Risk assessment of children's play areas

Introduction

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 recommends that owners and managers of premises should undertake a risk assessment of their facilities - this includes the children's playground.

Purpose

The purpose of risk assessment is to:

• undertake a systematic review of the potential for harm
• evaluate the likelihood of harm occurring.

When this is done the manager has to:

• decide whether the existing control measures are adequate
• decide whether more needs to be done

Assessing risk

The sequence for this is:

• activity classification
• hazard identification
• evaluation of risk
• evaluation of control measures
• specification for further action

Action

Once the assessment has been carried out there should be a hierarchy for control:

• eliminate hazard
• reduce hazard
• isolate hazard
• control hazard

Future action

Once the risk assessment has been carried out and control measures taken, it need not be repeated unless there is a significant change in the playground.