Play is a very important part of a child’s development. Studies show that play helps children grow physically, mentally and socially. Part of this process involves pushing their physical limits on the playground. Children will try to get from one end of the jungle gym to the other, or jump from one component to another without falling. They will compete with each other over who can reach the tallest heights on the swing-set. If they succeed, they feel a sense of accomplishment, which in turn builds confidence. If they fail, there will be a fall involved and they may get injured. Risk is an inherent part of a child’s development. With risky play comes a potential for accidents, and with accidents, there are usually costs such as repairs, damages, lawyer fees, etc. So how does an association that has a playground protect themselves from liability while still providing a vital amenity to children? You can’t stop accidents from happening, so you must try to minimize the possibility of serious accidents. This can be accomplished by incorporating a risk management program which will create a standard of care for your community playground. The following are steps to help get this process started.
Understanding Playground Regulations
The first step in risk management of a playground is understanding the laws and regulations. Associated with playgrounds. At the current time, there are no Federal laws pertaining to playground safety. There are several states that have passed legislation on public playgrounds; Illinois not being one of them. Currently, California is the only state that requires playground inspections. States that do not have laws in place follow International Voluntary Guidelines based on current Safety Performance Specifications set by The American Society for testing and Materials (ASTM) F1487-11; and The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook Publication 325. The objective of both publications is to create safer playgrounds by reducing the occurrence of life threatening and debilitating injuries. These standards and guidelines are available to everyone. You can download the public Playground Safety Handbook from the CPSC website at
www.cpsc.gov. The ASTM F1487-11 standard is available for purchase on the ASTM website at
www.astm.org. Where these resources are very helpful in understanding current playground safety standards, they are very comprehensive and can be a bit overwhelming.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission published “The Dirty Dozen Check List – The Top 12 Hazards in Americas Playgrounds”. This is an excellent resource for people who are not familiar with playground standards. Some of the topics this publication covers are use zones, surfacing, protrusions & entanglements, entrapment spaces, crush and shear hazards, guardrails, supervision and owner responsibilities. Where this publication gives a great overview of playground safety, it should not be used as the sole resource for keeping your playground safe. To make sure your playground is compliant with current playground
standards and free of all hazards, a Certified Playground safety inspector (CPSI) should be contacted to do an onsite audit of your playground.
Hire a Professional
A Certified Playground Safety Inspector, also known as a “CPSI”, is trained in all the current standards and guidelines for both ASTM and CPSC. Make sure your CPSI has the right credentials. Every CPSI professional receives a certificate with a certificate number after passing a rigorous testing certification which is offered through the National Recreation and Park Association. This certification must be renewed every three years to ensure knowledge of changing standards. The objective of a CPSI is to understand the difference between risks and hazards on your playground, and to use this knowledge to identify these hazards and non-compliant conditions. By identifying and removing the possible life threatening and debilitating hazards you are protecting your organization from potentially costly liabilities.
Analyze Your Risk
Once you hire a CPSI Professional they will complete an audit of the playground. The audit consists of identifying the different components of the playground, checking compliance of all components from the manufacturing to the installation. A visual inspection of the surfacing, access and design will be completed. All hazards and non-compliant situations will be noted in a report. The hazards will be ranked according to injury potential. This is achieved through a priority rating. High priority ratings are items that need to be repaired immediately due to a hazard that creates the potential for a life threating or debilitating accident. Low priority ratings are items that have been determined to be compliant, however, ongoing maintenance is recommended. Garbage throughout the play area or signs of slight wear on components are some examples of a low priority items. The report should contain a detailed explanation of the hazard and an explanation as to how to remove the hazard. Typically audits only need to be completed once unless major modifications or repairs have been completed at which time another CPSI audit is recommended.
Create a Safety Program
The final step is to set up a safety inspection and maintenance program. The frequency of these will depend on the usage of the playground. The purpose of the routine safety inspections is to identify any new hazards that have been created since the initial audit. These new hazards usually occur due to normal use, weather and vandalism. As with an audit, every inspection should have a written report listing all hazards, priority ratings and explanations of how to remove the hazards. As work is completed on your
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