With the opening of the spring season, many regions began to tidy up playgrounds. However, the number of accidents on them is still growing every year: according to the results of monitoring by the public council under the Ministry of Construction of Russia, a third of children's playgrounds pose a danger to the life and health of children.
Last year, in 54 regions of the country, prosecutors identified more than 2.5 thousand ownerless gaming complexes. Every year there are hundreds of cases of children being injured on playgrounds. For example, in August 2023, in the city of Bugulma, an eight-year-old boy climbed onto a swing, which turned out to be unsecured, and the structure collapsed on the child. Such tragic events always serve as a reminder of how important it is to maintain the infrastructure of children's playgrounds at the proper level.
There are two main reasons why manufacturers do not comply with safety requirements for sports and gaming infrastructure. Firstly, there is outdated and faulty equipment in playgrounds. Secondly, some manufacturers use cheap materials and save a lot on production.
“Our company does a lot of testing. One of them involves simulating the impact of a swing seat. This is necessary to check the safety of the swing if a child is near it for some reason. The material must have the ability to absorb shock. All tested indicators are connected and reduce the likelihood of injury to the child. Tests must include an assessment of all elements and components of playground equipment to be tested. In addition, tests are carried out for hygienic and fire safety,” said the Sercons laboratory.
As practice shows, manufacturers of equipment for children's playgrounds, even in the case of strict compliance with manufacturing standards face problems associated with confirming product conformity – this requires the technical equipment and competence of experts from the testing center.
“Ensuring the safety of our children is the most important task of the state, society and certification companies. And we at Sercons understand this like no one else. For almost 30 years now, the company has taken responsibility for the safety of about 80% of products manufactured for human needs, including equipment for playgrounds. We test, research and make a decision on whether a particular structure is safe and whether it can be installed on playgrounds. If not, then we, together with the manufacturer, correct all errors and shortcomings, finalize the product in such a way that it is completely safe and brings only joy to children and their parents,” commented General Director of the Sercons company Asel Karasartova.
We note that the Sercons company offers to conduct comprehensive research, and is also ready to develop a playground passport with operating instructions and a feedback form for prompt problem solving.
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