Maintenance and Risk Management

Regular inspection and maintenance is required to ensure that
equipment is not faulty and does not cause injury.

Maintenance includes, but is not limited to:

• Raking and replenishing loose fill impact absorbing materials
• Checking equipment condition, wear and tear, cracks, splinters, rust, surfaces, bolts, detachments or weakening related to sun exposure
• Regularly checking under surfacing to ensure it is clean and there are no embedded foreign objects eg. broken toys, needles, glass etc.
• Checking all play items are securely anchored
• Ensuring all moving components are operating smoothly and freely
• Looking after gardens and mowing lawns
• Unblocking drains
• Checking sandpits for animal contamination
• Checking all chains (eg. swings) for rust, wear and tear
• Sweeping hard surfaces
• Checking the equipment for spiders and insects

Record Keeping

Every playground owner should keep permanent records of inspections and maintenance conducted on the playground. Inspections should be conducted regularly by a competent person and any repair work done should be recorded. Your nominated inspector may require training to identify hazards. Any incident, which results in an injury, should be recorded and investigated.

Your records for a Safety Management System should include:

• Equipment records including:

• Location of playground(s) and all equipment
• Details of surfacing
• The installer and installation dates