Good playground maintenance starts from the moment a new playground is proposed and continues throughout the life of the playground.
Recreation Management magazine featured an excellent article on what a good playground maintenance program requires; magazine writer Rick Dandes interviewed a number of people in the field to get their insight on exactly what’s required.
Follow Manufacturer Guidelines
Randy Watermiller, director of product development for a playground equipment manufacturer, had these tips for those putting together a playground maintenance program.
“Rely upon the manufacturer or designer for information specific to maintaining their products. They are required… to provide clear and concise inspection, maintenance, and repair instructions,” he told Recreation Management magazine.
Frequency Matters
Rick Dandes contacted the NRPA for some guidelines on how frequently playgrounds should be inspected.
…I recommend an inspection be done once a month at a minimum.- John Damyanovich, National Recreation & Parks Association
His source, John Damyanovich, suggested that “a visual inspection should be done every day. But if it is in a homeowner’s association playground, one that isn’t used very often, I recommend an inspection be done once a month at a minimum.”
Parks and recreation departments that use CityReporter to manage their playground maintenance and inspection programs can easily comply with the recommendations in the article from Recreation Management by setting up high frequency inspection checklists to monitor playground cleanliness and loose fill surfacing levels.
Medium and low frequency checklists can be set up for more in-depth monthly inspections and detailed annual inspections. CityReporter can also send out email notifications when the required interval has passed without an inspection taking place.
To read the full article, please visit Recreation Management. It contains excellent advice on additional important areas to inspect, including areas beyond standing height.
