If you’ve ever seen a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) walking around with a couple of odd-looking plastic devices, you’ve witnessed an extremely important part of playground safety testing in action. Those tools are called the head probe and torso probe, and they’re used to make sure that the playground equipment is designed and installed in a way that prevents children from becoming trapped in a life threatening way, which would be referred to as an entrapment hazard. This is a very serious hazard that can present a life threatening situation for a child. These special probes help CPSI’s in a tangible way that a visual inspection may miss. It might not seem very high tech, but these simple shapes are all that is needed to help inspectors catch hidden hazards long before they can cause harm.
Here’s how they work:
-The torso probe (3.5 inches (89 mm) by 6.2 inches (157 mm)) represents the size of a small child’s body
-and the head probe (diameter 9 inches (229 mm)) represents the size of a child’s head.
If the torso probe fits through an opening but the head probe does not, that’s a red flag. It means a child could slip partway through become trapped, hanging by their neck or head. This is a situation playground standards are specifically designed to prevent. By checking spaces between rails, platforms, ladder rungs, net climbers and any other piece of equipment a child can play on, inspectors verify that everything is compliant with the proper safety standards before kids climb, swing, and explore.
This process is one of the many vital steps that keep playgrounds as safe and welcoming as can be. It’s in no way about limiting play or adding unnecessary rules! It is about making sure the fun remains challenging while limiting debilitating or life threatening injury. So the next time you spot those probes being used, know that they’re doing important work, potentially turning what could be a small risk into a non-issue. Safe play doesn’t happen by accident; it’s built into every detail, checked and double-checked by Certified Playground Safety Inspectors and tools like these probes.
For more information on playground inspections and audits, email us at info@trassig.com, or call us at 203-659-0456.