Does your park perimeter point to risks for little hands?

folder_openCivic & Public Sector, Sports & Leisure

Swings account for the most child injuries in play areas, followed by climbing frames then slides. However, please don’t overlook the possibility of fencing and gates also creating a hazard, especially when trapping, crushing or even shearing off little fingers!

Of course, where children are concerned, accidents are always a risk. This is because they don’t always use equipment appropriately or take care of their own safety. However, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA), poor or inappropriate equipment and below-par installation are still major management issues in this field.

The ROSPA reports that 40,000 children each year injure themselves on playgrounds to such an extent they need a hospital visit. How many more incidents go unreported? This is why this organisation works so hard to encourage play area managers and specifiers to meet strict safety standards. The law backs up the ROSPA, and litigation is likely for anyone who fails to take reasonable steps to avoid accidents and manage risks.

Little details, for little fingers.

There is a tendency to mitigate against the major hazards – such as falls, slips and trips – without due diligence to less obvious dangers, including the potential for children to get their fingers trapped.

If this is something you’ve not thoroughly covered in your equipment risk assessments, then you are in breach of ROSPA safety standards. Don’t just consider the design and installation of play equipment, though. Children can trap their fingers on one of the safety systems meant to protect them – the fencing and gates!

The ROSPA recommends using fencing in play areas to prevent finger traps and children from straying and shield them from dogs and vehicles. However, entering and leaving play areas can be an issue if the design of the perimeter security measures leaves the way open for fingers to be placed in danger.

You don’t just risk a nasty crush injury on a little hand. Some inappropriately designed and installed gates create a shearing motion that could do serious damage, such as if a curious youngster pokes a hinge rather than an opening mechanism!

Specifying fences and gates for play areas must also take account of time and usage factors. A cheap fencing product that appears to cover safety issues can begin to throw up serious risks for small fingers when it starts to wear and distort.

Solutions to prevent finger traps and playground accidents

These are all good reasons to choose Zaun‘s BowTop Play Playground Fencing, designed and engineered to match RoSPA guidelines and be BS 1722 part 9 compliant. The system gives an unobstructed view for anyone supervising play area users, and the spacing is crafted to avoid a neck or wrist entrapment and discourage climbing. Also, the value is in detail. Every clamp bar, slide bolt, and other accessory has been designed to prevent trapped or cut fingers. There is even the option of a slow close gate for parks to avoid any body parts getting crushed! Which is something the ROSPA recommends.

Finger traps safety for play areas.

The BMJ medical journal reports that most childhood finger injuries are in pre-school children, and some are serious enough to require amputation. However, a surprising number of accidents are still happening in playgrounds and parks.

(source: Injury Prevention)

If you want to ensure your play area fencing and gates protect little ones while avoiding trapped fingers, ask us for a quote and recommended security and safety products.

About Zaun

Zaun Limited is the sole remaining manufacturer of welded and woven mesh fencing systems that manufactures the entire system in the UK.  Zaun makes the mesh, fencing panels, posts, clamp bars and fixings at its state-of-the-art five-acre production facility in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.  Products have been tested and approved by testing organisations including CPNI, LPCB and Secured by Design.

Zaun works very closely with all stakeholders within the business including employees, local, national and international suppliers and a long-established customer base of fencing contractors to design, manufacture and supply high-quality fencing systems, increasingly often providing expertise in integrating PIDs and other systems into holistic security solutions.

Zaun was founded in 1996 and remains a private company solely owned by co-founder Alastair Henman with a regional office in Dubai. They are certified to the ISO 9001 quality standard. It is also a member of the Perimeter Security Suppliers’ Association (PSSA), of which Alastair Henman is a director.

Zaun is a proud British manufacturer and founder member of the Made in Britain campaign, a key player in the UK fencing market and one of the fastest-growing companies in an increasingly competitive industry.

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