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FibarSystems | News & Links
Navigating Playground
Surfacing: Making Smart Choices for
Safety, Fun and Learning
By Tom Norquist, IPEMA
Introduction
School starts in September, and that
signals the official end to summer for
all school-aged children. Though some
may think this would lead to a drop in
community park and playground attendance,
some playgrounds will actually increase
in attendance, due to shared programs
with schools. READ
MORE
________________________________________
Is It Really
Engineered Wood Fiber?
How to know
it’s the “real
deal”
By Jack Fry
Over the last
20 years, engineered wood fiber has been the most utilized
surfacing in the commercial playground industry. It
is very affordable, will last for years and meets basic
ADA accessibility needs. Due
to its popularity, there are numerous sources producing
engineered wood fiber. Unfortunately, there are
also a lot of companies producing similar wood playground
surfacing that is either sub-par material or simply
wood chips or mulch. READ
MORE
________________________________________
What
We Don’t Understand About
Playground Surfacing
By: Frances Wallach, Ed.D.
We have, since 1981,
had a set of federal guidelines, The Handbook for
Public Playground Safety (Handbook), which pointed
out that the major cause of children’s injuries
on the playground was from falls onto the surface underneath
the equipment on which they were playing. READ
MORE
________________________________________
Regular Playground Maintenance
and
Inspection
Kenneth Kutska,
CPRP, CPSI
Reprinted from Today's Playground | www.todaysplayground.com
Each
year, more than 200,000 children are
injured on playgrounds. Most of these
injuries could have been prevented. The
National Playground Safety Institute
(NPSI) and the National Recreation and
Park Association (NRPA) have created
a checklist for hidden hazards in playground
environments. READ
MORE
________________________________________
Playground
Best Practices
11 steps to a successful playground
By Monty Christiansen, CPSI
The much-debated
(and sometimes maligned) term “best practices” refers,
at least in my mind, to those practices that have produced
outstanding results for folks I consider to be excellent
playground providers. If you’re looking to build,
retrofit, or simply improve your current playground
experience, I encourage you to consider utilizing these
11 “best practices”―they have
proven very successful. READ
MORE
________________________________________
The Chill Effect – Winter tips for playground surfaces
By Kaisja Clark, Playground Magazine
Anything a city, town, municipality,
school, day care or any other entity that
owns a playground used by the public can
do to prevent injuries to a child is a good
thing.
With more than 200,000 kids heading
to emergency rooms after playground falls
each year, it’s no secret that playgrounds
need good equipment and suitable safety surfacing. READ
MORE
________________________________________
Are
Poured in Place Playground
Surfaces
Safe?
By David Spease, ASLA, CPSI
The State
of California Integrated Waste Management
Board encourages the use of California
recycled tires by promoting the development
of recycled-content products derived
from waste tires products and by
providing grants to promote use of
the products. They
provide two grant programs for playgrounds
and related recreational surfacing. One
grant is for Park accessibility and
the other is for Playground Safety. READ
MORE ________________________________________
Playgrounds: They're safer but still can
be dangerous
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
The Playgrounds have come a long way from the
asphalt jungle gyms of the 1960s and 1970s.
Monkey bars and hot metal slides have
virtually disappeared. They've been replaced
by colorful plastic castles with guardrails and
ramps and rounded edges. READ
MORE
________________________________________
The
effect of safer play equipment
on playground injury rates among
school children
Andrew W. Howard,
Colin MacArthur, Andrew Willan,
Linda
Rothman, Alexandra Moses-McKeag, Alison
K. MacPherson
Background: Changes
to Canadian Standards Association
(CSA) standards for playground
equipment prompted the removal
of hazardous equipment from 136
elementary schools in Toronto.
