RISK CONTROL SERVICES : from Liberty Mutual Insurance
Playground Safety: Applicable Standards,
Guidelines and Protective Surfacing
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Adequate surfacing in a
playground area will help reduce
the likelihood of life-threatening
injuries.
• Installing wear mats under
swings and slide exits
helps reduce ground cover
displacement
• Consider marking equipment
supports with a minimum fill
level to aid in maintaining the
original depth of material.
Playground equipment can be found in a number of facilities:
commercial child care, apartment complexes, parks and recreation
areas, restaurants, hotels, schools and churches.
With the number of play areas available,
it is important that the owners or
supervisors of these play areas take the
time to inspect the equipment and grounds
regularly. Inspection and maintenance are
key ingredients to creating a safe area that
children can freely play in without threat of
harm.
This document provides a high level
overview of playgrounds from a safety
perspective and outlines some of the
things that should be watched and
A playground at an elementary school
considered regarding playground
makes good use of landscape timber
surfacing. When implementing a new
for ground cover containment.
playground surface, it is recommended
that local jurisdictional requirements be researched, and a Certified Playground
Safety Inspector (CPSI) be consulted in order to address specific issues.
It is important that owners, operators and those who perform maintenance and
inspections on these facilities have a good understanding of the following:
• Applicable overall playground guidelines and standards.
• Playground protective surfacing guidelines.
• Identification of common hazards on playgrounds,
including entrapment and impalement hazards.
• Playground equipment “Fall Height” and “Use Zones.”
• How to maintain and inspect playgrounds.
• The importance of adequate signage and supervision.
RC 8095
© 2013 Liberty Mutual Insurance – All Rights Reserved
April 2013
Applicable Playground Guidelines and Standards
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook Publication 325 is
a nationally recognized and commonly cited reference for voluntary playground safety guidelines and
is a free download from the CPSC website.
The American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM) offers another document,
F1487 Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use, which is
recognized as the national voluntary standard. This document is available for purchase from ASTM.
Local Jurisdiction Information
It is important to be aware of local jurisdictional
requirements. Some states have adopted in whole or in
part CPSC and/or ASTM requirements. For a general
overview of individual state requirements, the International
Playground Contractor’s Association (NPCAI) maintains a stateby-state summary at their web site.
Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI)
The Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI)
Program is offered by the National Certification Board
in coordination with the National Park and Recreation
A community playground with no
Association. Courses are offered to individuals certified
appropriate ground cover underneath
to inspect playgrounds for safety hazards and to ensure
the swing sets.
compliance with national standards set by the American
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the
Consumer Product Safety Commission. A professional must successfully pass the CPSI examination
to receive the 3 year certification. An inspector with a CPSI certification can identify hazards on public
playground equipment and ranks those hazards according to injury potential. A certified inspector can
advise how to remove the hazards and establish a system of inspections and maintenance.
The program is open to all interested in playground safety. For additional information about this
program visit the NRPA’s website.
Playground Protective Surfacing Guidelines
Playgrounds should not be installed or operated without protective surfacing of some type. Concrete,
asphalt or other hard surfaces should never be directly under playground equipment. Grass, dirt and
compacted clay are not considered protective surfacing.
Pea gravel, sand, shredded/recycled rubber mulch, wood mulch and wood chips along with material
(including unitary surfaces) tested to ASTM F1292 standards are appropriate playground surface
materials.
CPSC’s Handbook Publication 325 Guide to Loose Fill Groundcover Depth
Minimum Compressed Loose Fill Groundcover
Inches of Loose Fill Material
Protects to Fall Height (feet)
6*
Shredded/recycled rubber
10
9
Sand
4
9
Pea Gravel
5
9
Wood Mulch
7
9
Wood Chips
10
*Shredded/recycled
rubber loose-fill surfacing
does not compress
in the same manner
as other loose-fill
materials. However,
care should be taken
to maintain a constant
depth as displacement
may still occur.
Loose-fill materials will compress at least 25% over time due to use and weathering. This must be
considered when planning the playground. For example, if the playground will require 9” of wood
chips, then the initial fill level should be 12”.
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Loose-fill surfacing requires frequent maintenance and
measuring (See Figure 1) to ensure surfacing levels never
drop below the minimum depth. Areas under swings
and at slide exits are more susceptible to displacement;
special attention must be paid to maintain these areas.
Additionally, wear mats can be installed in these areas to
reduce displacement. The perimeter of the playground
should provide a method of containing the loose-fill
materials.
Consider marking equipment supports with a minimum fill
level to aid in maintaining the original depth of material.
Fall heights should be considered when applying fill to the
play area. For instance, if the tallest piece of equipment
measures 7’, it would take a minimum 9” of wood mulch
protection to be considered safe.
Figure 1: Illustrates ground cover
measurement.
Adequate surfacing is one of the most important factors in reducing the likelihood of life-threatening
injuries. However, some injuries from falls, including broken limbs, may occur no matter what
playground material is used.
Applicable Definitions
Fall Height: the vertical distance
between the highest “designated play
surface” on a piece of equipment and
the protective surfacing beneath it.
Designated Play Surface: any
elevated surface for standing, walking,
crawling, sitting or climbing, or a flat
surface greater than 2” wide by 2”
long, having an angle less than 30°
from horizontal.
Loose-Fill Surfacing Material: a
material used for protective surfacing
in the “use zone” that consists of
loose particles such as sand, gravel,
engineered wood fibers, or shredded
rubber.
Figure 2: Illustrates wear mat at the foot of a slide chute.
Use Zone: is the surface under and around a piece of equipment onto which a child falling from
or exiting from the equipment would be expected to land. These areas are also designated for
unrestricted circulation around the equipment.
Unitary Surfacing Material: a manufactured material used for protective surfacing in the “use zone”
that may be rubber tiles, mats or a combination of energy absorbing materials held in place by a
binder that may be poured in place at the playground site and cures to form a unitary shock absorbing
surface (see Figure 2).
References
Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook Publication 325.
The illustrations, instructions and principles contained in the material are general in scope and, to the best of our knowledge, current at the time of publication. No attempt
has been made to interpret any referenced codes, standards or regulations. Please refer to the appropriate code-, standard-, or regulation-making authority for interpretation
or clarification. Provided that you always reproduce our copyright notice and any other notice of rights, disclaimers, and limitations, and provided that no copy in whole or in
part is transferred, sold, lent, or leased to any third party, you may make and distribute copies of this publication for your internal use.
© 2013 Liberty Mutual Insurance. All rights reserved.
RC 8095