 |
All playground owners, managers and operators have a responsibility to ensure that equipment and play area's are kept in a safe condition.
The sites should provide physical safety and the various aspects of Health & Safety and Dissability Discrimination guidance should be addressed.
To ensure that this is done, regular inspections, maintenance and assessments should be carried out. These inspections should include the equipment and the whole site including access points. Should any defects be found that put safety at risk they should be corrected without delay. If this is not possible the equipment should be immobilised or removed.
There are three play inspection regimes and these can be identified as follows.
ROUTINE VISUAL INSPECTIONS.
These can identify obvious hazards and should be regularily undertaken. Under normal conditions weekly examination is acceptable. Should there be heavy usage or incidents of vandalism common, then daily inspections are advisable.
OPERATIONAL INSPECTIONS.
These are more detailed than the "Routine Inspections" and are normally conducted monthly or at longer intervals subject to the equipment suppliers recommendations.
ANNUAL MAIN INSPECTIONS.
Carried out by a competant person at intervals not exceeding 12 months and strictly within the equipmet suppliers guidelines. The inspection should determine the overall level of safety of the equipment, foundations and surfaces. The inspector should note and record any evidence of wear, rotting, corrosion or damage as well as any change in the level of safety arising from repairs made or by replacement components. Specific note is made of safety surface condition, structural integrity and missing or broken parts. Sealed for life components are also included and should receive special attention.
We have RPII qualified staff to undertake the above inspections and our skilled engineers can carry out routine and corrective maintenance.
DISSABILITY DISCRIMINATION AUDITS.
The Dissability Discrimination Act requires that all public playgrounds and sports facilities are in compliance with its aims to provide integrated or inclusive play facilities for children of all abilities. We can provide a Dissability Access Audit service to assist playground providers with their duty to ensure that dissabled children and their carers can fully enjoy the use of the facilities. | 
