The parks and recreation professional credited with the development of the City of Houston's maintenance program for its 260-plus park sites has released a list of essential tips for park supervisors.
Terry O'Bannion has been working at All Play after company president Kurt Futrell extended the job offer in 2008.
"Terry's experience working with municipal operations offers us a perspective that few companies in our field enjoy," Futrell said. "What we've learned about the challenges he faced and overcame while serving the City of Houston has proven to be a valuable educational tool for our sales, design and construction teams. Ultimately, our customers are reaping the benefits."
O'Bannion has created a list of "The Ten Things Every Park Supervisor Should Know" and has shared it with Playground Magazine.
O'Bannion has previously worked with the city of Houston after Parks and Recreation Director William "Bill" Smith asked him to help structure and establish a maintenance program for its public play equipment. The Safe Equipment Team helped improve safety, maintenance and budgeting. In 2000, the National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) recognized O'Bannion's program as the standard for Play Equipment Inspections and implemented by NPSI's Steve Plumb as a teaching tool.
So here is O'Bannion's list:
The Ten Things Every Park Supervisor Should Know
1. Make sure surfaces around playground equipment have at least 12 inches of wood chips, mulch, sand, pea gravel or mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials.
2. Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all directions from play equipment. For swings, be sure surfacing extends, in back and front, twice the height of the suspending bar.
3. Make sure play structures more than 30 inches high are spaced at least 9 feet apart.
4. Check for dangerous hardware, like open "S" hooks or protruding bolt ends.
5. Make sure spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs, measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
6. Check for sharp points or edges in equipment. Pay close attention to swing seats to assure metal inserts have not become exposed, leaving a sharp edge.
7. Look out for tripping hazards, like exposed concrete footings, tree stumps, rocks, shifting in equipment decks/transfer stations and possible exposed filter fabric barrier.
8. Make sure elevated surfaces, like platforms and ramps, have guardrails to prevent falls.
9. Check playgrounds regularly to see that equipment and surfacing are in good condition.
10. Carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they’re safe.
O’Bannion adds, “Remember, two of the most important values that a child should retain from their play experience, other than the play value and interaction with other children, are the challenges the equipment introduces them to and the learning experience.”
