Playground Advisory

8 ASTM F1951 testing in the field, the contract documents must allow for the testing in the field using the rotational pene- trometer. Recommendation – A prudent supplier will design and test their product to the anticipated values for firmness and stabil- ity to ensure themselves they will not incur costs for bringing their product into compliance. Toxins & Sharps Should a toxin, sharp or hazardous material be in the play- ground, the owner/operator will have to take steps to re- move it. The toxin may be known as being in the raw materi- als by the nature of their manufacture, while other toxins might have come in contact with the raw material during storage or processing. These could be lead from car exhaust on old tires, liquids such as antifreeze, solvents or other liquid chemicals that were contacted during the primary life of the raw material. Additionally there may be naturally occurring toxins such as fungi in wood based products or organisms that become trapped in the pores of a poured-in-place sys- tem. Toxins must not be allowed in inorganic materials, while organic materials will have naturally occurring fungi and tox- ins, which the maintenance instructions must provide the solution for removal and remediation. Sharps could be staples, nails, wires, etc. that could cause a puncture or internal damage should it be ingested. There may also be contaminated blood in the playground that be- comes a biohazard problem that could close the entire play- ground. Recommendation – The specifications, bid, tender and con- tract documents must include that the materials installed will not contain toxins that would not meet or exceed the levels permitted by local, state, or federal requirements at the time of installation. Recommendation – The specification, bid, tender and contract documents must include that the materials installed shall have no exposed metal that could in contact with the play- ground user under normal use. Recommendation – Should toxins or sharps be found at the time of installation they must be removed prior to operation of the playground and the warranty documents will include that toxins or sharps found during the warranty period will be removed at the cost of the installer. Maintenance Playgrounds and the protective surfacing are dynamic and subject to high traffic, wear, weather and other factors that can deteriorate the system. This can lead to a failure of one or more of the requirements and raise the need for maintenance or replacement of the system. Maintenance is the process of keeping a mechanical system in or close to its original state. Some systems will need more maintenance than others and this will have financial consequences for the owner/operator. The budget, in manpower, resources and replacement of mate- rials, must be established prior to the purchase of any system. Each manufacturer/supplier should be able to supply a mainte- nance manual and frequency of maintenance for their system. Recommendation – Require that maintenance manuals and cost requirements of maintenance to keep the system in its original condition with any bid/tender for evaluation. The pru- dent owner will include a section in the contract that the sur- facing supplier will reimburse the owner/operator for any costs greater than 25% of the estimated maintenance cost over the 5 year warranty period. Warranties The owner has the protection of the specification and compli- ance testing at the time of installation to ensure initial compli- ance, but once the installation has been paid for there are only the terms of the warranty to ensure continued compliance. The terms of the warranty must be clear and performance based. Included must be the term of the warranty in years, generally a minimum of 5 years, and the repairs or replace- ments that the supplier must perform and how quickly. In some cases the owner has done everything right with a spec- ification, testing at the time of installation and performing reg- ular maintenance only to find that when there is a warranty claim the manufacture/supplier is either not around, or not capable of correcting the failure. This is often, but not neces- sarily the case with suppliers that are new or agents operating on behalf of the supplier who does not respond.