Not very long time ago, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published a new information sheet presenting the most important aspects of these two standards that are also dedicated to manufacturers, designers, importers and suppliers of children’s playground equipment, not only owners and operators.

It is very important to mention that you must use the BS EN 1176 Playground equipment and BS EN 1177 Impact absorbing playground surfacing – safety requirements and test methods standards in conjunction with each other rather than in isolation. Furthermore, for additional guidance regarding surfacing, please see the amended standard BS 7188 Methods of test for impact absorbing playground surfaces.

The differences between the new standards and the old ones that have been replaced (BS 5696 or the German equivalent DIN 7926 and much of BS 7188) are currently worrying some organisations, but the Play Safety Forum members advise everybody to fully adopt the EN standards as any injury trends and resulting recommendations will be send to the European Standard organisation requesting appropriate amendments.

If you already respected the previous standards, the most important differences that will need more of your attention are: 

- the area of impact absorbing surfacing;

- the spacing between play structures;

- the height at which you need to provide barriers within guard rails to prevent falls. 

7 measures to take in order to comply with the new European Standards for outdoor playground equipment and avoid any serious injury:

1. Check all the seven parts of the BS EN 1176 standard because while the first point discuses general safety requirements and test methods, all next five are addressing specific equipment like swings, slides, runways, carousel, rocking equipment. The seventh part needs your close attention as it’s providing guidance on installation, inspection, maintenance and operation. 

2. Carry out a risk assessment of the playground equipment and take all needed precautions.

3. Check whether the equipment complies with the new European standards and not the old ones; make modifications or replace items if needed. 

4. If your playground is visited by particular types of children (e.g. disabled, highly active), you should run a more frequent maintenance as your equipment might get damaged quicker and damaged equipment can cause more serious injuries. 

5. Look at your site’s injury history in order to take additional safety precautions.

6. Even though new equipment will be manufactured respecting the new standards, you should still monitor injury trends and the state of the equipment in order to see if other measures are necessary. 

The new standards are aiming to increase the outdoor playgrounds’ safety, but nobody can be certain of how these changes will affect the injury cases. Please keep in mind that complying with the BS EN 1176, BS EN 1177 and BS 7188 standard isn’t enough to determine equipment safety and get immunity from legal obligations, but it will for sure help prevent many of the possible personal injuries that can happen.

 

If you have any questions regarding the new European Standards for outdoor playground equipment or if you are involved in an injury case, please do not hesitate to contact our Expert Witnesses on 0117 986 2194 or at enquiries@iew.org.uk.

 

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