Playground Safety Certification for the Liberty Swing

The revolutionary Liberty Swing was designed in Australia by Wayne Devine to comply with stringent safety regulations. The first installation in July 2000 in Old’s Park in Penshurst, NSW has been followed with over a hundred swings installed in every state and territory of Australia.

The Liberty Swing has the following Australian & New Zealand Certification:
AS1924 (Part 1) General Requirements
AS1924 (Part 2) Design and Construction Safety Aspects
AS 2555 Guide to Siting, Installation, Inspection and Operation
AS/NZS 4422: 1996 & AS/NZS 4486 Part 1-1997

The first European installation was at St Albans in the UK in 2001. There have been many enquiries from play area providers in the UK. Under the Disability Discrimination Act, an assessment of play areas for suitability by disabled users is required.

The Liberty Swing was inspected by RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) in October 2001 for installation into Council Parks throughout the UK and Europe – with the swing assessed as “Risk Factor - Very Low.”

There are an increasing number of installations in the USA, with a number of working swings already available in the states of New York, Tennessee, California and Illinois.

There is no other playground equipment quite like the revolutionary Liberty Swing. That is why it cannot easily be given accreditation to the stringent US playground standard ASTM F 1487. Basically, certification can only occur once the standards are re-written to take into account the needs of disabled people. Jenway Industries, the manufacturer of the Liberty Swing, continues to put pressure on Accreditation Authorities throughout the world to get Liberty Swings available in as many locations as possible. Unfortunately, this is a very slow process but the good news is that steps are underway to see the changes made to the US Standards.

A number of playground inspectors – including one high profile member of the US Access board – have expressed frustration with the inability of the US standards to cater for accessible swings.

See below extracts from written correspondence between the swing designer Wayne Devine and a very senior Playground Inspector who is highly qualified - he is also a member of California Parks and Recreation Playground Safety Committee, a member of the ASTM Committee for ASTM F 1487 that writes the specs, a member of the NPSI Executive Committee and an NPSI instructor for the CPSI course. (The full correspondence is available for inspection by those interested – email for details.)

“The Liberty Swing is not in compliance with ASTM F 1487 but it is very well built and it is the only product that suits the specific user as well as this one does. It is my professional opinion that given the quality of the product and the use restrictions imposed on the use of the product that it is safe to use in a public playground setting.”

“The ASTM Standards F 1487-07A simply does not address accessible swings. I think specific specifications to address them should be developed but they don’t… In my professional judgment this swing is safe to use. I can not say that it complies… It is going to take some ASTM revisions to allow that.

“I am a member of the ASTM Committee for ASTM F 1487 that writes the specs and I would be happy to support modifications to include swings like the Liberty.”

The Therapeutic Liberty Swing

Further discussion with the Accessibility Specialist on the U.S. Access Board revealed that, pending full US Standards Accreditation of the Liberty Swing, it should be allowed to be installed as “Therapeutic Equipment” as noted below: …

“… until that, I think the best thing to do is not call it play equipment, use some term like therapeutic equipment and label it as such. There are no standards that apply to therapeutic equipment but you can say or advertise that because there are no specifications that apply to your product and because of your concern for safety you are voluntarily complying with as many of the play equipment requirements as you can

“I have stated that I believe that the Liberty Swing is safe for use in a public park as it is currently installed but these changes would make it as close to complying with ASTM F 1487 and CPSC #325 as possible. I think it is the best product of its kind for the specific group of users. I think that it can be close to the play area but it should be separated from the play area by a few feet or at least be placed out of the main traffic pattern so that it can be identified (signed) as a separate area with a separate function.

“There is a similar restriction for Exercise Equipment. Exercise equipment installed in a play area or intended for use by children must comply with the Playground Specifications. If you call it therapeutic equipment but still put it in the play area I think you would fall into that same logic. That is why I recommend that you separate it in some way from the actual play area.”

Special note to US customers:

California is the only State that requires inspection by a National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) before it is opened to the public. (revised September 26, 2006.) …

A senior Accessibility Specialist on the U.S. Access Board has stated the following:

"Keep in mind that under our guidelines, if an operator were to provide several swings in a playground, only one is required to meet the guidelines. This provides the choice of providing a swing that meets our guidelines and other alternatives that do not.”

The good news for US parks wishing to install a Devine Liberty swing without waiting for US standards to catch up to the swing’s revolutionary design: provided there are other swings at the park with all guidelines relating to accessibility met, the installation of the Devine Liberty swing is permissible under current ADA law.