Inspecting Your Playground Equipment

written by CM Regent Insurance Company , a PSBA Alliance Partner

Ensuring the safety of playground equipment is a crucial responsibility for all playground owners. By conducting frequent inspections, potential hazards such as damaged equipment, entanglement hazards and unsafe surfacing can be promptly identified and addressed. Regular inspections and maintenance of playgrounds are also helpful for several reasons beyond immediate safety. Some benefits that playground inspections can provide include preventing injuries, ensuring compliance with safety standards and industry accepted best practices, and improving longevity.

How to Conduct Playground Inspections

First, consult with the manufacturer of the playground equipment for maintenance and inspection instructions. If this information is not available, develop an inspection and maintenance program based upon anticipated playground use. A playground that is used more frequently may be subject to additional wear and tear and require more frequent inspections. Some areas that should be considered for weekly inspection include:

1. Is signage posted at the playground entrance and labels present on equipment indicating age ranges the equipment is designed for (e.g., ages 2-5 or 5-12)?
2. Is the playground free of litter, stones or other foreign objects within the surfacing material or attached to equipment (e.g., rope, string, plywood, caution tape, benches)?
3. Are access routes, ramps, steps and platforms free of trip/fall hazards?
4. Is surfacing material absent of vegetation, tree roots or tree limbs notably close to or within the playground area and use zones?
5. Are adequate use zones provided? Does surfacing material extend at least six feet in all directions from play equipment? For swings, surfacing material should extend to front and rear twice the height of the frame.
6. Is adequate playground surfacing material present, especially around high use areas such as swings and slide exits? Loose fill surfacing (mulch) should be level, free of excessive wear/displacement and at least nine inches compressed depth. Is unitary surfacing free of cracks, holes or damage that reduce shock absorption properties?
7. Are chains and other connecting fasteners of suspended components free of sharp edges, rust, fiber rope or missing/broken swing belts?
8. Are hardware, fasteners and fastening connectors missing, visibly worn at friction points, projecting bolts that could puncture skin or entangle clothing/jewelry or lanyards, or have more than two bolt threads exposed?
9. Are guardrails/barriers present on open elevated platforms and are handrails/handholds loose, damaged or missing fasteners?
10. Are metal components free of surface rust, chipping paint/coatings and sharp edges?
11. Are plastic components (slides, barriers, crawl tubes, climbers) loose, cracked, contain sharp edges or notable wear/fading?
12. Are wooden play structures free of splinters, decay/rot or warped boards?
13. Are obvious signs of vandalism or misuse of equipment present?

A routine maintenance schedule should not replace regularly scheduled inspections of playgrounds. Obtain checklists from the equipment manufacturers or develop your own checklists for routine inspection and maintenance. Checklists may also be obtained from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook.

It is recommended that records of all inspections, repairs, checklists, installations, equipment make and model information, and any accidents/injuries should be retained in a dedicated file for each playground.

For additional assistance, consider contacting an organization that can provide a more comprehensive playground audit. During an audit, a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) will examine the equipment for compliance with ASTM F1487: Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use.