Considerations for Protective Playground Surfacing

Considerations for Protective Playground Surfacing
By: Jeromy Morningstar

Having spent the past 12 years in the playground industry, I have become a strong believer in promoting the outdoor classroom as a means to encourage free play. I think Albert Einstein put it best when he said, "Play is the highest form of research."

A well-designed playground strikes a balance between components that are inclusive to varying abilities while also providing sufficient challenge, which is essential to promoting physical development and building self confidence. A fundamental aspect of any playground design must also be its ability to challenge within a safe environment.

Unfortunately, and in spite of our best efforts, the very nature of children's play makes falls to the surface inevitable. It is estimated that more than 70 percent of playground injuries are due to falls to the surface. How often have we seen children using play equipment in a manner inconsistent with its original design intent?
In light of this, it is a wonder that protective surfacing options remain one of the most overlooked and under-evaluated aspects of playground design.

Playground surfacing is as diverse as the equipment placed upon it. The many different types of surfacing available can be generally broken down into two main categories consisting of loose fill and unitary materials.
There are many loose fill materials in use today such as wood chips, pea stone, sand, bark mulch, rubber mulch and engineered wood fiber (EWF). Of this group, engineered wood fiber is the dominant surfacing type, comprising of approximately 75 percent of the market by volume.

Engineered wood fiber offers the user a number of advantages. The primary advantages are cost and fall protection ratings. EWF offers one of the lowest initial purchase costs. EWF also provides one of the most favorable initial fall protection ratings when tested in laboratory conditions. Additional advantages include ease of installation, conformance to ASTM F1951 (wheelchair accessibility) and adequate resistance to flammability (rate of flame spread).

However, EWF also provides a number of disadvantages, including requiring a regular maintenance program to counter the effects of decomposition, compaction and material displacement.

The second category, unitary surfacing, consists of two major types of products including poured in place (PIP) and prefabricated mats or tiles. Poured in place (PIP) surfacing is a dual density system consisting of a resilient base mat and a higher density top wear course. PIP consists of a combination of recycled and newly manufactured rubber mixed with polyurethane binding resins. As the name implies, the PIP system is mixed, leveled and finished on site by specially trained installation personnel representing the manufacturer.

PIP surfacing offers many functional advantages, including low maintenance and low life-cycle costs. Since the material is unitary in nature, extensive maintenance is not required in order to maintain consistent fall protection and wheelchair mobility. Additional advantages unique to PIP include the ability to conform to irregular shapes and grade changes within the playground. Graphics can also be incorporated into the surface adding play value.

There are also several limitations inherent to the PIP system. The highly valued designs that the surface is capable of offering can be susceptible to damage caused by environmental factors. Since this product is manufactured at the installation site, inconsistencies can develop during the installation process.

Another unitary surfacing option that is growing in popularity is a prefabricated product often supplied in a mat or tile form. These materials are generally made from a combination of recycled and newly manufacture red rubber combined with a polyurethane resin. Unlike PIP, which is field manufactured, this product is compression molded in a manufacturing environment prior to being shipped to the playground for installation.

Pre-manufactured products offer the same functional advantages that field-manufactured unitary surfaces offer in that they do not require a high level of maintenance, thus providing a comparatively low life-cycle cost.

Pre-manufactured products are seen to offer several additional advantages, including cost, consistency and durability. The cost of a tile system generally falls between PIP at the higher end and engineered wood fiber at the lower end of the cost scale. Although both tile and PIP are generally made with the same types of raw materials, the cost savings are realized in production efficiencies, lower installation costs as well as the longevity of the pre-manufactured product.

Disadvantages of tile systems include tile to tile separation, limitation in free-flowing graphic design potential, and stringent requirements for base preparation.

The makers of synthetic surface materials are making significant strides in developing a variety of products that are both attractive and impact absorbing. Advances in manufacturing technologies are fueling the process, providing opportunity for better products to be developed more efficiently and more economically. The result of ongoing manufacturing developments is a greater variety of choice for designers and owner/operators of playground facilities. Technical advances have also led some suppliers to ensure greater ease and precision of installation, the elimination of expansion and contraction problems, and product durability over time.

Ultimately, though, regardless of which type of playground surfacing meets your particular needs, it is important to remember that the quality of a system can vary significantly from one manufacturer to another.

In order to ensure that your surfacing product exceeds in the critical performance categories, the following questions should form an integral part of your product inquiry.

1. Does my surface comply with current ADA standards?
One important component of an accessible playground is the surface. By default, most unitary surfaces automatically meet this requirement. Although some loose fill materials also meet the requirement, many others do not. Particular attention should be given to this requirement when investigating a loose fill option.

2. Does the surface meet the latest standard for impact attenuation?
ASTM F1292-04 is the standard that applies to the impact-absorbing properties of a playground surface. In a very general description, a hemispherical-shaped head form is dropped onto the surfacing specimen, which sends key measurements to a computer upon impact. The two key measurements are HIC (Head injury criteria) and GMAX, both relating to the ability of the surfacing system to absorb impact or cushion falls. The standard allows for a maximum HIC reading of 1000 and a maximum GMAX reading of 200. In order for a surface to meet the standard, it must provide readings below these numbers at a pre-specified height. The categories of surfacing listed above should comply with the current standard provided they are installed to the manufacturer's specifications.

