Guides to playground inspection and EN 1176

If you have a playground, keeping it safe is your job. Here we explain what EN 1176 and EN 1177 mean in practice, what the three levels of inspection are, and how a small board or a busy kindergarten gets a routine in place – without becoming experts.

7 articles · Written by The Lekko editorial teamRSS feed

Newest · Standards and responsibility

Playground safety standards in Europe: what EN 1176 is, and what it is not

EN 1176 covers playground equipment and EN 1177 the test method for impact attenuating surfacing. They are European standards published by CEN, not legislation. CEN's members adopt them as national standards under national designations, which is why the same document is EN 1176, NEN-EN 1176 and PN-EN 1176 at once. What makes any of it binding is national law, and that differs from country to country.

9 August 202610 min read

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Standards and responsibility

Playground inspection records: what belongs in the logbook

An inspection that cannot be shown afterwards is hard to tell apart from one that never happened. The four parts of a record, and how little it takes to start.

9 August 20268 min

Who is responsible for the playground? Start with the owner

Owners' associations, property managers, schools and municipalities: who answers for the playground, what can be delegated, and what cannot.

9 August 20268 min

Playgrounds at kindergartens and day-care: what the harder use changes

The same children, every day, in all weather. What that does to the interval, what staff can and cannot do, and the risks specific to the youngest users.

9 August 20268 min

Inspection and routines

How often should a playground be inspected? The three levels in EN 1176-7

Three levels, three different questions, and what actually moves the interval — use, materials, weather and vandalism. Written from EN 1176-7.

9 August 20268 min

Playground inspection checklist: the points to walk with today

A working checklist for the routine visual and operational inspection: the points that apply everywhere, the points per type, and what to do with a finding.

9 August 20269 min

Safety in practice

Impact attenuating surfacing: free height of fall, depth and the impact area

Above 600 mm free height of fall the ground has to absorb impact. The depths for loose fill, how the impact area is measured, and the faults that come back.

9 August 20269 min

From guide to inspection done

Lekko has the checklists, the reminders and the report ready. Register the equipment and you are up and running in fifteen minutes.

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