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SAFETY ARTICLES |
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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PLAYGROUND
SAFETY RESOURCES |
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1.
American Society for Testing
and Materials (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 |
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i.
Playground Surfacing
Staff Manager: Christi
Sierk
Phone: 610-832-9728 Fax: 610- 832-9666
E-mail: csierk@astm.org.
Committee Chairperson: Robert
G. Heath
Phone: 914-273-5835 Fax: 914-273-2599
E-mail: rheath@optonline.net
Publications:
ASTM
F 2223 (Original
Publication Date 2004) – Standard
Guide for ASTM Standards
on Playground Surfacing ($30.00)
ASTM F 1292 (Last
Revision Date 2004)
- Standard Specification
for Impact Attenuation
of Surface Systems
Under and Around Playground
Equipment. ($47.00)
ASTM
F 1951 (Original
Publication
Date 1999)
- Standard Specification
for Determination
of Accessibility
of Surface
Systems Under
and Around
Playground Equipment.
($35.00)
Note:
F
1951
is
currently
being
revised.
ASTM
F 2075 (Original
Publication Date 2004) – Standard
Specification for Engineered
Wood Fiber for Use as
a Playground Safety
Surface
Under and Around Playground
Equipment. ($35.00)
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ii.
Public Playground Equipment
Staff Manager: Kathie
Morgan
Phone: 610-832-9721 Fax: 610-832-9666
E-mail: kmorgan@astm.org
Committee Chairperson: Ken
Kutska
Phone: 541-312-8826 Email: kkutska@aol.com
Publications:
ASTM
F1487 (Last
Revision Date 2005) - Standard
Consumer Safety Performance
for Play Equipment for Public Use
($59.00)
ASTM F1918 (Last
Revision Date 2004) – Standard
Safety Performance
Specification for Soft
Contained Play Equipment
($47.00)
ASTM
F 2373 (Original
Publication
Date 2005) – 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.
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2.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC)
Washington,
DC 20207
Contact
Person: Richard
McCallion
Phone: (301) 424-6421, Ext. 121
Fax: 301-413-7107
Email: rmccallion@cpsc.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
(1997)
Public Playground Safety Checklist (Document
No. 327)
Home Playground Safety Checklist |
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3.
National Recreation and Park
Association (NRPA)
22377
Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148
Executive Director: John
A. Thorner
Phone: 703-858-0784 Fax: 703-858-0794 E-mail jthorner@nrpa.org
Website: www.nrpa.org |
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4.
National Playground Safety Inspector
Certification Course (NPSI) A
2-day course followed by an optional
examination. The recommended
price for this course is $370
plus $100 for the exam, subject
to regional adjustment. This
course is administered by NRPA.
Contact your local Park & Recreation Association
or Roy Geiger, Manager, Playground Safety Program
Phone: 703-858-2148 Fax: 703-858-0794 E-mail: rgeiger@nrpa.org
Website: www.uni.edu/playground |
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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. |
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6.
KaBOOM!
4455 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite B100, Washington
DC 20008
Director of Operations for
Project Management: David
Flanigan
Phone: 20-464-4064
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Our
Vision: A great place to
play within walking distance
of every child in America.
Visit www.kaboom.org to
learn more! |
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Do
the kids in your community need
great places to play? If your answer
is YES, then sign up for one of
our FREE Workshops Entirely on
Play (WE Play!). In one day, you
will learn how to plan, fund, and
complete a community-build playground
project and advocate for more play
in your community. Visit kaboom.org/weplay to find a 2008 WE Play! training
near you!
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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. |
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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
mail: donna.thompson@uni.edu
For copies of the National Action Plan
for the Prevention of Playground Injuries or
other general information on playground safety,
contact the above. |
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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
An organization (not just for contractors),
NPCA has a monthly publication with news of industry
updates. |
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10. Today’s
Playground (Publication
dedicated to educating its
readers on safety, design,
fundraising, structures and
industry trends and issues.
Members of NPCA automatically
receive a subscription to Today’s
Playground free of charge.)
360 B. Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Contact: Shannon Amy, Editor
Phone: 208-542-2271 Fax: 208-522-5241
Email:
shannon@todaysplayground.com
Website: www.todaysplayground.com. |
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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. |
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