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Fall protection with floor types and fall heights
Children enjoy playing with full commitment, without paying much attention to whether they are exposing themselves to danger. And they don't always accurately assess their strength. Therefore, it's good to have safety precautions that prevent serious injuries from occurring in the first place. Optimal fall protection helps minimize the risk of injury. The playground standard EN 1176 sets out the following principles regarding fall protection:
Calculating the area
- The floors must be free of sharp edges or dangerous protruding parts.
- A free fall space of at least 1.5 m must be maintained around the play equipment, measured from the outermost part of the equipment. Depending on the play equipment and its height, this fall space may increase or decrease. For swings, for example, the minimum fall space is the chain length times 0.867 m plus 2.25 m. For carousels, it is at least 2.0 m.
- The higher the theoretical fall height, the more shock-absorbing the surface must be.
- From a fall height of 60 cm and for play equipment that requires movement (e.g. swings, slides, etc.), the entire impact surface must have a shock-absorbing floor covering.
If the fall height is more than 1.5 m, the impact area can be determined using the following formula:
2/3 of the free fall height (m) + 0.5 m = length of the impact surface (m)
1.50 | 1.75 | 2.00 | 2.25 | 2m5 | 2.75 | 3.00
Values in m
1.50 | 1.67 | 1.83 | 2.00 | 2.17 | 2.33 | 2.50
Values in m
Soil conditions
The type of surface permitted under play equipment depends primarily on the fall height. The following overview shows the permissible surface types according to EN 1176:
*The material must be carefully prepared for use in children's playgrounds.
**The sand must not contain any silty or clayey components.
Detailed information on outdoor play areas can be found at https://publikationen.dguv.de/widgets/pdf/download/article/1383l
Natural minerals
Not all natural materials are equally suitable for all playground areas. For example, grass under swings or at the end of a slide is not recommended, as it quickly becomes muddy when used intensively in wet conditions. Bulk materials such as sand, gravel, wood chips, and bark mulch require intensive maintenance. They must be checked for debris, loosened, and replenished as needed. On the other hand, these materials are suitable for play and promote tactile perception. Furthermore, as natural products, they blend harmoniously into the natural environment.
Synthetic minerals
In addition to natural flooring, plastic flooring systems are also suitable for fall protection, such as polyethylene floor panels (link to floor panels), which are HIC-certified. Plastic floor panels are easy to maintain, weather- and rot-resistant, and have a long, albeit limited, lifespan.