Playground Inspection - Most Common in Issues School Playgrounds
New Playground Installations, Existing Playgrounds, Maintenance & Inspections must comply with Australian Playground Standards
- AS 4685.11:2012 – Spatial Nets
- AS 3533.4.2:2013 – Contained Play Facilities
- AS 4685 parts 1-6:2014 – Design & Structural Issues
- AS 4422:2016 – Playground Softfall Requirements & Testing
- AS 4685.0:2017 – Playground Management Issues
SOFT FALL & PLAYGROUND SURFACING
Unitary Soft Fall – Wet Pour Rubber & Artificial Grass
- Drop Testing required every 3 years to confirm performance
- Check for shrinkage cracks, splits & trip hazards
- Check surface for holes and wear through to shock pad layer
- Uneven surface from tree roots or subsidence
- Exposed Or Damaged Edges (Erosion or Mowers)
- Expected life span 7 – 10 years
Loose Fill Soft Fall (Bark, Sand, Takura, etc.)
- Must be approved as “Playground Compliant Soft Fall”
- Must never mix type (top ups must be same material)
- Must always be 200mm + deep (measure monthly)
- Exposed concrete footing or poorly Installed footing
- Rake back scuffed out areas regularly – swings, slides, fire poles, etc.
- Decomposed, compacted & clumping soft fall must be completely removed to base (250mm below edging) before top up.
- Top up to 300mm deep to allow for settlement, compaction, etc.
- Ensure soft fall is kept free from obstructions such as grass, tree roots, tree branches, rocks & other hard objects.
- Check condition of soft fall edging – splinters, gaps, protrusions, etc.
- Rubber Wear Pads are a good idea in high wear & high scuff out areas
PLAYGROUND MAINTENANCE – Wear & Tear
Climbing Equipment, Connectors & Moving Parts
Termination of chains (S hooks, D shackles, tags & other fittings)
- Separate connector and first chain link to inspect.
- Chain connecting link very worn – 30% thinner/narrower = replace
- S hooks opening up, not fully closed or very worn
- D shackles very worn or coming undone
- Swing seat connectors deep wear and getting thinner
Ropes
- Internal steel in cables showing = replace
- Slashed, cuts or fraying ropes = replace
- Wearing termination points
- Loose, floppy or touching ground – needs adjusting or tightening
Steps, Decks, Bridges & Structural Items
- Structural rust (flaking rust
- anywhere on playground)
- Hidden rust – bubbling under
- plastic & paint
- Cracks beside weld & cracked
- coatings
- Plastic coatings breaking down
- (sharp)
- Cracking and rotting timber
- Substantially wear on grip or slip
- resistance on surfaces
- Holding water (pooling)
Protrusions & Protruding Fasteners
- Protruding fasteners
- Wrong bolt head (hex head instead of button or round)
- Protruding Threads – More than one thread sticking out of nut
- Nails or screws sticking out
- Soft fall edging drive stakes protruding
- Splinters & sharp edges
- Metal burrs and sharp edges
RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK RESPONSES
From a risk perspective, a playground is not handled the same way as a workplace, where our first priority would be to eliminate all risk if we could.
In a playground we intend for there to be risk, as this is an essential element of play that keeps a child interested, challenges their current abilities and assists them to learn and develop their physical skills and decision making abilities.
AS 4685.0:2017. Forward, Paragraphs 2 and 3 states
“The management of risk in a playground is the responsibility of all involved in the provision of play, including designers, manufacturers and operators. It should be recognized that risk-taking is an essential feature of play provision and of all environments in which children legitimately spend time playing.
Play provision aims to offer children the chance to encounter acceptable risks as part of a stimulating and challenging learning environment. Play provision should aim at managing the balance between the need to offer risk and the need to keep children safe from serious harm”.
Risk assessment is usually carried out informally by playground designers and manufacturers. Part of the process of recommending a playground for a particular site is to gain an understanding of what the physical size and abilities of the proposed user group will be (age appropriate is a term no longer used in the Playground Standards, ability is used instead because ability is not always dependent on age).
In a large school or a childcare centre the user group can be quite specific in size and ability whereas in a public park, where there is less rigid supervision (or indeed no supervision), any user, whether they be child or adult, may attempt to use every item of playground equipment whether designed for their ability level or not, which can increase the potential risk to less able users.
The risk matrix below is suggested in AS 4685.0:2017, Appendix C; as a risk matrix that can be used to assess risk in playgrounds
PIP routinely provide a risk score for each identified non-compliance based on the above risk matrix
Existing written Risk Assessments or Risk Benefit Assessments that apply to the playground should be supplied to the inspector prior to the inspection being undertaken in order for them to be taken into account as part of this inspection.
The following actions priorities should be undertaken based on the above risk matrix scores
RISK RESPONSES – AS 4685.0:2017 Annex C
