Safety surfaces

Required obstacle free zone and shock absorbing (conform EN-1177)

All equipment has a safety zone and the maximum free fall height indicated. Within the safety zone there may be no obstructions (tree, another equipment, etc.) be located, and the bottom of the safety zone should be provided with a shock absorbing material to match the specified height of fall.

In this catalogue the safety zone is declared as a rectangle with a length and a width. In reality, the safety zone follows the shape of the equipment and can turn out favorable for your project than the specified rectangle. The exact form of the security zone in various fi le formats can be downloaded from our website www.boerplay.com.

For equipment with a free height of fall of less than 60 cm, no special shock absorbing surface is required. Here every surface is possible; concrete, asphalt, hard earth, grass, bark, sand, rubber tiles, turf or rubber lubricant floor.

For equipment with a greater free height of fall, the shock absorption should be corresponding to the free height of fall. Concrete, asphalt or hard soil are not suitable. Grass is suitable to a free height of fall of 1,0 m (in some country’s 1,5 m), provided the surface is free of gravel and debris. Tree bark, wood chips, and sand in a layer thickness of 300 mm is suitable for a free height of fall of 2.0 m, and at a layer thickness of 400 mm is suitable for a free height of fall of 3.0 m. The shock absorption capacity varies for artificial surfaces such as rubber tiles, artificial grass or poured rubber. Here the statement of the manufacturer applies.

If there is any form of forced motion, as in a swing, carousel or the outlet of a slide, a shock absorption material for a drop height of a meter is always required, even if the free height of fall is less than that. Furthermore, the obstacle-free zone in these cases may not overlap with other safety zones. In the aforementioned security zone fi les offered on our website, these situations are specifically mentioned.

If there is any doubt concerning the safe installation of a playground, the experts of BOER are always available for
consultation and happy to offer advice.