According to BSI British Standards, BS EN 1176 Parts 1-7 have recently been revised and the series now includes fully enclosed and spatial network play equipment. BS EN 1177 is revised to improve application and consistency of test results on impact attenuating playground surfacing. The standards now allow manufacturers and designers to create play equipment which is as stimulating and challenging as possible, but requires that equipment is not able to cause significant harm.
The standards have been written with the understanding that too much safety can be detrimental to children’s development. A child needs to experience clearly foreseeable risk taking and minor accidents, such as bumps, scrapes and the occasional broken limb as part of play and growing up.
Importantly the changes and additions now recognize that children are individuals and develop at different rates, so age related concerns have been replaced by inclusion of specific requirements to enhance safety. Such as improved barrier provision on platforms where there is easy access to steep drops, and heavy items, such as wobble boards, that now have their mass or movement restricted. These and similar sections highlight to the designer that they can maintain the excitement of an item through an amended design route and without incorporating a hazard that could result in significant harm.
Experience over the decade that the standards have been operating, also shows that the opportunities to provide play equipment are often reduced by the costs of associated safety surfacing. Studying accidents and hazards and indeed in the lack of them, the standards now highlight that grass can be used in many circumstances where fall heights are less than 1.5m.
Additionally hard surfaces, such as macadam, may be used under items of static equipment that do not introduce a forced movement to the user and where the fall heights are less than 600mm. The requirement for providing impact attenuating surfaces for falls from higher heights or moving/forced movement equipment remains; this is to reduce life threatening head injuries to a child.
Manufacturers and operators are encouraged to explore solutions that provide the challenges that height can provide without automatically selecting expensive surfacing.
Much existing equipment will already meet the requirements of these Standards and as is common practice in many industries, a sensible risk assessment will determine any action necessary. This should be undertaken by those with proven competence, such as manufacturers or annual members of the Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII).
For those wishing to purchase new equipment it is advised that a 12 month period has been provided to enable manufacturers to update their product; the 1998 edition of the standard will be withdrawn on 31st May 2009. Importantly these standards have been developed and checked by all the 30 involved nations throughout Europe in this Central European Normalisation (CEN) work.
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