Views: 50 Author: Sally Publish Time: 2024-07-03 Origin: www.bettaplay.com
Cleaning and regular inspections will benefit both your facility and the children who use your playground. If you haven’t yet established a regular schedule for maintaining your play area, consider the following reasons.
Keeping your facility clean is a top priority for all businesses, especially when patrons or their children frequently touch surfaces. By cleaning your play equipment frequently, you show your patrons that you care about their health. If they trust you to keep your indoor playground clean, they’ll be more likely to continue to bring their children to your indoor playground.
You’ve invested time and money in selecting and installing your indoor playground, so you want to make sure you’re getting a good return on your investment by maximizing the life of your play space. Regular maintenance and repairs, as well as frequent cleaning, prevent your equipment from wearing out prematurely.
If you properly maintain and regularly inspect your indoor playground, you can minimize risk and liability.
Another reason to prioritize maintenance is that it makes your play area more attractive to children. If children enjoy your play area, their parents will have more reasons to come to your facility.
In addition, when you keep your indoor play area clean, the equipment will retain its value over time. If you choose to sell your equipment in order to upgrade your playground later, you can get a better return on your investment.
To keep your indoor play area well-maintained, here are the steps you can take. Indoor classic playgrounds have many areas with different materials, so the maintenance steps you take will vary depending on the design of your play area.
Begin by designing a maintenance plan for your playground. Make sure the schedule works with your business hours to reduce disruption to your customers. For example, if you have a seasonal operation, perform major inspections and repairs during the off-season.
When you design your maintenance plan, be sure to write it down and inform your team about the procedures. You should also make sure everyone knows their responsibilities in maintaining the play area. For daily equipment inspections, workers need to know what signs to look for to indicate a need for repairs.
Consult the owner's manual for your playground equipment for recommended inspections and tests of the structure and components.
Schedule annual inspections for your play equipment. Choose a professional service provider in your area to perform these inspections instead of using your employees. Indoor play equipment experts will have the necessary training to identify issues that most people may overlook. Additionally, if the inspector finds a problem, they can schedule a time to make repairs or replace parts.
With annual inspections, you can ensure the integrity of your indoor playground. These inspections can help you spot and fix small problems before they become larger, more expensive problems. If you spot these problems early, you can deal with them quickly so your visitors can continue to enjoy the play area.
Don’t rely solely on annual inspections to ensure your equipment is in good condition. Train workers to perform daily inspections of equipment before and after the park opens. Create a checklist for your team to ensure they spot common small issues such as:
Dirty surfaces
Exposed metal
Surface cracks
Rust
Damaged nets
Vandalism
Excessive wear and tear
Trip hazards
Trash
Make sure employees know they need to correct any small issues they find immediately. If a quick fix isn’t possible, they need to mark the part that needs repair and close that part of the play area. Have clear procedures in place for these situations so everyone is on the same page.
While daily inspections are important, some parts of the playground are hidden beneath coverings. Check the connections, nuts, bolts, and other couplings on the playground once a month. Verify that all parts, including slides and nets, are properly connected.
If possible, have two workers perform these monthly inspections so they can verify each other's work. Alternatively, you can ask one person to check the area twice. It is important to be as thorough as possible.
Workers who are not responsible for performing daily or monthly inspections of equipment should still be aware of signs of wear and tear and issues that need attention. They may have customers bring issues to them or discover problems themselves during their shifts. The more attention you pay to indoor playground equipment, the more likely you are to discover problems at their earliest stages.
Proper training of the entire team will also make it easier to change workers' responsibilities as needed.
Keep records of all inspections and repairs, including copies of the daily inspection forms for your indoor playground. These records will demonstrate that you are doing your best to maintain the play equipment and keep it clean.
With thorough record keeping, you can also verify when the equipment was last serviced. Compare this information to the manufacturer’s recommended repair or replacement intervals to maintain optimal integrity.
If you discover an issue that requires repair or immediate cleaning, always be prepared to close part of the play area or the entire playground. Having signs ready will make the process faster and easier. Additionally, with signs, you can demonstrate that your facility prioritizes the health and well-being of your customers and their children. Your signs can also show that you are working to get the play area back up and running as soon as possible.
When you need to close a play area, have staff nearby to watch the area and prevent children who are too young to read the signs from using the equipment. These staff members will also provide valuable customer service, gently explaining the situation to parents and assuring them that the play space will be reopened after cleaning or repairs.
When performing any repairs on your indoor playground, always verify that the methods are in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. If you want to ensure that your equipment is receiving the best possible care, contact your local dealer for information on nearby service providers. Local service providers can perform regular inspections and tests on your indoor playground to ensure that it is in good condition. You can contact BETTAPLAY for information about the company's trained and certified cleaning or repair contractors.
You should also get all replacement parts directly from the manufacturer to ensure proper fit and compatibility—especially if your play equipment comes with a warranty. If you don't know the name of the part you need, you can send a picture to the company for help with a replacement.
Many indoor playgrounds have warranties that cover their construction and installation. For example, Soft Play offers a one-year limited warranty after the indoor playground is installed. This warranty covers defects in workmanship and materials.
Keep a copy of this warranty and mark its expiration date on your calendar. If your playground has any problems that may be covered by the warranty, contact the manufacturer for more information about repairs or replacements. You may save money on repairs. The only way to know is to read and understand what your indoor playground’s warranty covers.
If you want to know how to clean your playground, please read THE IMPORTANCE OF INDOOR PLAYGROUND MAINTENANCE --- Part 2
