Posts Tagged ‘Certified Playground Safety Inspectors’

New ASTM F1487-11 Standard released November 2011

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

New ASTM F1487-11 Standard released November 2011
By Kenneth S Kutska, CPSI
Executive Director, International Playground Safety Institute, LLC
Chair of ASTM F15.29 Subcommittee responsible for the ASTM F1487 Standard
November 18, 2011

As Chair of the American Society for Testing and Materials Subcommittee responsible for ASTM F1487 Standard for performance requirements for public playground equipment I am pleased to announce the latest revision of this standard. This revision is over four years in the making and there are several significant additions. You can order this standard online through the ASTM web site (www.astm.org). I might suggest you look into the cost of joining the ASTM and compare the cost of membership to the cost of purchasing this one standard. As a member of the ASTM you are entitled to one volume of the ASTM standards in either a paper or CD version at no charge. The playground standards are located in one of two volumes. The standard would be in either F15.07 or F15.11. Check with ASTM membership services or do a ASTM web site search for ASTM F1487-11 Standard or any other playground related standards to determine which volume is most important to address your needs.

Major Swings Section Revisions

There is a new definition for a swing that should be of particular interest to all of us. A swing is now defined as an element or seat suspended from an elevated support structure, allowing users to move freely in one or more planes, possessing a pivot point greater than 24 in. (610 mm) when measured vertically from the top of the suspended element to the pivot point. This clarifies when a suspended element should comply with all the other performance requirements of swings based on a hazard based analysis. When we think of swings, we envision traditional to-fro belt or bench type swings or a tire swing. We have seen many new products from around the world attempt to enter the market place. While they may be compliant to another international standard, they did not meet the ASTM Standard. Now however, there is some hope. Up until now, we could not clearly and totally evaluate these new swinging products by using the ASTM F1487 Standard. The ASTM F15.29 Subcommittee Working Group responsible for swings took an in-depth look at what the real hazards were regarding swinging components. The new performance requirements are based upon the analysis of injury data related to swinging components. They concluded that swing related hazards were attributable to; falls to the surface, impact with stationary structural components, and impact with the suspended swinging components. Our goal is to eliminate known hazards with the understanding we cannot control how the users may attempt to interact with the play equipment in unintended ways. The Standard now identifies three possible types of swing configurations. They are; single axis (to-fro), multiple axis (rotating), or swings with multiple motions consisting of a combination of single axis and multiple axis (combination swings). Fall related injuries are already addressed in the F1487 Standard by requiring compliance to the ASTM F1292 Standard from the highest pivot point. The next major impact type injury regardless the swing type is from suspended components impacting the user. The new standard addresses this impact hazard through a new “Dynamic Impact Test” procedure that measures impact forces created by the swinging component. This test is intended to be administered by a commercial laboratory. The application of existing clearance zones requirements to any suspended swinging component reduces the likelihood of impact injuries sustained when the user and swinging component comes in contact with the structural members or the adjacent to-fro swing. More on this test method later.