We conducted a study to determine
whether applying these new standards
and replacing unsafe playground
equipment with safe equipment reduced
the number of school playground
injuries. READ
MORE
________________________________________
Comparison Table
of CSA Z614 Standard Requirements
Reliable Reporting
This
comparison table represents the authors’ opinion on the
significant changes between the 2007,
2003, 1998 and 1990 editions of the
CSA Z614 Standard. READ
MORE
________________________________________
Playgrounds
in the Nation’s Largest School
Districts
Henderson
Consulting Services, Inc.
This
report summarizes the results of
a survey of playgrounds and playground
planning in the nation’s
largest school districts. The survey
was conducted among school districts
with the twenty five largest student
populations.
READ
MORE
________________________________________
Playgrounds
in the Nation’s Largest Urban
Park Districts
Henderson
Consulting Services, Inc.
This
report summarizes the results of
a survey of playgrounds and playground
planning in the nation’s
largest urban park districts. The
survey was conducted among park
districts in the country’s
twenty five largest population
centers.
READ
MORE
________________________________________
PLAYGROUND SAFETY RESOURCES
1.
ASTM International (ASTM)
100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA
19428-2959
Phone: 610-832-9585 Fax: 610-832-9555 Email: service@astm.org
Website: www.astm.org
i. Playground Surfacing
Staff Manager: Christi Basile
Phone: 610-832-9728 Fax: 610- 834-0666
E-mail: cbasile@astm.org.Surfacing Subcommittee Chair:
George Sushinsky
Phone: 301-424-0825
E-mail: gsushinsky@gmail.comi. Publications:
ASTM F 2223 (Last Revison Date 2009) – Standard Guide for ASTM Standards on Playground Surfacing ($30.00)
ASTM F 1292 (Last Revision Date 2009) - Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surface Systems Under and Around Playground Equipment. ($53.00)
ASTM F 1951 (Last Revision Date 2009) - Standard Specification for Determination of Accessibility of Surface Systems Under and Around Playground Equipment. ($38.00)
ASTM F 2075 (Last Revision Date 2010) – Standard Specification for Engineered Wood Fiber for Use as a Playground Safety Surface Under and Around Playground Equipment. ($38.00)
ii. Public Playground Equipment
Director, TOC Division, Committee on Consumer Products: Len Morrissey
Phone: 610-832-9719 Fax: 610-832-9666
E-mail: lmorriss@astm.org
Committee Chairperson: Ken Kutska
Phone: 541-312-8826 Email: kkutska@aol.com
Publications:
ASTM F1487 (Last Revision Date 2007) - Standard Consumer Safety Performance for Play Equipment for Public Use ($65.00)
ASTM F1918 (Last Revision Date 2004) – Standard Safety Performance Specification for Soft Contained Play Equipment ($53.00)
ASTM F 2373 (Last Revision Date 2008) – Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Public Use Play Equipment for Children 6 months through 23 months ($54.00)
Any of these Standards can be downloaded from ASTM’s website, www.astm.org, using a credit card for payment of the charge shown in parentheses.
2.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC)
Washington,
DC 20207
Contact
Person: Ian Hall
Phone: (301) 424-6421, Ext. 122
Fax: 301-413-7107
Email: ihall.gov
CPSC General Phone Number: 800-872-2253
Website: www.cpsc.gov
Publications
are available free from the CPSC
using the website shown or by writing
to the CPSC at the above address:
CPSC Handbook for Public Playground Safety
(2008)
Public Playground Safety Checklist (Document
No. 327)
Home Playground Safety Checklist
3.
National Recreation and Park
Association (NRPA)
22377
Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148
Executive Director: Barbara Tulipane
Phone: 703-858-0784 Fax: 703-858-0794
Website: www.nrpa.org
4. National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) Certification Course
A
2-day course followed by an optional
examination. The recommended
price for this course is $380
plus $100 for the exam, subject
to regional adjustment. This
course is administered by NRPA.
Contact your local Park & Recreation Association
or Beth Wickline, Specialty Certification Manager, Playground Safety Program
Phone: 703-858-2148 Fax: 703-858-0794
E-mail: bwickline@nrpa.org
Website: www.nrpa.org/cpsi/
5.
