Playground Safety

Why do Playground are inspected and audited?

The main reason is to prevent and/or reduce playground related accidents. In Puerto Rico there are over 1,000 parks with playground equipment installed but there is lack of knowledge of the national standards and guidelines regarding public playground safety. Therefore lawsuits related to playground accidents due to lack of inspections, lack maintenance or equipment installed that does not comply with federal standards are on the rise.

A public playground equipment that has been certified to be in compliance with federal safety standards, gives the owner and/or administrator peace of mind and assurance that if an accident occurs it is not because of the playground equipment.

City Park Equipment, leader of Public Playground Equipment in Puerto Rico, offers the knowledge and expertise of a Certified Playground Safety Inspectors. The only company in Puerto Rico that has two CPSI's is City Park Equipment. The certification is valid for three years, any person that takes the course must renew every three years in order to be active.

A public playground equipment may look safe, but if wrongly installed or without the proper maintenance program, it can be unsafe and potentially harmful. The Playground Safety Inspector’s main job is to identify hazards on public playground equipment in order of priorities. The equipment is audited and inspected to be in compliance with federal safety standard ASTM F1487 and the federal guideline of CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) #325, "Handbook for Public Playground Safety".

After the equipment has been inspected for hazards, the visit is documented and the client is given a report of the inspection with recommendations in order to have the playground to be in compliance with the federal safety standards. If the playground complies with ASTM F1487 and CPSC 325 we can certify in writing that the playground is in compliance with the federal safety standards.