Another concern was the CPSC’s recommendation that multiple occupancy swings not be used on public playgrounds. This recommendation has been around for more than 20 years. There were legitimate concerns based on the injury data gathered over the years but times have changed and the marketplace has introduced many new products. Some argue for multi-occupancy swing seats based on new products introduced in other countries. There does not appear to be any recorded impact injury history from these new products. The dilemma is that the ASTM Standard and the CPSC Handbook allow for multi-axis swings such, as tire swings, and not a multi-occupancy to-fro swing? These multi-occupancy multi-axis swing components (tire swing) move in all directions unlike the predictable to-fro action of traditional single occupancy to-fro swings. Why one and not the other? The explanation might be the fact the swinging component was a tire and somewhat flexible and impact attenuating. The CPSC Handbook even limited the swinging component weight to 35 pounds. This happened to be the average weight of an automobile tire. The real hazard and injury in question is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) through impact to the child’s head or body. But what really causes the injury and at what point does Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) occur? During the October 2011 ASTM F8.63 Subcommittee meeting in Tampa Florida, Rolf Huber, Canadian Playground Advisory Group reported the results of a ten year injury analysis conducted by the NHTSA. The study showed a 10% reduction in TBI and death after a implementing a reduction in automobile industry impact thresholds. This study demonstrates real injury reduction related to a measureable reduction in industry impact threshold used to design automobiles. This study supports our new threshold for the “Dynamic Impact Test” on swinging components and therefore addresses the impact injury to the head and for the most part other body parts. The primary cause of serious impact injuries has always been heavy solid swinging components such as; metal animal swings, bench swings, and the two person glider swings. By implementing the new “Dynamic Impact Test” for suspended swinging components, we can mitigate the impact hazard for any swing component. The logic of this recommendation was of major concern to our group. Head impact injuries resulting from falls to a hard surface should have been addressed through compliance with ASTM F1292 thresholds for impact attenuation of less than 200g and 1000 HIC. These thresholds were not intended to address fractures, but the risk of death from serious head injury. It was unknown at what impact threshold we can achieve a significant reduction in broken bones. Based on the new research related to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) we are seeing significant reduction in TBI in automobile accidents. The new swing impact test thresholds more closely follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) automobile safety standards as related to our scope of intended users, especially the pre-school age group, and the results of studies of concussed NFL players during the late 1990s. The standard requires test compliance of all swing seats and swing components located less than 84 inches from the surface during its full range of motion. The test method requires the suspended elements be brought back to a point, 60 degrees from its position at rest, and released to strike an instrumented head form imparting a force less 100 g and 500 HIC.. Mr. Huber’s research of studies on the subject of TBI and bone fractures supports this conclusion for a significant reduction in these types of playground injuries when these new impact thresholds are not exceeded.

The same impact performance requirements for clearance and use zones apply to a traditional single user to-fro single-axis swing-set, with no more than two swings per bay, however multi-occupancy and multi-axis swings have some different performance requirements. Both multi-occupancy and multi-axis swings are limited to one swinging component per bay and have specific clearance requirements related to their designed path of travel. These requirements eliminate impact by adjacent swing elements and their structural components.

The combination swing is a new type of product being introduced around the world. It represents a combination of to-fro and multi-axis swings and is used by more than one person. Taking the same hazard based approach; the Working Group came up with some similar, yet quite different, performance requirements. The clearance and use zone requirements combine the side and overhead clearance zones and use zone requirements for each type of moving (swinging) component. These requirements are too difficult to address in this article without including many illustrations. I suggest that you acquire the new ASTM F1487-11 standard and study that section in detail.

Signs and Labels

The Subcommittee also dedicated a significant amount of time on signs and labels section of the standard based upon recent injury data and requirements for warnings found within the 2010 U. S. CPSC Public Playground Safety Handbook.

The Sign and Label Section of the new standard entails significant changes that should be read very carefully. The new standard states the owner/operator of the play equipment shall be responsible for the content and location of all signs. What does this mean? The information regarding the intended ages of the users shall be provided by the manufacturer, designer, or consultant. The final location of these signs and warnings shall be placed where the manufacturer, designer, or consultant states, however, for lack of any guidance on location for posting these signs, the owner/operator shall place them so they are readily visible to the intended viewer and alert the viewer to the potential hazard in time to take appropriate action. The message may be put on either a sign or a label and be located on the equipment or be freestanding. Freestanding signs must be located outside the use zone. The question for all of us is, “Where do we locate the warnings so the viewer has time to act prior to coming in contact with the hazard?” Currently there is no specific wording for many of the warnings now required. Information communicated on the sign or label, or both, shall address, but not be limited to, the following messages:
• Information message communicating age appropriateness as determined by the manufacturer/designer.
• Information message communicating, at a minimum, supervision recommendation.
• Warning message communicating the removal of helmets, drawstrings or accessories around the neck which are all known to create head entrapment or entanglement hazards.
• Warning message communicating hot play surfaces and/or ground level protective surfacing, when applicable. These surfaces are known to reach temperatures high enough to cause serious burns to children generally less than four years of age but because of the many variables effecting how and when a surface becomes a safety concern it was not possible to find a one size fits all approach that the subcommittee could agree upon.
• Warning message communicating the hazard of play equipment located over hard surfaces, when applicable. This warning message is no longer required to be plastered on each and every piece of free standing equipment.