3. What test results did the surface achieve at the specified fall requirement?
Although ASTM F1292-04 states that a surface must perform under 1000 HIC and 200 GMAX, these readings are the maximum allowable limit. When purchasing a safety surface, it is important to consider a system that provides ASTM F1292-04 test results that perform considerably better than the upper limit. By ensuring that your system performs 20 percent better, you are, in effect, building in a safety margin to compensate for future wear and tear on the surface. A surface producing results close to the upper limit is unlikely to remain in compliance over the long term. Every manufacturer should be able to provide you with a certified test report listing the ASTM F1292 results for their surfacing product. Looking for HIC results of 750 or lower will provide additional assurance that your surface will continue to provide impact attenuation over the long term.

4. How long is my surface guaranteed to meet the F1292-04 standard?
In addition to building in your safety margin as described above, it is important to carefully look at the warranty offered by the manufacturer. Test reports provided by the manufacturer are laboratory reports and do not necessarily take into consideration certain factors that may be unique to your site. To ensure performance over the long term, it is important to look for a surface that has a minimum 10-year warranty to ASTM F1292-04 when tested on site. Mandating periodic field testing is another way to monitor proper compliance. It is very important to carefully evaluate the warranty. Some manufacturers state their warranty in very general terms, when further analysis reveals that compliance to the F1292 standard is not covered.

5. How long is my surface guaranteed against defects in material and workmanship?
One of the biggest challenges for a surfacing manufacture is finding the balance between resilience and durability. Manufacturing a surface that is exceptionally durable or exceptionally resilient can be achieved quite easily. The difficulty, however, lies in manufacturing a product that is both soft enough to provide long-term fall protection but also durable enough to withstand the wear and tear of typical playground use. To ensure that your surface has succeeded in meeting both requirements, you should be looking for a minimum 10-year warranty against premature wear in addition to fall height compliance.

6. What type of surface is going to provide the best value equation over the long term?
When shopping for a safety surface, the initial purchase price is an important consideration, but even more important is the actual cost of the surface projected over a period of years. More often than not, lower initial priced surfaces end up being the higher-priced surface in the long term due to maintenance and replenishment costs.
Jeromy Morningstar is the marketing manager for SofSurfaces, www.sofsurfaces.com, which designs and manufactures unique, interlocking playground safety surfacing systems.

Product Roundup

Endura from Advanced Ground Care
Put it down and forget about it—there is no need to replace Endura synthetic ground cover year after year. Made from 100% recycled rubber, Endura is the choice for both playground and landscaping applications. Endura: * Won't blow or wash away
* Is warranted against fade and total color loss for eight years
* Discourages weed growth and rodent/insect infestations Endura groundcover and mulch products are available in several colors (including cedar,
redwood, and blue) and a variety of bag sizes.
www.advancedgroundcare.com

Zeager has introduced the new RecGrass playground surface, a natural looking and soft synthetic grass that provides a very low maintenance and reasonably priced safety surface for play areas. RecGrass is third-party certified and meets ADA, ASTM, CPSC, and CSA requirements for playground surfaces. The RecBase underneath provides excellent drainage and fall protection. Zeager is a leading recreational surfacing manufacturer, offering:
* WoodCarpet
* Bonded Woodcarpet
* RecMat
* RecGrass
www.zeager.com

EnvyLawn
Imagine having a perfect looking playground with green grass and children running and playing on a surface that offers all of the protection of loose fill safety surfacing, but looks and feels like natural grass. EnvyLawn artificial grass is the perfect landscaping for playgrounds, play areas and commercial lawn areas. With EnvyLawn, there is no need to:
* Mow
* Water
* Fertilize
*Aerate
EnvyLawn looks like natural grass while protecting children from impact injuries and meeting the fall height requirements for playground safety surfacing.
www.envylawn.com

Environmental Molding Concepts
Environmental Molding Concepts (EMC) has been upgrading the appearance of playgrounds since 1997. EMC:
* Prides itself on its quality of product and customer satisfaction
* Is at the forefront of new testing and expanding its product line
* Serves markets throughout the nation and overseas Their tiles range from decorative tiles with no fall protection (for walkways, pools, etc) to protection from 10 foot falls. EMC's various thicknesses are ideal for playgrounds. EMC offers safety with style you can rely on.
www.emcmolding.com

Nebraska Rubber Innovations
When purchasing playground equipment and protective surfacing, it is important to research the products' durability for which your investment dollars will be spent. Nebraska Rubber Innovations offers NRI surfacing and installation services to the North Central U.S. region, covering the surrounding nine-state area. Nebraska Rubber Innovations, Inc. manufactures protective rubber safety surfacing. The company offers systems with certified fall height protection for your consideration when planning or updating your play areas. Their options include:
* Matting systems
* Loose fill systems
www.nebraskarubber.com

Abacus Sports Installations
Abacus Sports Installations has introduced Playguard and Playguard Ultra Tiles. These resilient playground-surfacing systems combine:
* Strength
* Durability
* Eye appeal
Abacus finds importance in providing slip resistance and safety to the nation's children and creating a playground surface that can be accessed and enjoyed by more children at all ability levels.
www.abacussurfaces.com