If you’re in the business of shopping around for a commercial playset, there are so many things you must consider. You’re tasked with designing a playground that is accessible, safe, durable, and exciting, all at a price within your budget.
Whether you’re looking for a playset for your daycare, school, church, or community park, we’ve outlined some non-negotiable swing set design considerations your company should follow to help narrow your options and bring home the best playground equipment.
5 Factors To Consider When Designing Your Commercial Playground
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Age
Buying the right playground equipment for the right age is one of the most important swing set design considerations for keeping children safe.
Kids who play on a playset that’s designed for someone with more advanced motor skills have a much higher chance of injuring themselves during playtime — something that, if you’re not careful, your business could be held liable for.
Most commercial swing set listings are split into at least two age categories: 2-5 and 5-12.
- 2-5 years: Children within this age group have the skills and coordination to climb steps, short ramps, and even hang from short monkey bars. It’s recommended that playground equipment for this age group be lower than 7 feet off the ground.
- 5-12 years: Children within this age group have even better coordination and balance. They can climb rock walls, cargo nets, tall ramps, and more. Though they’re more coordinated, it’s still recommended that playground equipment stay between 8 and 12 feet high.
If your commercial playground needs to accommodate a wider range of ages, Swing Kingdom has a third category of swing set designs for ages 2-12. These playsets incorporate a fair mix of play features at heights appropriate for 2-5-year-olds and 5-12-year-olds.
2. Accessibility
Playtime is important for every kid. This simple fact should impact your swing set design decisions. Your commercial playground must follow accessibility requirements, not only because it’s required by law, but because all children deserve a place to find joy in play.
ADA law requires commercial swing set design to promote accessibility through
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- Playground surfacing: choosing a material that can allow wheelchairs and mobility devices to move across with ease.
- Accessible paths: the routes required for kids to get from one play feature to another. This event includes everything from entry/exit points and elevated/ground-level routes, to width and slope requirements of ramps.
- Transfer systems: platforms, steps, or supports to help children access elevated play features without their wheelchairs. On playgrounds with less than 20 elevated components, 50% must be accessible via transfer systems. On playsets with over 20, 25% must be connected via transfer systems, and 25% by ramps.
We have a full blog about commercial ADA playground requirements. Be sure to give that a read next to understand the specifics required of your commercial playground.
3. Location & Spacing Requirements
You must also consider how much space you have on your property. Not only does your playground surfacing need to cover the size of the playset, but it must also account for the required “use zones.”
Use or safety zones are the surfaces under and around each piece of equipment on your playground. They are an essential part of safe swing set design because they help prevent collisions.
Most of these requirements are pretty intuitive; a slide should never have an exit space that’s in front of a swing, and vice versa. If they do and 2 children are playing on each piece of equipment at the same time, an accident is unavoidable.
In general (but with a few exceptions), laws require that playground equipment have at least 6 feet of open space surrounding each play component to account for exit or fall space. Keep this in mind when shopping for your commercial playground to ensure you’re buying one that fits comfortably in your space with safety zones included.
4. Materials
The materials you choose to use for your playground are another important design factor. There are 2 primary decisions you’ll have to make when it comes to materials: the type of area surfacing and the kind of structure you buy.
Playground Surfacing Materials
Surfacing materials come in 2 categories: loose-fill and unitary.
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Loose-fill materials will require slightly more attention than unitary because they come free with foot traffic. To ensure your playground is meeting safety requirements, you’ll have to rake most loose-fill materials to keep your surfacing shock-absorbent to pad falls.
Explore the pros and cons of the different types of surfacing options to help you decide which is the best material for your playground.
Playset Structure Materials
There are 3 common types of playset structure materials: wood, metal, and vinyl. Each comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, but when it comes to durability, vinyl is the clear winner.
The characteristics of vinyl offer the same strength and visual appeal as quality wood. Yet, vinyl doesn’t splinter, rot, or rust over time.
Aside from routine safety checks, vinyl playsets won’t require sanding splinters or removing rust in the way that wood or metal playsets would. If you’re looking for a low-maintenance, durable option, vinyl is the way to go.
5. Play Components
The final swing set design consideration you have to make when searching for a commercial playset is the type of playground equipment you’d like to include. These decisions will most likely depend on the age group your playground is intended to accommodate.
In our recent blog, we compiled a list of swing set features based on the developmental skills of children in different age groups. Check that out for a more detailed description of the types of play components you can explore.
Here are some examples of playset components you can explore:
- Swings
- Slides
- Climbing Structures
- Horizontal Bars (Monkey Bars)
- Activity Panels
- Play Houses
- Fun Accessories
Make Playground Safety Your Top Priority
On any playset, safety is a top priority. Children getting hurt on your playset is a liability. To protect your business and keep all children safe on your playground, ensure your swing set design follows the S.A.F.E. model.
S.A.F.E. is an acronym developed to help playset owners remember the top injury prevention tips. It’s a 4-prong framework that encompasses the Duty of Care obligation business owners must follow if they choose to invest in a commercial playground.
Here’s what it stands for:
- S = Supervision: active adult supervision is essential for safe playground play. The intuition of an adult is much stronger than a child. If a child is playing in a way that could be dangerous, the person supervising can redirect them to prevent a fall before it happens.
Consider adding some benches or picnic tables around your playground to give parents a place to sit and supervise children comfortably.
- A = Appropriate environments: your commercial playground should be set up to create an appropriate environment for all children. This includes designing a playset that’s age-appropriate and inclusive.
Using proper signage, your business can communicate your playground rules. Some important things to mention could include:
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- Appropriate ages for play features
- Appropriate times of day for using the playset
- A disclaimer about adult supervision requirements
- F = Fall surfacing: playground surfacing materials can help lessen the impact of a fall, but only if you choose the right one.
- E = Equipment maintenance: routine playset maintenance is an important part of keeping children safe and protecting the longevity of your investment. At a minimum, commercial swing sets should be inspected once a year, but we recommend bi-annually or quarterly by a Certified Playground Safety Inspector.
If you’re a commercial playset owner, it’s highly recommended that you keep a running document of your playground inspections. In the event a parent takes legal action for a child injuring themselves on your property, these documents should help show that you practiced playground safety to your best ability.
The bottom line is that if you’re in the process of buying or designing your own commercial swing set, you want to invest in something that you know is going to last. Swing Kingdom playsets have all of the characteristics — and then some — that make a playset high-quality.