always there in the quiet times - off peak to use the old terminology - low bather loads - very very low sometimes - but often less than a dozen people in the pool.

I am in a very unique position because of “what I do” with technology (some might say unfortunately) by having access to footage of quite a few “near misses” and tragically too many actual fatalities, which have all occurred in publicly lifeguarded swimming pools in the UK and Ireland.

As our installation rates increase the law of averages dictates that I will get more and more to review as more systems get commissioned and the use of technology to partner lifeguards (Blended Lifeguarding) becomes more prevalent!

It has actually made me pause and take stock and consider a few things that I see in front of me - different factors - different questions - different thinking.

As I have said many many times - Lifeguarding professionalism has changed from the heady days in 1983 when I passed my RLSS Bronze Medallion. Well I remember the launch of the new Pool Lifeguard qualification in the mid eighties - my goodness we thought we knew it all back then - untouchable and awesome as we all were!

Lifeguard qualifications have become more and more sophisticated over the years and certainly very professional. The new excellent RLSS 9th Edition demonstrates that, but I do believe that we should already be considering, where we are going next?

When I talk to and train Lifeguards, I always tell them that there are very very few “help me - help me” movie rescues.

Fact - in the vast majority of all drowning incidents I review, the victim was swimming normally until those last few vital seconds. Very few Lifeguards I believe would have spotted any signs at all - particularly given the recognition skills they have been taught.

I wrote in my blog in April 17 ”When a drowning happens again - and it will - in all probability, this will be the quietest and most “unremarkable” 120 seconds of their (a lifeguards) career - after that - Life will NEVER be the same!”

In fact - 99% of the footage I am “privileged” enough to have seen, re-enforces that completely.

In my opinion - each near miss or fatality in a swimming pool that I have seen has been preceded by some sort of medical event, should it be Hypoxic Blackout, Heart Attack or an Epileptic Fit for example.

In the United States, the only demographic which has shown an increase in fatalities in pools in the last 10 years is unsurprisingly in the upper end of the age range. We are living longer, taking more pills and exercising more, so the chances are that the probability of a medical event occurring in the swimming pool has also increased.

So how can we improve our Lifeguards recognition skills?

The 10:20 scan - for some time this has bothered me a little - I’m ok with a rescue in 30 seconds - but from what I see that is a rarity!

I don’t as yet have an answer or an alternative - but I believe we need to revisit it with some science? Link it to the actual abilities of a human mind, attention spans, zone of responsibility and training etc. 

I am obviously an advocate of detection systems in swimming pools and I am wondering should we lifeguard in a different way when such technology is in situ? How do we harmonise the concept of “Blended Lifeguarding” to make pools even safer. We are only at the the beginning of this journey, but I am already thinking that we need to re-think how we Lifeguard under such circumstances.

I also wonder when technology isn’t available - do we want Lifeguards having “identical” roles and responsibilities? For example - when two or more Lifeguards are present, should one have a scanning responsibility and the other a swimmer engageent responsibility? One who interacts with the public freely, patrols and assesses - the other fixed and scanning?

Now I should say and re-enforce something here - what I get to see does not happen very often. I have no way of knowing the number of good interventions from switched on Lifeguards that have occurred which, have prevented a “chain of unbroken events” leading to a near miss or a tragedy - I think that is something that MUST be acknowledged!

I raise these questions because we always want to get better, to raise the bar and to make a difference and question the how’s and why’s. Continuous improvement.

Have a look at these notes from my latest observations

In all of the incidents a member of the public raised the alarm!

Other swimmers swam over or beside the victim and didn’t notice!

The pools had very low bather loads!

No victims cried out in any of them!

All incidents seemed to follow a medical event (two shallow water blackout)!

Post rescue

CPR was slow to start (always over 1 minute)!

Plenty of staff made it to poolside very very quickly 6+ usually always with a defibrillator!

No-one “appeared” to be in charge - I didn’t see someone standing back and taking stock and directing!

What can we re-think to improve modern Lifeguarding?

We certainly need to revisit the 10:20 scan concept

We need to share examples with lifeguards of what drowning actually looks like (a written page or two in a manual isn’t suffice)

This can only benefit their Victim Recognition Skills which I believe needs to be improved and prioritised. This will be difficult as in ALL of the near misses and fatalities that I have witnessed - only two look the same! I can only surmise that the more data I gather over time, the more similarities I will find.

For me - this phrase that Gary Johnson of Pool Super Vision shared with me, says more than an entire page of words!

