Product Design Standards

Innovative design and age-appropriate scale is our Design Team’s major focus. The Play Mart design process is continuous in nature, with the Design Team creating new products to match market demand throughout the year. The scale of product designs spans across different age ranges and targeted groups depending on product line. Design efforts are heavily influenced by market trends and customer demand, so there’s always something exciting and new!

Meeting & Exceeding Industry Standards

Play Mart’s design efforts also centrally focused on compliance and industry standards within their production. To this point, the company meets the following compliance and industry standards:

  • CPSC Guidelines Publication 325
  • IPEMA Certification
  • American Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)
  • ASTM Standards: F-1487, F-2373, F-1148, CAN/CSA-Z614

Safety: Design Compliance and IPEMA Certification

We take our responsibility as a playground equipment manufacturer very seriously, realizing the importance of safety above all else. That’s why we make sure that we adhere to all safety guidelines and IPEMA product testing.

Playground equipment must meet stringent design and manufacturing requirements to ensure that children will be safe while playing. Play Mart designs all products according to ASTM F1487 standards, CAN/CSA Z614 standards, CPSC Guidelines, and ADA Accessibility Guidelines.

In the interest of playground safety, the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) provides a Third Party Certification Service whereby a designated independent laboratory, TÜV SÜD America Inc., (TÜV), validates an equipment manufacturer’s certification of conformance to ASTM F1487, Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use, except sections 7.1.1, 10 and 12.6.1; to CAN/CSA Z614, Children’s Playspaces and Equipment, except clauses 9.8, 10 & 11; or both. Play Mart has products validated for conformance to ASTM F1487, Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use by IPEMA’s Third Party Certification Service. Visit www.ipema.org to verify product certification on our playground equipment.

A large part of safety hazards originate with the surfacing beneath the play equipment. For that reason, we only suggest or offer surfaces that comply with the current CPSC recommendations, current ASTM F1951 Standard for ADA accessible surface material and the current ASTM 1292 Standard for impact attenuation.


Accessibility

At Play Mart, we endeavor to make our play areas inviting and friendly community environments to people of all abilities. To that end, we have designed our playgrounds to provide access to play components by transfer stations, ramps, and accessible surfacing routes according to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). We have also designed play components specifically for wheelchair-bound children.

 


3D Warehouse & SketchUp

Play Mart’s product designs are easily available on Trimble’s 3D Warehouse. Just search for “Play Mart” in the warehouse at: 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com. You can download product models and drop them straight into your site plan. You can also visualize products on your site by geo-locating the model and viewing it in your exact location on Google Earth.

We create our models in SketchUp by Trimble (formerly Google SketchUp). New to SketchUp or designing a site for the first time? SketchUp is great for novices or professionals. Here is what SketchUp says about itself:

“There’s a reason SketchUp is synonymous with friendly and forgiving 3D modeling software: we don’t sacrifice usability for the sake of functionality. Start by drawing lines and shapes. Push and pull surfaces to turn them into 3D forms. Stretch, copy, rotate and paint to make anything you like. If you want to be productive within a couple of hours, you’ve come to the right place.”

Download your free copy of SketchUp here: www.sketchup.com.


Landscape Architect, Co-Owner/ Chief Designer

As one of the few playground manufacturing companies in America that is owned and operated by a Registered Landscape Architect, Dennis Beach, ASLA, we can guarantee our designs meet the latest safety standards as well as being creative masterpieces. Dennis Beach, co-owner of Play Mart and Registered Landscape Architect, oversees all new product development and master site plans. He specializes in providing vibrant site images to expand the customer’s vision of their own site. Having seen too many sterile play grounds, he challenges others to make play environments more sustainable and naturally exciting places for children.