19.02.2016 - Ausgabe: 1/2016

Playground inspections: extravagant and unnecessary requirements?

By Mario Ladu (Spielplatzmobil GmbH)

For more than 30 years, generally recognised provisions that apply to technical products, such as the standards relevant to playgrounds, have been in place. But who decides how the relevant requirements are to be applied? What do the operators of playgrounds and leisure facilities need to do? Is there anyone who will explain to them what is required of them as operators? Why is it necessary at all for operators to undertake inspections, maintenance and repair work? Recent developments and some examples.

It is an essential need of all operators of children's playgrounds to ensure that they meet the necessary safety requirements to protect themselves and other responsible persons should accidents occur and they become subject to claims for damages. Of course, they also want to ensure that children are not exposed to unforeseen risks on their playgrounds. They thus also need to take into account the fact that children of all age groups are not yet adequately capable of accurately assessing potential hazards. This means that the level of safety provided must be such that the most susceptible of the user groups for which the playground is intended is not placed at risk.

 

Some unusual requirements listed in tender specifications

At present many operators are confused about what is actually required of them and this can lead to the inclusion of extravagant and often unnecessary requirements in the specifications for playground inspections.

The following are taken from actual tender specifications recently prepared by local authorities:

 

• Determination of the thickness of coatings, such as those of paint and galvanisation
• Drilling of all posts and cross braces made of wood to determine their drill resistance
• Uncovering of all foundations
• Uncovering of the buried sections of posts to the top of their foundations
• Smoothing of all uneven surfaces

 

In order to make it clear what sort of requirements really need to be included in tender specifications, I should first like to go through the usual chronological sequence of playground construction and a playground's life span.

 

1. Final acceptance

On completion of the design and construction phase or the extension of a playground, the work done must be inspected prior to final acceptance. What generally needs to be checked?

The entrance areas (gates, access systems etc.) need to be inspected to ensure that they do not represent a risk of crushing, do not have sharp edges, do not represent a risk of entrapment and are positioned in such a way that users leaving the playground are made aware that they are in fact leaving the playground.

Any fencing around the playground (where this is required – German standard DIN 18034 provides insufficient information on this aspect) also needs to be checked for potential entrapment sites, sharp tips and edges.

All features within a playground need to be inspected to ensure they have no dangerous extremities or sharp edges. If there is vegetation, are there any tree branch tips at eye height or shrubs attached to supports that are near where users are active and could penetrate an eye during play or if someone falls over? Are there any of the four poisonous plants or the two plants that are potentially allergenic that are cited in DIN 18034? It is also a good idea to consider in general any potential hazards with which trees could be associated. Are there any water features that could be dangerous?

All these aspects need to be considered in the light of DIN 18034 or the general safety regulations but are not specifically mentioned in these; in fact, these hazards have all been the subject of recent court cases.

Of course, the playground equipment itself needs to be checked to ensure that it meets the minimum requirements of valid regulations and so that any apparent defects with regard to installation can be detected. It is a good idea to ask the installer to leave a foundation exposed so that it can be first inspected.

Possible installation errors can be represented by the inclusion of potential entrapment sites and incorrect foundation depth. Problems with the original design can result in insufficient safety clearance between equipment, inadequate fall protection etc. The equipment itself may be inappropriately constructed or positioned while assembly guidelines can also be misleading etc.

If the final acceptance inspection is thorough enough, it will not be necessary to pay too much attention to these details during subsequent annual main inspections. But at this point, it is essential to keep an eye out for maintenance errors and material defects!

 

2. Visual routine inspections (formerly covered by superseded German standard DIN 7926: Visual and functional controls)

As the name of the section of the former standard implies, playgrounds and their equipment must be visually inspected and checked to ensure that they function safely. The usual procedure is to check for damage as a result of vandalism, for any potential hazards that could cause accidents and to verify the effectiveness of fall protection areas. On average this will take 10 - 15 minutes.

 

3. Operational inspection (formerly covered by superseded German standard DIN 7926: Checks for wear and tear)

Again, the old standard indicates what is most important during this type of inspection. All sections of playground equipment that can be subject to wear and tear, such as movable parts, chain links, couplings etc., need to be inspected in accordance with the maintenance instructions of the manufacturers. It is also necessary to determine whether the equipment is still adequately supported and its general construction is still sound.

 

3a. Maintenance in accordance with manufacturers' instructions

Maintenance is necessary in order to ensure that equipment meets the required safety standards.

