Safeplay by Design, Inc.

9666 Sheldon Road       

  Phone and Fax: (916) 689-8636

Elk Grove, CA 95624-9437              

  Cell Phone: (916) 417-2740
   

email: david@spease.com

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Legislation to revise the California Playground Safety Regulations (AB114 Harmon) was signed by the Governor on September 26, 2006.  The effective date is January 1, 2008.  The Legislation was sponsored by the California Parks and Recreation Society. See AB1144 for the changes.

California Playground Safety Regulations

TITLE 22. Social Security

Division 4. Environmental Health

Chapter 22. Safety Regulations for Playgrounds

Article 1. Definitions

65700. Certified Playground Safety Inspector.

"Certified Playground Safety Inspector" means an individual who has completed program requirements as a certified Playground Safety Inspector as specified in Section 65750.

65700.2. Children

"Children" means individuals who are two years of age through twelve years of age.

65700.6. Operator

"Operator" means any entity which operates a playground open to the public, including a church, subdivision, hotel, motel, resort, camp, office, hospital, shopping center, child care setting, and restaurant and any public agency, state agency, city, county, city and county, school district, and any other district.

65700.8. Playground

"Playground" means an improved outdoor area designed, equipped, and set aside for children's play that is not intended for use as an athletic playing field or athletic court, and shall include all playground equipment, surfacing, fencing, signs, internal pathways, internal land forms, vegetation, and related structures.

65700.10. Playground Equipment.

"Playground Equipment" means a fabricated structure intended primarily for play by children located at a playground which has at least one surface designated and intended for play by children and which is anchored to or built into the ground and not intended to be moved

65700.12. Supervisor.

"Supervisor" means an individual who has been hired or appointed by the operator, on a paid or volunteer basis, and trained by the operator to oversee the use of the playground, report hazards or injuries, and administer first aid in the case of injury

Article 2. General Standards

65710. Operator Requirements

  1. Operators shall comply with the sections of the Handbook for Public Playground Safety (CPSC Handbook), Publication Number 325, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission November 1997, Date Code: 009711, (available from the Office of Information and Public Affairs, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207), and the sections of the Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use (ASTM Standard), Designation: ASTM F 1487 - 98, American Society for Testing and Materials, 1998. You may obtain a copy of ASTM F 19487-98  from , the American Society for Testing and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428), that relate to the design, installation, inspection, and maintenance of a playground and playground equipment, which are identified in this chapter and are hereby incorporated by reference. 
  2. Wherever the sections of the CPSC Handbook identified in this chapter make recommendations, they shall be understood as mandatory requirements for purposes of this chapter; for instance, wherever those sections use the term "should," it shall be understood as the term "shall"; wherever those sections use the term "recommend," it shall be understood as the term "require"; wherever those sections use the term "recommendation," it shall be understood as the term "requirement"; wherever those sections use the phrase "it is recommended," it shall be understood as the phrase "it is required"; wherever those sections use the phrase "it is not recommended," it shall be understood as the phrase "it is prohibited."

The CPSC handbook for Public Playground Safety is a free download from the Access Board web page.   ASTM F 1487-89 is available for a fee on the ASTM web page.   The links for these two agencies can be found in the links section of this web page.

65715. Initial Inspection

Operators shall have an initial inspection of their playgrounds by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector by October 1, 2000. Based on the initial inspection, operators shall implement any changes in the design, installation, inspection, maintenance and supervision of their playgrounds that are identified as necessary to comply with the requirements established in this chapter. Operators shall upgrade their playgrounds by replacement or improvement to the extent required by Section 115730 of the Health and Safety Code

65720. Design

Operators shall design or redesign playgrounds, locate or relocate playground equipment and routes of access to and from playgrounds, and surface or resurface portions of playgrounds to comply with the following requirements:

  1. Section 4.2 of the CPSC Handbook - Critical Height
  2. Section 4.3 of the CPSC Handbook - Fall Heights for Equipment
  3. Section 4.4 of the CPSC Handbook - Equipment to Which Protective Surfacing Recommendations Do Not apply
    4.
  4. Section 5 of the CPSC Handbook - Use Zones for Equipment, in its entirety
  5. Section 9 of the ASTM Standard - Playground Layout, in its entirety
  6. Section 10 of the ASTM Standard - Accessibility, in its entirety
  7. Section 11.2 of the ASTM Standard - Owner's/Operator's Responsibilities for Installation

65725. Equipment and Materials

Operators shall provide playground equipment and surfacing materials that comply with the following requirements:

  1. Section 8 of the CPSC Handbook - Materials of Manufacture and Construction, in its entirety.
  2. Section 9 of the CPSC Handbook - General Hazards, in its entirety
  3. Section 10 of the CPSC Handbook - Stairways, Ladders and Handrails (including 10.1, General; 10.2.1, Rungs and Other Hand gripping Components; 10.3, Handrails; 10.3.1, Handrail Height; 10.3.2, Handrail Diameter; and 10.4, Transition From Access to Platform), except for 10.2, Stairways and Ladders, which is excluded
  4. Section 11 of the CPSC Handbook - Platforms, Guardrails and Protective Barriers, in its entirety
  5. Section 12 of the CPSC Handbook - Major Types of Playground Equipment, except for 12.4.3, Slide Platforms, which is excluded
  6. Section 4 of the ASTM Standard - Materials and Manufacture, in its entirety
  7. Section 6 of the ASTM Standard - Performance Requirements, in its entirety
  8. Section 7 of the ASTM Standard - Requirements for Access/Egress, in its entirety
  9. Section 8 of the ASTM Standard - Equipment, except for 8.6, Swings, which is excluded
  10. Section 14 of the ASTM Standard - Labeling, in its entirety

65730. Assembly and Installation

Operators shall have playground equipment assembled and installed in compliance with the written instructions of the manufacturer. Either the playground equipment shall be assembled and installed by or under the direct supervision of an individual who is authorized by the manufacturer to assemble and install the equipment or, prior to its first use, the playground equipment shall be inspected by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector who shall certify to the operator in writing that the equipment, insofar as it can be seen without disassembling it or digging into the surfacing, is in compliance with the requirements established in this chapter.

65735. Maintenance

Operators shall maintain and inspect the playground and playground equipment in accordance with Section 7.2 of the CPSC Handbook and Section 13 of the ASTM Standard.

65740. Training

Operators shall train their personnel involved in the design, installation, and maintenance of a playground by ensuring their personnel have read and understood the requirements established in this chapter, before participating in the design, installation or maintenance of a playground for which the personnel has responsibility

65745. Supervision

Operators who provide supervision shall do so in accordance with Section 6.4 of the CPSC Handbook

Article 3. Certified Playground Safety Inspector Requirements

65750. Certified Playground Safety Inspector

A Certified Playground Safety Inspector shall possess a current Certified Playground Safety Inspector certificate issued by the National Playground Safety Institute (c/o National Parks and Recreation Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148, telephone: (703) 858-2148 or e-mail: info@nrpa.org).

Article 4. Provisions for Child Care Centers and Facilities Operated for the Developmentally Disabled

65755. Child Care Center and Developmentally Disabled Facility Requirements

Operators of playgrounds in child care centers regulated by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) pursuant to California Code of Regulations, Title 22, Division 12, Chapter 1, and facilities operated for the developmentally disabled, shall comply with the requirements established in this chapter.

Last update: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 08:58 AM

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