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Inspections and defects

How to inspect a playground, step by step

From choosing the level to completing the round: the checklist, grading what you find, and what happens next.

Updated

Short answer

A round starts by choosing the level and which equipment is included. You then work through the checklist item by item, marking each one OK, Observation or Defect. When the round is completed, the next due dates and the statuses update, and the defects go on for follow-up with an assignee and a date.

How to do it in Lekko

  1. 1Go to Inspections. Every earlier inspection is there — start a new round from the same page.
  2. 2Choose the level you are carrying out: routine visual inspection, operational inspection or annual main inspection.
  3. 3Choose one or more pieces of equipment. You can take a whole round in one go.
  4. 4Work through the checklist, one piece of equipment at a time. The items are made up of the common items, the items for the equipment type, and any of your own.
  5. 5Mark each item as OK, Observation or Defect. Add a comment or a photograph where it helps.
  6. 6On the summary step, write who carried out the round and complete it. The next due dates and the statuses are updated then.

“Observation” is for something you want to keep an eye on but which is not a defect yet. Marking an item as a defect creates the defect automatically, so it can be followed up.

During the round

  • You can add or remove equipment at any point from the equipment menu, including on the summary step. You change the order there too.
  • If you remove a piece of equipment by mistake and add it back, the answers you had already recorded are still there.
  • A round you have started can be completed later — it stays in the list as in progress until it is completed or discarded.

You can open an earlier inspection from the list, or from the equipment's own history, to see every result — and delete it from there if it was recorded by mistake.

Background

What the checklist is built from

The items come from three places: the common items that apply to the whole site, the items for the equipment type, and any of your own. Each built-in item carries a reference to the part of EN 1176 or EN 1177 it comes from, so a report can be cross-checked against an inspection instead of having to be taken on trust.

The round is made to be walked on a phone out on the site, including where the signal is poor. What you record is saved as soon as the connection is back.

Lekko builds on EN 1176 and EN 1177. It says that the equipment has been checked against those standards — not that any national requirement has been met. What makes the standard binding is national law, and that differs across the countries this market covers, so we do not claim to know what applies where you are.

Questions and answers

Can several people share one round?

A round that has been started stays in the list as in progress until it is completed or discarded, so it can be finished later or by somebody else with access. Who carried it out is written on the summary step.

What is the difference between an observation and a defect?

An observation is something you want to keep an eye on but which does not need an action yet. A defect has to be followed up and creates a record to be closed, with a severity, an assignee and a date.

What do you check in a playground inspection?

The common items cover the surfacing, litter and sharp objects, loose or missing parts, sharp edges, ropes and chains, fences and gates, signage and vegetation. On top of those, each type of equipment has its own items — bearings and clearances on a swing, the run-out on a slide, the traveller on a cableway.

Sources

This article gives a practical account of the requirements. It does not reproduce the standards EN 1176 and EN 1177, and it does not replace the annual main inspection by a competent person. If you are unsure what applies to your playground, ask a competent person or the relevant authority in your own country.

Read the article as Markdown

Less fuss. Lekko remembers.

Ready-made checklists built from EN 1176 and EN 1177, a reminder before every inspection, and a report you can hand over in one click.

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See also

The three inspection levels in EN 1176-7Routine visual inspection, operational inspection and annual main inspection: what each answers, and who carries it out.Playground defects: grading and closing themWhat critical, moderate and minor mean in practice, and why a defect is not finished until it is closed.Your own playground checklist itemsWhen it is right to add an item of your own to the checklist, and how it should be worded so two people answer it the same way.

Guides on the same subject

Playground inspection checklist: the points to walk with todayA 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.How often should a playground be inspected? The three levels in EN 1176-7Three levels, three different questions, and what actually moves the interval — use, materials, weather and vandalism. Written from EN 1176-7.