 

3b. Repairs

These may be necessary to refurbish equipment so that it has the required levels of operational safety and stability. Average time required: 30 minutes or more.

 

4.Annual main inspections (formerly covered by superseded German standard DIN 7926: Annual main inspection)

During an annual main inspection, an independent operative verifies that all inspections, maintenance and repair work carried out during the previous year meet requirements.

Among aspects that may be reviewed are the structural support of equipment and the covering of foundations in fall areas. The site may also be investigated for any protruding elements that could represent hazards. The overall safety of the site and the risk of serious accidents are evaluated.

As during a first main inspection it is often unclear whether a site has been properly subjected to the necessary final acceptance procedures or whether a piece of equipment has been subsequently modified, the more meticulous inspectors may also ask to see the final acceptance documents.

Because of the way that forces act on certain points of so-called single mast playground equipment during use, they should be removed from use even before their service life has expired if these exhibit progressive decay or their support seems precarious.

Excerpt of EN 1176 part 7: "It may be necessary to expose certain elements for the purposes of the annual main inspection. Other measures may also be necessary so that potential damage to a structure can be assessed."

Where inspectors are uncertain about how to evaluate a piece of equipment, they should use the above as a guideline. For example, the screw fixings/couplings in swing seats can be uncovered and foundations exposed. The average time required is 15 - 45 minutes, excluding travel time and the time needed to prepare the report.

 

The prices quoted in tenders submitted by service providers offering to undertake an annual main inspection as specified in EN 1176 show a remarkable range of variation. The most attractive price (€6) was quoted by a construction firm with a qualified inspector and remarkably there was no explanation of how this price had been calculated. Another company that sells playground equipment and replacement parts and undertakes repair work wanted €22. One man businesses and organisations with a larger administration structure have been known to quote a price of €250 for the same task! The average charge for an annual main inspection is in the range €45 - €180.

 

Anyone can determine the depth of a coating of paint or galvanised surface! However, it is unclear to what use the result can be put as the depth of coatings on new equipment is not something that is required to be evaluated.

The evaluation of the level of potential risk is something that is always subjective. However, as there are objective technical standards for playgrounds that have been prepared by specialists for specialists, it is advisable only to undertake assessments on the basis of subjective criteria in situations that are not covered by the existing regulations.

It is not necessary to employ a specialist to expose the foundations of a piece of equipment; however, it will still not be possible to evaluate the following:

• The extent of internal rotting in the case of KDI wood elements
• Whether there are hairline cracks and corrosion under powder coating
• Whether elements have been correctly installed in blind hole foundations
• Whether foundations have the correct stabilising dimensions
• The potential effect of the loosing of connections constructed using sapwood
• Whether metal posts have the necessary wall thickness and are suitably anchored
• Whether abutments are such that they cannot be assessed
• The size of knots within wood (such as robinia) components and their potential effect
• Whether pressure impregnation has been correctly carried out
• Whether equipment has been correctly installed and there is adequate drainage

 

However, it is unclear what purpose the above would serve anyway as the following actions are not generally implemented during inspections:

• Exposure of the lower areas of posts in areas covered by synthetic fall surfacing
• Exposure of the lower areas of all kinds of posts – spring-mounted see-saws, gravel foundations, metal posts, equipment posts without foundations etc.
• What are the aspects that should be revealed by inspection? Type of fungal rot, internal rotting and remaining wall strength and stability, extent of corrosion of metal posts and their supports, method of impregnation used and its effectiveness etc.
• What cushioning effects of synthetic fall protection surfaces should operators ensure is provided and how should they check whether fall protection surfaces are sufficiently effective under multiperson equipment?

 

In their instructions with regard to the maintenance and inspection of, for example, foundations or critical stabilising structural elements, manufacturers are required to specify potentially hazardous situations and describe the countermeasures required – this will include the regular replacement of weight-bearing cables and fall protection elements.

 

Concluding remarks

It seems that inaccurate information and the failure to adequately distribute and interpret information are causing unnecessary outgoings and are resulting in the waste of valuable time.

Qualified specialists know exactly what is required of them when they conduct an annual main inspection in accordance with the requirements of EN 1176. When we take our cars in for annual testing, we don't explain to the mechanic what we want him to look for!

Annual inspections do not need to become convoluted and complex events and those who drew up EN 1176 had no intention of making them so – it need only be ensured that the aspects described in sections 1 to 3b are dealt with during inspections.

 

Image: Spielplatzmobil GmbH