“if you’re not looking for a gorilla, you won’t see a gorilla and.....

if you’re not looking for a drowning person, you won’t see a drowning person

We do need to “get real” with our response to incident training - CPR practice in a dry squash court is all well and good, but I don’t think the majority of our Lifeguards are trained with pressurised and realistic simulations like every other emergency response discipline and has been embraced in Australia.

Our young Lifeguards could and should be better prepared for the event that they continually train for but, might never happen!

#thisisnotagame #blendedlifeguarding #letsgetreal

Innovation and Automation Seminar - Cardiff

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We are delighted to be involved once again with Swimming Pool Events for this exciting seminar in Cardiff

A Number of key experts within the swimming pool community are coming to Perth to deliver a variety of workshops and talks on how swimming pool and leisure operators can develop best practice.

The seminars focus will be on how automation and innovation can simplify swimming pool operations.

The speakers will focus on providing tools and techniques that bring you up to date with current developments.

For further details and full agenda, please follow this link to register: www.swimmingpoolevents.co.uk

Or call: 07710 206945 - £55.00 + VAT per Delegate

Innovation & Automation Seminar

Perth19.jpg

We are delighted to be involved once again with Swimming Pool Events for this exciting seminar in Scotland

A Number of key experts within the swimming pool community are coming to Perth to deliver a variety of workshops and talks on how swimming pool and leisure operators can develop best practice.

The seminars focus will be on how automation and innovation can simplify swimming pool operations.

The speakers will focus on providing tools and techniques that bring you up to date with current developments.

For further details and full agenda, please follow this link to register: www.swimmingpoolevents.co.uk

Or call: 07710 206945 - £55.00 + VAT per Delegate


RLSS UK & Poolview Collaborate for Powerful Lifeguard Training Video

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/YDQ37HztmdU

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/YDQ37HztmdU

At Poolview today, we are delighted and honoured to have collaborated with the RLSS UK in the making of this powerful video, which we hope will go some way towards providing Lifeguards with additional skills in casualty recognition.

The link to the full RLSS UK article is here

POWERFUL FOOTAGE MAKES FOR ROBUST RLSS UK LIFEGUARD TRAINING.

The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) is always working to ensure that the qualifications our clients deliver, not only manifest best practice and industry guidance but are also as realistic as possible, incorporating the most relevant and up-to-date information. 

Our National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) Generation 9, launched in July 2018, is no different.

As standard practice for all our awards and qualifications, we carry out rigorous ongoing research in several areas, not just lifeguarding, reviewing and appraising incidents and accidents to help improve our provision. 
 
As in everyday life, advanced technology is increasingly being used by leisure operators and venues, right across the UK and Ireland. RLSS UK has spent the past 12 months studying video evidence of drownings, non-fatal drowning incidents and fatalities in swimming pools, to better understand how individuals behave and react, in these situations.

Our research has shown, that casualties behave in a variety of ways beyond what we would expect consequently, we have used these findings to enhance and further strengthen the casualty recognition section of the NPLQ; encouraging and empowering lifeguards to investigate any person behaving in an unusual (not normal) way. 
 
Using real-life footage and working with Poolview, we have created six real-life videos to give lifeguards a more in-depth understanding of a casualty’s behaviour.

These videos give both an underwater and lifeguard view, of a variety of casualties in difficulty.   

Jo Talbot, Commercial Operations Director at RLSS UK explains:

“It is vitally important that we provide lifeguards with the best possible training to support them in their role and ensure leisure operators benefit from the most proficient and confident staff.

“We are continually reviewing research and looking at incidents that have occurred, to help us improve our qualifications and training.

“I’m so excited to be able to now include these revolutionary videos, as valuable training resources for both qualifying lifeguards and lifeguards completing their ongoing training. It ensures RLSS UK remains at the forefront of lifesaving awards and qualifications, so everyone can enjoy the water, safely.”

Poolview Plus 13 site roll out completed for Warner

The first site of 13 completed for the Warner Hotels Group

The first site of 13 completed for the Warner Hotels Group

We are delighted to announce that Poolview Plus has now been installed in 13 of the Warner Hotels, part of the Bourne Leisure Group.

Craig Valentine - Health & Safety Manager of Bourne Leisure said:

“Poolview Limited in my opinion are the leading experts within the field of Drowning Detection Technology in the UK.

Their knowledge and expertise is second to none and the speed at which they are developing Poolview Plus in collaboration with the Industry is quite remarkable.

We have rolled out “Plus” throughout our entire Warner Hotels group and are absolutely delighted with the results.”