Inspection of fully enclosed play equipment
More and more parents celebrate their children’s birthdays in leisure centres, or go out to lunch or dinner in restaurants that contain a ball pools or a totally enclosed area, where boys and girls play together in large numbers, either because so many children are using the facility at the same time or during the day, mainly on weekends. Depending on its location or design, the play area should be supervised by the centre itself or the restaurant or freely, and certain basic rules and good practices are not always respected.
These playgrounds equipment’s and enclosures, in addition to the building legislation that the establishment must comply with, should be assessed, covering specific safety aspects that have applied since 2009. Often out of ignorance, the manager and owner of the establishment does not apply the protocols that are required to maintain a level of controlled “safety”.
This is why each year, in accordance with our ENAC accreditation, we inspect and certify establishments that offer playground equipment in totally enclosed areas designed to be installed both indoors and outdoors. This allows us to evaluate the playground equipment , the installation, the maintenance management, as well as the wear and tear of materials due to their use.
Services related to the inspection of totally enclosed playgrounds
We are accredited by ENAC to inspect and certify children’s playgrounds, according to European standards and applicable national decrees, such as:
- EN 1176-1 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 1: General safety requirements and test methods.”
- EN 1176-2 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 2: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for swings.”
- EN 1176-3 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 3: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for slides.”
- EN 1176-4 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 4: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for cableways.”
- EN 1176-5 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 5: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for carousels.”
- EN 1176-6 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 6: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for rocking equipment.”
- EN 1176-7 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 7: Guidance on installation, inspection, maintenance and operation.”
- EN 1176-10 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 10: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for fully enclosed play equipment.”
- EN 1176-11 “Playground Equipment and Surfacing. Part 11: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for spatial network.”
- EN 1177 ““. Impact attenuating playground surfacing. Methods of test for determination of impact attenuation”
- Decree 127/2001 of 5 June of the Government of Andalusia.
- Decree 245/2003 of 24 April of the Government of Galicia.
- UNE 147101 IN “Playground equipment. Guide to the application of standard UNE-EN 1176-1”,
- UNE 147102 IN “Playground equipment. Guide to the application of standard UNE-EN 1176-7 for inspection and maintenance”
- UNE 147103 “Planning and management of outdoor playgrounds “
- UNE 172001 IN “Signposting in playgrounds”.
Benefits obtained from having fully enclosed play equipment duly inspected
Being able to offer an inspection service in premises of this type that are so often full of children celebrating their birthdays or playing while their parents are eating, adds value and recognition to the restaurant or centre itself, which ensures that it is offering its most vulnerable public, i.e. children, a safe play area free of unacceptable risks.
How we conduct inspections on fully enclosed play equipment
Thanks to our accreditation according to reference standard -EN ISO/IEC 17020 “Conformity Assessment: Requirements for the operation of different types of inspection bodies”, we are able to assess all the aspects that are related to the design of the playground equipment itself, as well as any problems derived from an inadequate installation or maintenance. By means of our verification, we are able to assess each of the requirements included within the technical standard EN 1176 and its corresponding parts.
This type of place, apart from complying with building legislation, must also comply with the safety requirements established in their specific European technical regulation, which encompasses and covers specific aspects for this structures of this nature, such as exit and evacuation routes, visibility, the possibility of being able to climb on the exterior, containment walls/nets in relation to the safety area, its resistance to ignition, ball pool requirements, signage, etc.
Our experience in inspecting fully enclosed play equipment
The inspection tasks that we carry out are under a work system that is audited and accredited by ENAC, for playgrounds, according to reference standard -EN ISO/IEC 17020 “Conformity Assessment: Requirements for the operation of different types of inspection bodies”.
