Info from our CSA Safety Consultants at www.grace-kells.ca
New Fall Height Criteria
Falls from
play equipment are a major cause of playground injuries. For that
reason, the CSA Standard Z614 specifies criteria for surrounding the
base of playground equipment with impact-absorbing materials. The most
common materials are sand, pea gravel (i.e. small round pebbles), wood
fibre and synthetic rubber surfacing.
New
fall height criteria introduced in the CSA Standard Z614-07 further
reduce the potential for injuries from falls. This change does not
affect owners with playground installations before 2007 since surface
impact tests must perform to the fall height in effect at the time of
installation. The test procedure the CSA Standard references uses a
Triax which is an electronic tool that when dropped from a given height
measures impact properties on contact with the surface below. The
Standard designates various heights on equipment from where the drops
(i.e. fall heights) are to be performed and the acceptable readings.
The
2007 Canadian Standard edition specifies this new, higher fall height
for all platforms. For children aged 1 ½ - 5 years, the new fall height
is the height of the platform surface plus an additional 72.5 cm and
for children aged 5 - 12 years, the new fall height is the height of
the platform surface plus an additional 95 cm.
A
change like this may concern the many owners with pre-2007 equipment.
For this reason, Z614-07 includes a specific clause that clearly states
that surface impact tests are to be "conducted from the fall height
determined in accordance with the edition of the Standard in effect at
the time of installation". Even if the criteria of Z614-07 are applied
to an older play space, the Standard clearly specifies that the fall
height is determined according to the date of installation.