Safety in playgrounds
Safety guidelines in playgrounds
There are regulations that regulate provide a series of guidelines for park manufacturers to have to comply with when designing and manufacturing a playground.
These rules specify the requirements that will protect the child from damage that the child is not able to foresee when he uses the game. We basically have two types of regulations, those that refer to parks for residential or private use and those that refer to playgrounds for public use. Approvals for private use are specified in the EN71 standard and those for public use are specified in EN1176.
Compliance with these approvals ensures that the park complies with the following security measures:
- Avoid risks of falls.
- Separation of the elements to avoid entrapment of fingers and hands.
- Avoid head entrapment.
- Avoid strangulation.
- Robust structural design.
- Use of resistant and durable materials.
- Maximum height of the access steps to the game.
- Maximum height of the game in case of fall.
- Safety railings on the platforms and exits from the slides.
- Use of protectors on visible hardware to avoid injuries.
- Non-use of chemical components that are harmful to the user, for the manufacture of components.
Safety areas in the installation of playgrounds:
All the approved parks specify in their technical sheet the security area required around the park, in which it must be free of elements or obstacles. It is what is known as the “clear space of fall”. Respecting the free fall space described in the manual will guarantee the user's safety against accidental falls while using the equipment. The fall clearance is specified in each game, and is calculated based on the maximum height from which the user can fall. Fall clearance is normally 1.5 to 2m around all equipment.
Pavement:
The type of pavement in the security area is also regulated by the EN1176 regulations, which clearly specify that the park must be installed on a soft surface, be it natural, sand, grass, etc. or by synthetic materials. The soft material thicknesses are determined by the free fall height of each piece of equipment.
The type of pavement in the security area is also regulated by the EN1176 regulations, which clearly specify that the park must be installed on a soft surface, be it natural, sand, grass, etc. or by synthetic materials. The soft material thicknesses are determined by the free fall height of each piece of equipment.
Ages of use:
The guidelines described above also determine the age of use of each game based on the ease of accessing or jumping on it. In this way we find two large groups of games:
Age group from 3 years old, which incorporate ramps or difficult access to prevent children under 3 years of age from climbing.
Parks for all ages, including those under 3 years of age, where access is easier, using stairs and ramps with a slight incline.
At Juegoyjardin we must be up to date with all the safety regulations for children's playgrounds, which is why we wanted to convey it in our article. For more information you can contact our playground store.