Specification for all warning signs or labels, or both, should conform to ANSI Z535.1 and either ANSI Z535.2 or ANSI Z535.4 in the following areas: legibility, type of lettering, clarity of message and symbol, color specifications, and word message and visibility. The labels or signs should be durable and conform to UL 969. It has been and continues to be the responsibility of the owner/operator to replace signs or labels, or both, should they become illegible, destroyed, or removed.

The Subcommittee has agreed to continue to work on the Sign and Label Section to seek better solutions, if any can be found. Anybody who is interested in working on this subject may contact me; however membership in ASTM is a prerequisite to be on a Subcommittee’s Working Group. I can forward your suggestions to the appropriate Working Group.

Two New Reference Documents

The Standard has added two reference documents that must be followed by the manufacturer, designer, consultant, and owner/operator. Regardless of the material or the treatment process, the manufacturer/designer/fabricator shall ensure that the users of the playground equipment cannot ingest, inhale, or absorb any potentially hazardous amounts of substances through body surfaces as a result of contact with the equipment. All materials content shall comply with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). This Act pertains to, but is not limited to, coatings and substrate of the materials used within the play environment.

As with previous versions of this Standard, this specification does not address accessibility, except as it pertains to safety issues not covered in the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) 2010 Standard for Accessible Design: Title II (28 CFR 35) and Title III (28 CFR 36). This document is available free at: http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/ADAregs2010.htm. This document is now the law and will be enforceable early 2012. While this document gives us guidance for what constitutes the minimum requirements for accessible design it cannot guarantee we might not have to face a complaint raised by one or more of our constituents. Then and only then will the Department of Justice rule on what, if anything, may need to done to bring a public playground or any public facility into compliance.

In closing, I would like to encourage everyone to get a copy of this new document and read it carefully. That being said I have just three more changes to highlight from the 2007 version. First, for many years we have stated there should be no gaps at the transition of a slide and the slide surface should smooth and continuous. This has been open to unlimited translations by many inspectors. The manufacturers are very aware of the safety concern with entanglements on slides. To take some of this guesswork out of the application of this old requirement we have changed the wording to, “Slides shall be constructed in such a manner as to provide a continuous sliding surface (roller slides exempted) and shall minimize the likelihood of entanglements.” This leaves a lot of the compliance interpretation to the manufacturer/designer so long as the slide is installed and maintained as intended.

Second, we now have a performance test method to determine when a projection increasing in diameter from its initial surface is truly an entanglement hazard. When the projection fits within any of the protrusion test gauges and the increase in size extends greater than 0.12 in. (3.0 mm) from the initial surface with a depth greater than 0.12 in. (3.0 mm) it is an entanglement hazard.

Third, on stairways, all steps greater than 48 in. (1220 mm) above the protective surfacing shall be required to have protective barriers. The height of the protective barrier on a step shall be the vertical distance between the top front edge of a step and the top surface of the protective barrier and appropriate for the ages of the intended users.

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Certified Playground Safety Inspectors: How do they add up?

Monday, August 22nd, 2011

Certified Playground Safety Inspectors: How do they add up?
By Kenneth S Kutska, CPSI
Executive Director
International Playground Safety Institute, LLC

The National Park and Recreation Association has successfully launched its online registry of CPSIs worldwide. In an effort to better serve us this registry lists all CPSIs who have opted to be listed as an inspector in good standing. The CPSI designation is good for three years from the date the participant passes their examination. Because the industry and its workforce is far from stagnant we have seen a lot of turnover in the NRPA registry over the years. Historically it appears there is at least a 30 to 40% annual attrition rate. While we have CPSI’s re-certifying for the 5th time we are seeing as many 50% first timers at nearly every location. We are pleased to finally see increased participation from school systems, childcare facilities and the military.

