The SA Landscapers Institute
(SALI), together with Playsafe
SA, recently held an online
discussion on the importance of
playground safety and compliance.
Playsafe SA, specialist safety
and compliance authorities,
presented the topic and geared it
towards landscape designers and
contractors involved in playground
projects.

Playgrounds are environments
where children engage in active
play, including climbing, jumping,
balancing and running. These
activities naturally involve risk and
falls are unavoidable. Because of
this, playground safety is not about
eliminating risk but about managing
and mitigating the severity of injury
when incidents occur.
Landscapers, designers and
installation contractors often playa significant role in playground
projects. Their decisions influence:
• playground layout
• circulation patterns
• equipment positioning
• fall zones
• surfacing performance
• drainage and ground levels.

These decisions directly affect how safe
a playground will be once it is operational.
Many playground safety issues arise not
from defective equipment but from design
decisions made early in the project life
cycle. For this reason, playground safety
must be considered during concept
design, equipment specification, surfacing
selection and installation planning.
The discussion aimed to help landscapers
and designers understand playground
safety risks and know when to involve
specialists such as PlaySafe, whose services
include the following:
• compliance inspections
• design reviews
• training
• impact surfacing testing
• turnkey project support
• playground safety guidance.

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