The European Standard for Playground Safety, BS EN1176, states:-
“To prevent accidents, the owner or operator should ensure that an appropriate inspection schedule is established and maintained for each playground. This should take into account local conditions and the manufacturer’s instructions that can affect the necessary inspection frequency. The schedule should list the components to be inspected at the various inspections and the methods of inspection.”
In the event of an accident, failure to have carried out these inspections, or to adequately record that the inspections have taken place leaves the owner vulnerable to a successful claim for compensation and the resulting adverse publicity.
In any event there are legal requirements that are covered under :
The Health & Safety at Work Act
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
The Occupiers Liability Act
A regular inspection is essential as part of the upkeep of a play area. It is proven to lower the risk, improve health and safety and so reduce the claims made against owners of play areas.
Inspections are important as is the follow-up maintenance work that ensures the play area complies with the relevant playground standard.
The Operational Inspection offered by Thornwood Grounds Maintenance looks at all aspects of play equipment in detail, and includes a written report on everything on site. Our report provides an assessment of the condition and risk element of each piece of equipment. We keep photographic records of every item and every fault found which will be attached to your inspection report which can be sent in a pdf format or a hard copy can be sent to you.
We respond quickly to urgent requests should you need an inspection carried out immediately. Daily Visual Inspections can also be handled by the TGM team.
Thornwood Grounds Maintenanace does not currently offer Annual Inspections as we believe the company that carries out your Annual Inspections should be different from the company that carries out your Operational Inspections. We feels that an independent opinion is necessary as this can then assess the performance of the Operation Inspection company, something we are happy to be assessed against. We can, however, recommend Annual Inspectors to you.
How we inspect
- Attaching of photographs – making identification of equipment and any findings much easier
- On-site synchronisation – no need to dock with a PC in the office, all that is needed is a compatible smart phone/PDA with a SIM card and phone signal
- Secure data storage – all data is replicated and stored in multiple locations (even in the event of a catastrophic fire at our offices, the data is secure and recoverable)
- Data cannot be over-written – once reports are created they cannot be changed, therefore, ensuring data integrity
- Reports are retrievable – all reports are stored electronically but we also keep hard copy format for 10 years
- Inspection reports can be sent in either pdf or hard copy format
