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.