EN 1176 Playground Equipment and Surfaces

The European standard “EN 1176 Playground equipment and surfaces” consists of a number of sub-sections published under the same title. Namely,

• The standard “EN 1176-1 Part 1: General safety requirements and test methods” describes the general safety requirements for public playground equipment and surfaces. Additional safety requirements for specific pieces of playground equipment are specified in subsequent sections of this standard. EN 1176-1 covers all playground equipment for children. It has been developed with full recognition of the need for supervision of young children and less able or competent children.

The aim of this standard is to provide an appropriate level of safety when playing in, on or around playground equipment, whilst also encouraging activities and features known to be beneficial to children because they provide valuable experience that will enable them to cope with situations outside the playground.

This standard is applicable to playground equipment designed for individual and collective use by children, but excludes adventure playgrounds. It is also applicable to equipment and units that are installed as playground equipment, even if they are not manufactured as such, but excludes items defined as toys in EN 71 and the toy safety directive.

Adventure playgrounds are fenced, safe play areas managed and managed according to widely accepted principles that encourage children's development and often use equipment of their own construction. This standard specifies requirements to protect the child from hazards that he or she could not foresee when using the equipment as intended or in a way that could reasonably be foreseen.

• The standard “EN 1176-2 Part 2: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for swings” specifies additional safety requirements for swings designed for permanent installation for children’s use. If swinging is not the main play function, the relevant requirements in this standard may be used as appropriate. Recommendations for the design and placement of swings are included in the annex of this standard (Annex A).
• The standard “EN 1176-3 Part 3: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for slides” specifies additional safety requirements for slides designed for permanent installation for use by children. The aim is to provide protection against potential hazards to the user during use. When the main play function is not sliding, the relevant requirements in this standard may be used as appropriate. This standard does not apply to water slides, roller paths or slide installations where ancillary equipment such as mats or slides are used. This standard does not apply to inclined surfaces that do not contain and guide the user (e.g. handrails, inclined parallel bars).
• The standard “EN 1176-4 Part 4: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for cable routes” describes the requirements for cable routes where children move on a cable using gravity. This standard specifies additional safety requirements for cable routes intended for permanent installation for use by children.
• The standard “EN 1176-5 Part 5: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for carousels” describes additional safety requirements for carousels designed for permanent installation for use by children. When the main play function is not rotating, the relevant requirements in this standard can be used as appropriate. This standard does not apply to motorized carousels, fairground carousels or climbing drums.
• The standard “EN 1176-6 Part 6: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for swinging equipment” describes the requirements for swinging equipment used as playground equipment for children. When swinging is not the main play function, the relevant requirements in this standard can be used as appropriate. This standard contains additional safety requirements and test methods for seesaws and swinging equipment designed for permanent installation for use by children. It is intended to provide the user with protection against possible hazards during use. Guidance for assessing the safety of other types of seesaw/swinging equipment is included in the annex of this standard for informational purposes (Annex A).
• The standard “EN 1176-7 Part 7: Guide to installation, inspection, maintenance and operation” describes the requirements applicable to playground equipment, surfaces and ancillary items (e.g. gates, fences, benches, litter bins, shade nets and similar). This standard is intended to be used by playground operators to assist them in developing an inspection and maintenance regime for each playground. The scope of inspection and the inclusion of ancillary items will vary for each playground. Ancillary items are not included in specific equipment type items of the EN 1176 series of standards and therefore are not assessed for conformity with the EN 1176 series and are subject to risk assessment. This standard provides guidance on the installation, inspection, maintenance and operation of playground equipment and the surfaces surrounding the equipment.
• The standard “EN 1176-10 Part 10: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for totally enclosed play equipment” describes the requirements applicable to totally enclosed play equipment intended for installation inside and outside buildings for children up to the age of 14. The purpose of this standard is to provide additional safety requirements covering the characteristics of these structures.
• The standard “EN 1176-11 Part 11: Additional specific safety requirements and test methods for spatial networks” describes additional safety requirements for spatial networks designed for permanent installation for use by children. This standard does not apply to artificial climbing structures used for training purposes, for example for sports activities such as mountaineering.

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