The economy has impacted the number of participants in many States but the annual number of institutes still exceeds 50. Since 2001 NRPA has conducted over 50 Institutes and certified or recertified more than 2,500 people. NRPA has maintained an up to date CPSI Registry of between 6,000 to 8,000.

Here are a few current statistics about the CPSI Certification Program. As of October 2009 there are currently only 606 people listed. This is voluntary and most seek CPSI designation for their agency only and chose not to be listed. Everyone will have a chance to be added to this registry in the near future. Keep an eye out for information via the NRPA Web site at www.nrpa.org. As of October 2009 there were:

• 7,033 CPSI note this number changes monthly as certifications expire and new people pass the examination
• 1,983 participants passed the CPSI examination out of more than 2,500.
• Total participants in CPSI Courses since 1991 is over 40,000
• The Examination Passing Score is now 70 out of 100.

Over the nearly twenty year history of the National Playground Safety Institute and the CPSI Course there have been significant fluctuations in the year to year participant totals. This information has not been analyzed to determine how or why these numbers fluctuate. I know from my long time involvement in this program that State legislative initiatives have significant impact on their State’s participation in the program. We have experienced up and downs in some State’s participation numbers when the NRPA Affiliate host organization experiences key staff turnover.

It is interesting to see how the CPSI numbers have changed over the years from State to State. In 1999 there was a total of 4,278 CPSI’s. The top states in totals were California at 492, North Carolina 284, Texas 245, New York 229 and both Washington and Florida 224. Ten years later things have changed. California and many other states have implemented legislation impacting public playgrounds. In a report dated October 12, 2009 there were 6,039 CPSIs. California still was leading the State by State total with 830 with Florida next at 353, Texas 327, Illinois 303 and Washington 291. You can see that many State’s numbers have more than doubled yet some like North Carolina and New York for some unknown reason have declined.

Back in the early 1990’s when I wrote my goals for the NPSI and CPSI Course I was hoping we would some day have one certified person in every community in America. While we are not there yet, I believe the numbers demonstrate that we are well on our way. If there has not been a CPSI Course held within your State for at least one year, I urge you to call the NRPA and volunteer to be the Local Host for your next CPSI Course in your area. Chances are your State Park and Recreation Affiliate organization is going through hard times and has cut back on staff who usually run these types or outreach programs and therefore they may need looking for someone to step in and organize the entire course. This is a big job but not as large as one might think. There is an excellent Local Host Manual with a step by step explanation of the entire process. Now is a good time to step forward. If you are from a school district, insurance agency, childcare facility, or military installation you too can help by assisting the local state park and recreation affiliate organization responsible for administering NRPA’s CPSI Courses. You can contact NRPA at www.nrpa.org and ask for your State’s affiliate phone number and contact person to help convince them to organize a CPSI Course near you. With your help we can make it happen.

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Chair of National Playground Safety Institute submits 2009/10 Annual Report

Friday, June 4th, 2010

National Playground Safety Institute’s Annual Report 2009-2010

The Third Decade of Providing Safe Play Environments

Thomas. M. Kalousek

Chair of NPSI

2009-2011

In 1989, a small group of dedicated park, recreation, education and private play consultants formulated the concept of fostering public and professional awareness for play and public playgrounds. They all were intimately involved in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) efforts to create a voluntary industry standard for public play equipment. Shortly after these meetings it became very evident there would be a serious need for establishing a training program to promote the soon to be released United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) 1991 revision to their 1981 Playground Safety Guidelines. That group, led by Ken Kutska, Fran Wallach, and Monty Christiansen were the founding parents of the National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) that in 1993 became an official program of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA)

Twenty-one years have passed, spanning three decades, since that idea was conceived, developed and expanded . NPSI has grown from the first training program held in Baltimore in 1991 to providing playground safety training and certification nationally and internationally. Since the beginning, we have trained over 35,000 and certified approximately 70% of these participants. Currently we have an active registry of 7,000 to 8,000 CPSI’s depending on the month. Some have re-certified as many as 5 times.