International Play Equipment
Manufacturers Association (IPEMA)
1924 North Second
Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102
Executive Director: Denise
Calabrese
Phone: 1-888-944-7362 or 717-238-1744
Fax: 717-238-9985
E-mail: dcalabrese@calabreseheuser.org
Website: www.ipema.org
IPEMA provides third party certification
for surfacing products and playground equipment.
6. KaBOOM!
4455 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite B100, Washington
DC 20008
Director of Operations for Project Management:
David Flanigan
Phone: 202-464-4064
Our
Vision: A great place to
play within walking distance
of every child in America.
Visit
www.kaboom.org to
learn more!
Plan your Play Day Today!
To ensure that kids across the country get active and playful, national non-profit KaBOOM! is kicking-off the second annual KaBOOM! Play Days presented by Mott’s. KaBOOM! Play Days encourage communities to come together for fun activities and to improve local parks and playgrounds. KaBOOM! Play Days run from September 18 – September 26, but event planning starts now.
Attention all playground owners!
Thanks to generous support from Dr Pepper Snapple Group, KaBOOM! will be awarding grants of $750 each to communities this year who wish to make their playgrounds cleaner, safer and more inviting. Act now so you can receive one of these sought after grants.
KaBOOM! CEO & Founder shares his story — Darell Hammond overcame seemingly insurmountable odds and built one of the most successful nonprofits in our nation’s history. Read about his book.
7.
United States Architectural and
Transportation Barriers Compliance
Board (Access Board)
1331 “F” Street
NW, Suite 1000,
Washington, DC 20004-1111
Contact: Peggy Greenwell
Direct Phone: 202-272-0017
E-mail: greenwell@access-board.gov
202-272-0080 (v)
202-272-0082 (TTY)
202-272-0081 (fax)
800- 872-2252 (v)
800-993-2822 (TTY)
Website: www.access-board.gov
Link to the Access Board’s play guide: http://www.access-board.gov/play/guide/intro.htm
Call for technical assistance on the ADA/ABA
Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas. The
hotline is available Monday-Friday 10 a.m.- 5:30
p.m. ET . Paper copies are also available for
all play area accessibility guidelines documents
found on the website.
8.
National Program for Playground
Safety
University of Northern
Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0618
Contact: Donna
Thompson
Phone: 319-273-7529 or 800-554-7529
Fax: 319-273-7308
Email: donna.thompson@uni.edu
Website: www.uni.edu/playground
For copies of the National Action Plan
for the Prevention of Playground Injuries or
other general information on playground safety,
contact the above. NPPS also provides online programs for certification for playground inspectors and supervision.
9.
International Playground Contractors
Association
P.O. Box 2364,
Salt Lake City, UT 84110
Executive Director: Sylvia
Salazar
Phone: 888-908-9519
Fax: 801-355-2788
Email: npca@playground-contractors.org
Website: www.playground-contractors.org
The International Playground Contractors Association is a worldwide partnership formed to contribute to the advancement of the playground building industry by promoting playground installation as a legitimate contracting profession within the playground industry since 1997. An organization (not just for contractors), NPCAI has a monthly publication with news of industry updates.
10. Playground Magazine
360 B Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Contact: Lane Lindstrom, Editor
Phone: 208-542-2234 Fax: 208-522-5241
Email:
lindstrm.com
Website: www.todaysplayground.com.
Publication
dedicated to educating its
readers on safety, design, structures and
industry trends and issues.
Members of NPCAI automatically
receive a subscription to Playground free of charge.
The Fibar Group LLC is a member of IPEMA, the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association. IPEMA is a member-driven organization whose mission is to assist in providing creative, fun, and safe play environments for children.
Get a price quote now! Contact the experts in Playground Safety Surfaces today!
Call us at 800.342.2721 or send us your request