Playground accidents – Overview of facts, causes, and solutions
Young children are likely to spend a few hours every day at playgrounds. While this has its health benefits, playground accidents have become very common recently. In the U.S, the emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and below for injuries sustained in the playgrounds. These occurrences are not limited to minor injuries and involve severe fractures and contusions.
A study also found out that, 75% of the playground accidents were related to equipment and occur at schools or at a recreational place. This number is alarmingly high and needs to be dealt with to ensure a safe playing environment for children. Some of these unfortunate mishaps at the playgrounds can be attributed to the following management malpractices:
- Inadequate equipment designs due to failure to comply with standards
- Unsuitable equipment for a specific age group
- Incorrect installation practices
- Insufficient inspection and lack of maintenance
Source: National Program for Playground Safety
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To avoid such incidents, it is necessary that public agencies responsible for park maintenance take new initiatives. One way to move forward would be to implement a robust playground equipment maintenance plan. This can be easily supplemented with the use of a cloud-based playground equipment maintenance software. This software comes with supercharged features to utilize playground accessories in the best way possible to meet safety standards.
Here are a few ways this software can help public agencies maintain playground equipment risk-free time for children:
1. Label equipment for easy installation
Playground equipment needs to be managed very carefully when it comes to installation. Say, in a particular residential area, you need only ABC swings for toddlers but you mistakenly placed some other. This can have serious consequences for the overall community. Some parks are more frequently used by a specific age group and hence it needs to be catered to accordingly. For this reason, public agencies need to upgrade their playground equipment maintenance practices and deploy resources in the correct manner.
Read more: What Is Equipment Maintenance Record Keeping And How To Optimize It
To enable easy installation of the appropriate equipment, you can create customized barcode labels for swings and slides when you purchase them. This way there will be no confusion and misplacement. A streamlined system of tags and codes also allows you to have all the right tools for the job so that you can comply with quality standards as well. An equipment maintenance software lets you run seamless installation processes without inconveniences!
Scan barcodes for easy reference when it comes to playground maintenance
2. Track Usage through depreciation management
One of the greatest challenges faced by public agencies responsible for park management is encountering broken equipment. This is extremely dangerous especially when young children are involved. A slightly malfunctioned swing can lead to irreparable harm to a child’s life and not to mention a costly lawsuit against the management. So, how does your agency go about making sure that playgrounds don’t pose a potential threat to children?
Well, the first step would be to maintain a constant check and balance for all the playground essentials. This can be done through playground equipment maintenance software which allows you to record usage to track depreciation. Doing this gives you an idea of the useful life of the equipment which has been installed and alerts you near its expiration. Early detection of broken swings or slides helps agencies make the necessary changes before anyone gets hurt.
Read more: 5 Benefits Of Having Reliable Equipment With Equipment Maintenance Software
3. Schedule maintenance on time and meet safety standards
Playgrounds are perhaps one of the most common recreational spots for young kids. For this reason, park resources are extensively used throughout the year. In order to make this activity as secure as possible, it is critical to design a robust playground equipment maintenance routine. Such practices should focus on, but not limited to rigorous inspection of the swings installed in the parks. It becomes the duty of the public agencies to assign appropriate staff and structure to oversee the playgrounds.
With the help of an online maintenance software, you can plan all service and repair activities in advance. An organized routine of events allows you to set up evacuation notices so that area remains children-free. Once this has been arranged, your agency can perform the required repair services. Doing all this in a timely manner streamlines management processes and improves efficiency.
Carry out repair sessions frequently to prolong equipment life.
4. Replace broken equipment in time to avoid accidents
Once a broken piece of playground equipment has been reported, the public agencies should quickly replace or remove it. This is only possible if your agency has deployed a proactive playground equipment maintenance program. Ordering new stock in advance is the simple solution when it comes to emergencies in the park. Public agencies can do this easily through an equipment maintenance software. Usage history of playground essentials gives you an idea of when a particular swing will be near its expiration date. Using this information, you can set stock renewal dates and generate purchase orders automatically. This also comes in handy in case of resources destroyed by natural calamities. You have the vendor details stored which makes ordering new stock as simple as a single click! Stay on top of stock management to tackle unexpected equipment breakdowns!
Take responsibility and choose the right tools for the job – Go for EZOfficeInventory
When it comes to the general community and especially children, you cannot afford to take any chances with safety. One of the most commonly used public goods is playgrounds, run by government agencies. To maintain parks in the best way possible it is important to deploy the appropriate tools for the job. Playground equipment maintenance can be quite challenging, if not performed in the correct manner.
EZOfficeInventory is a maintenance software which offers a single solution to all equipment related issues. First of all, it allows you to track every single piece of asset you own, to ensure it is being utilized in the correct manner. Barcode labels make it easier to track and record locations, which lower the risk of theft and misplacement. These also streamline workflow management through check-ins and checkouts, every time an employee uses a tool.
If your public agency decides to opt for EZOfficeInventory, it will have the benefit of having all its data in a single place. Playground equipment maintenance can be hectic, especially for all the vendor and supplier information. Whenever you need to schedule a repair workshop or need to order new stock, you can easily access this data from your software. EZOfficeInventory lets you manage playgrounds to meet safety standards and sustain them for the long run!
Want to learn more about maintaining playground equipment? Check out our infographic below!
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EZO CMMS is a well-known playground equipment maintenance software used by public and private agencies which allows them to meet safety standards set by the government.
For more assistance, drop us an email at support@ezo.io.