In 2009, NPSI held 51 Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) courses around the world, having trained 2,681 course participants with 2,783 participants taking the exam. So far, 2010 looks very promising in spite of concerns over the economy. NRPA has 23 CPSI courses already scheduled for the first half of 2010.

What else is NPSI working on?:

2009 CPSI Course Updated: The CPSI course curriculum has been updated to include the latest version of the ASTM Playground Equipment for Public Use, Standard F 1487-07ae1 and the recent release of the Consumer Product Safety Commissions ( CPSC # 325 ) Public Playground Safety Handbook, April 2008 version. Also included in the participant manual is the ASTM F2223 Guide for ASTM Standards on Playground Surfacing and a copy of the ASTM F2373 Standard for Playground Equipment for Children 6 to 23 months of age. We have also replaced the 2006 version of Playground Safety Is No Accident Resource Book with a new updated CD of various inspection and audit forms from the recently revised fourth edition of “ Playground Safety Is No Accident ,“ The 2008 version of the book is available on-line by contacting www.playgroundsafetyisnoaccident.com, or contacting the NRPA website at www.nrpa.org.

National Testing Sites: Through the leadership of NRPA, a computer based testing initiative has been established allowing CPSI’s all over the world to now be able to recertify and retake the exam at a secure testing site instead of waiting for another course and exam to be offered in their immediate area. Pearson VUE/ Professional Testing Inc. ( PTI) has over 1500 testing centers in the U.S. and over 5000 worldwide. Go to www.nrpa.org. , click on “Learn and Grow”, click on “Certification Programs” and then click on “CPSI Examination Candidate Handbook.” You can also go directly to www.pearsonvue.com/nrpa for complete information.

Certified Playground Auditor Course; Another initiative in the works for several years has been the recent development and now preliminary report about establishing an additional training program for those professionals who perform compliance audits on a regular basis as part of their job. We have known for years that many of the individuals who take the current CPSI course are overwhelmed and will never fully use or master the standards and guidelines. There has been a need for two courses; an inspection and maintenance course and then an Auditor’s level course. The Auditors level course would provide greater understanding and mastery of the standards and guidelines for doing compliance audits and setting up Playground Safety Management Systems for organizations and clients.

NRPA has recently received a preliminary report based on a job analysis survey and the advisory committee will be meeting shortly to review the report and discuss recommendations for moving forward. NRPA Received almost 1,400 survey responses for a 36% return.

NPSI Information: As of December 2009, the NRPA staff has improved an easier way of connecting you directly with the National Playground Safety Institute and related information. Go to www.nrpa.org, click on “Learn and Grow” and go to “Certification Programs” and all related CPSI course location information and retesting information will be found.

2010-2011 Marketing Plan: NRPA staff along with the NPSI Marketing and Publications Committee have been in the process of developing a long range marketing plan. This effort is being launched in order to expand the network for promoting the Certified Playground Inspector Courses. We can see from our survey that NRPA needs to expand their marketing in areas, such as; schools, child care, not-for-profit organizations, public resorts and other places of public accommodation with playground equipment.

CPSI Registry: A new service was launched in December of 2009 through the implementation of the CPSI Registry. Individuals may access the on-line registry via the NRPA website to locate a CPSI in their community. The NRPA Certification staff will launch a new process for adding CPSI’s to the registry in an effort to increase the number of CPSI’s listed with contact information. More information will be forthcoming to allow CPSI’s to update their contact information.

On-Line NPSI-CPSI Prep Course: Another idea floating around for several years, has been the development of an on-line review or preparation course for those who will be taking the CPSI course for the first time or for those re-certifying. Since it is not necessary to take the CPSI course for certification or re-certification, individuals have been asking for an alternative way of knowing the changes to the standards and guidelines and having access to additional resource information. This will idea will be researched by NRPA staff and reported on the feasibility of such a service by the fall of 2010.

The National Playground Safety Institute continues to explore new ideas and to work with the NRPA staff to implement new training opportunities and services. As “Play” becomes the new “mantra” for dealing with concerns over childhood obesity and inactivity for all ages, safety is still paramount to all activities in public settings and NPSI will continue to be a leader in developing safety training for all.

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