children-playing-poringland-norfolkRegular inspections are the key to ensuring your playground equipment remains in good condition and safe to use. Inspections will help you to pick up on any small repairs or maintenance issues that need to be addressed. As well as this, a thorough inspection will ensure that the equipment is completely safe for children to use, helping to prevent potential accidents. As inspections have a direct impact on the safety and condition of your playground equipment it is important to ensure that they care carried out correctly. This guide will help ensure that your playground equipment inspections are properly carried out. When to inspect the equipment Due to the amount of use they get, playground equipment needs to be regularly inspected. Once a month is ideal for regular inspections that will note any repairs or safety issues that have arisen. As well as these regular inspections, a thorough inspection that fully inspects every piece of equipment and notes any issues, no matter how small, should be carried out at least once a year. Choose the right inspectors Regular inspections can be carried out by someone within the school. It is a good idea to have no more than two people responsible for the inspections so that they are aware of how they are carried out and what to look for. The inspections can be done by any member of staff, however ideally it should be someone who is responsible for general maintenance and repairs around the school. Use an inspection checklist To ensure that the equipment is inspected correctly an inspection checklist should be used as guidance. This checklist can be created by someone within the school and should include all areas that need to be inspected on a regular basis. The checklist will also help someone needing to step in and carry out an inspection if the usual inspector is away. Keep a written record of the inspection After each inspection a written record should be created and kept. This document will provide a useful reference for any issues that have been highlighted during the inspection. As well as this, the document should include any task points that need to be carried out, by who and with a deadline date, such as any repairs that need to be made. This will ensure that issues raised through the inspection are dealt with. Source the right spares The inspections should highlight any damage made to the playground equipment or small repairs that need to be carried out. Having a good and reliable source of where to get high quality spares is vital for carrying out repairs quickly and before the equipment becomes unsafe to use. Having a reliable source of playground spares is also good for any emergency repairs that need to be carried out throughout the month to ensure that the equipment remains safe for children to use. While playground equipment is designed and manufactured to withstand a high amount of everyday use, over time even the most robust equipment will receive small damages. Regular inspections will help to ensure the playground equipment remains damage free and ensures any small repair that needs to be carried out is done as quickly as possible.