One of the most critical tasks performed by the staff at Playground Depot is the maintenance of the playgrounds. This is important because according to studies carried out on the subject, as many as one-third of all injuries on playgrounds are caused by the sub-optimal maintenance of the playgrounds by their managements. So, having a systematic and effective plan for the maintenance of the playgrounds goes a long way in reducing the number of injuries significantly.

A systematic maintenance plan helps you increase the lifespan of your investment in Playground Depot by a long way. In this article, we present the most important aspects for you or your local Playground Depot representative to consider while building an ideal maintenance plan, to help protect and preserve your playground. You may customize the plan to your own particular requirements.

Daily Maintenance Plan

There are certain maintenance tasks that have to be performed on a highly regular basis, and usually, this is done on a day to day basis. This includes picking the litter which has been left on the playground from the previous day's activities and having the walkways swept and kept litter free. It is critical from the safety perspective to thoroughly check the playground mechanisms, while paying close attention to any possible wear points. The hardware connections have to be checked constantly, and tightened wherever required, and any loose or faulty connection immediately replaced. The displaced loose-fill surfacing has to be leveled and replaced, and the compacted surfacing loosened. These are the basic tasks that have to be carried out daily, without a break and are critical to the safety of the children playing at the playground.

Periodic Maintenance Tasks

A proper plan has to be formulated for the performance of maintenance tasks that have to be carried out on a periodic basis that are critical for maintaining the safety of the playgrounds. Mainly, the idea is to prevent any aging of the equipment or the environment because of overuse or neglect, from compromising the safety of the children who play at the playgrounds. Such tasks may involve basic things such as touching up the paint on very frequently used playground equipment that are subjected to routine scratching or scraping, or to replace any faulty parts of the playground machinery, such as replacing the motion bearings, swing clevises and so on.

Yearly Maintenance Tasks

Each year, a highly detailed safety audit and inspection of the playground’ss structural stability has to be performed by highly qualified personnel. You may get the help of your local Playground Depot representative to help you out with the resources and the consultation that you need for this.

Training your Staff

It is important that your playground staff is well trained and educated on the maintenance of the playgrounds, particularly keeping the safety of the children playing there in mind. The staff has to be well informed about their duties and responsibilities and expected to carry them out diligently. They should be educated thoroughly on the maintenance of the playground equipment and machinery, enough to carry out daily inspections, identify any faults in them and take corrective action.

Documenting your maintenance plan

You should document your entire maintenance plan and distribute it to your staff as a calendar, with their duties and responsibilities well explained to them, and make sure that the plan is strictly followed. Maintain a regular log of all inspections or repairs at the playground – this helps greatly with possible warranty and accident issues in the future.

Playground Depot Custom Maintenance Kit

It is important that you keep your records up-to-date and electronically filed with Playground Depot custom maintenance program, which is customized to the specific components of the playground. It’s perfectly free and comes with the installation of any playground from Playground Depot. It consists of a personalized equipment maintenance program a graffiti remover, touch-up materials, including primer, spare paint, and sandpaper and basic replacement parts.

For further details, please contact your Playground Depot representative.