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Playground Inspections

Playground inspections are a great way not just to ensure your playground equipment is in good repair, but to ensure it stays that way for years, even decades, to come. From HOAs to churches to schools, playground owners are increasingly viewing playgrounds for what they are: long-term investments. As with any investment, it’s crucial to protect and safeguard your playground against future losses, and playground inspections help you do just that.

Playground inspections are relatively short and simple. Essentially, the job of a playground inspector during an inspection is to ensure that the equipment on your playground isn’t in danger of breaking or malfunctioning. Additionally, playground inspectors make sure your equipment are adequate distances away from each other so as to avoid kids inadvertently injuring themselves. Upon request, your inspector will provide a maintenance plan specifically tailored to your playground, allowing you and your staff to take the reins and ensure your playground stays in adequate shape until its next inspection.

Issues involving playground equipment tend to fall into one of three categories

Improper Surfacing

Problems stemming from improper surfacing can take a few different forms, the first and most common of which comes when loose-fill surfacing such as wood chips or mulch either aren’t present or are unevenly spread around a playground. Leaving ground areas exposed on your playground opens up the possibility of children falling and hurting themselves due to inadequate cushioning. Pour-in-place rubber is less work-intensive when it comes to maintenance, but is still susceptible to cracks and weathering, which you should also make note of when and if you encounter them.

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Inadequate Maintenance

Other issues could arise if your playground equipment has been improperly assembled and/or has been allowed to deteriorate over time. Children can easily injure themselves or others by using broken or failing equipment, which exists on public and private playgrounds. From cuts and lesions to concussions to broken bones, there’s no shortage of ways that your playground users could hurt themselves and open you up to legal liability for having improperly maintained your playground.

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Manufacturer Defects

Modern playgrounds utilize safety-oriented features like smooth, plastic surfacing and safety railings around high platforms in order to prevent injury among children who use them. While proper installation and maintenance are key to getting the most out of these safety components, it’s also crucial to ensure that no manufacturer defects are present. From jagged, protruding parts to potential head entrapment hazards, there are various signs of defective playground equipment to be on the lookout for when inspecting one’s playground.

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Lastly, if the equipment on your playground wasn’t installed according to ASTM specifications, not only does this make your playground less safe, you also leave yourself liable to litigation in the event of children injuring themselves on your playground.

At Playgrounds.com, our mission is for you to worry as little as possible about any of the above scenarios. Our playground inspectors are professionals with decades of collective experience, and they will never hesitate to alert you to potential flaws or areas that need to be dealt with on your playground.

Playground Inspections

Issues involving playground equipment tend to fall into one of three categories

Improper Surfacing

Inadequate Maintenance

Manufacturer Defects

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