BS EN 1176-1:1998 Playground equipment. General safety requirements and test methods
BS EN 1176 consists of seven parts. As you can imagine this is an extremely long document (nearly 200 pages) covering general safety requirements, test methods and specific requirements for swings, slides, runways, carousels and rocking equipment.
Each part covers the safety, construction and maintenance of playground equipment. Below are some of the clauses of the standard in detail.
Safety
Part 4.2.8.5 Protection against injuries due to other types of movement - there should be no obstacles on or around the equipment which the person using it would not expect.
Another example of a safety measure is:
Part 4.2.3 Entrapment of the foot or leg - includes safety measures such as specifying that the surfaces that people walk on should not have gaps large enough for people to get their feet trapped in.
Construction and saftety
The standard also covers the design and manufacture of equipment.
An example is Part 4.2.5 Finish of equipment - wood finished equipment should not be made from wood which splinters easily.
Another example of a construction/safety requirement is:
Part 4.2.9.1 Ladders - rungs and steps should:
- not rotate
- be equally spaced
- be horizontal to between +/- 3°
Maintenance
This is covered in BS EN 1176-7 Guidance on installation, inspection, maintenance and operation. This part of the standard contains advice on how to install, maintain and operate playground equipment. It covers how often equipment should be inspected and what records of inspection need to be kept.