Playground Industry Standards and Safety

Compliance on a Global Scale

IPEMA Playground Equipment Certification
The International Playground Equipment Manufacturers Association. In the interest of public playground safety, IPEMA provides a third party certification service whereby a designated independent laboratory validates a manufacturer's certification of conformance to the ASTM F1487 (excluding section 10 and 12.6.1), and the Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specifications for Playground Equipment for Public Use, standard. The use of this seal in GameTime's catalog signifies that GameTime has received written validation from the independent laboratory that the product associated with the use of this seal conforms with the requirements of ASTM F1487. A complete list of validated products may be found at IPEMA's web site: http://www.ipema.org

Consumer Alert: There is a difference between being an IPEMA Member and having your products certified by IPEMA. These are not the same thing. Anyone can join IPEMA, a manufacturer or individual. When considering a playground manufacturer, make sure the product you are actually purchasing is IPEMA Certified. Look for the red certified seal or ask the manufacturer for a certificate of proof.

IPEMA
8300 Colesville Road, Suite 250
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Website: http://www.ipema.org
E-mail address: nssea@aol.com

CPSC Playground Standards
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency within the United States Federal Government with the authority to inform the public of current product safety performance information and recommended practices. The CPSC first published their guidelines for public playgrounds in 1981 and have updated their publication several times over the past 25 years. The current CPSC Handbook for Public Playground Safety, publication #325, is an excellent guide for owners and operators of public play environments. This publication on Public Playground Safety is available as a free PDF Download. The CPSC also offers many other publications regarding Playground Safety on their Playground Publication website.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Washington, DC 20207

Website: http://www.cpsc.gov
E-mail address: info@cpsc.gov

ASTM Playground Standards
The American Society for Testing and Materials is an independent and world renowned developer of technical standards utilized in testing a multitude of products. ASTM's F15.29 committee, chaired by Dr. Francis Wallach, met consistently for over a decade in the continual development of the F1487 Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specifications for Playground Equipment for Public Use. The original standard, F1487-93 was published in 1993 and subsequently replaced in 1997, 2001 and by the current version F1487-05, published in 2005. This publication can be purchased from ASTM's website or a complimentary copy can be provided by GameTime and David Williams & Associates.

American Society for Testing and Materials
100 Barr Harbor Drive
West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959

Website: http://www.astm.org
E-mail address: service@astm.org

ISO 9001:2000 Certification
An industry certification process issued by the International Organization for Standardization. It is used to measure manufacturing standards and to certify company compliance with quality control systems covering design, development, production, installation, inspection and testing. David Williams & Associates is proud to say that GameTime is the leader and first playground company to receive the ISO9001:2000 certification. Upon request, we can provide a copy of GameTime's ISO certificate.

Website: http://www.iso.org/

Access Board
The Access Board (The United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board) has completed Accessibility Guidelines for Play Facilities as set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The Final Report of the Regulatory Negotiation Committee is available here. GameTime is the leader in Accessible Playground Equipment for public playgrounds with our Wide Wheelchair Ramps and on-deck Slide Transfer system. GameTime is a partner with Boundless Playgrounds too.

Access Board
1331 F street, NW
Washington, DC 20004-1111

Website: http://www.access-board.gov/
E-mail address: greenwell@access-board.gov

CSA International
The Canadian Standards Association is an independent and renowned developer of technical standards utilized in evaluating a multitude of products. The CSA Guideline on Children's Playspaces and Equipment June 1991 edition was revised May, 1998 and is now officially CAN/CSA-Z614-98, entitled Children's Playspaces and Equipment. The CSA guidelines are predominantly harmonized with the ASTM F1487 standard.

Canadian Standards Association
178 Rexdale Boulevard
Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M9W 1R3

Website: http://www.csa-international.org
E-mail address: mailto:mackenzk@csa.ca

TUV
TUV Product Service, an international testing and certification organization is a European Union Notified and Competent Body providing services which include product testing and certification. The highly visible TÜV-Mark demonstrates to customers that safety testing and certification has been completed by an independent third-party organization. The 'S' pictogram combined with the statements 'Safety tested', 'EN 1176' and 'Production monitored' indicate that these products have passed a comprehensive testing procedure based upon the European Harmonized Standard for Commercial Playground Equipment, EN 1176 and that the GameTime production plant is regularly monitored by TÜV.

TUV Product Service, Inc.
5 Cherry Hill Drive
Danvers, MA 01923

Website: http://www.tuvglobal.com/
E-mail: info@tuvps.com