Design of children’s play equipment (slides, swing, See-Saw) in urban Parks based on national standards and children’s anthropometric data

Abstract

Introduction: Accidents caused by children’s play equipment are considered a serious threat to children’s health. The aim of this study was to design slide, swing and see-saw based on national standards and children’s anthropometric data. Material and Methods: The present study is an applied research, in which the design of children’s play equipment, including slides, swing and see-saw was done according to national standards No. 6436-2, 6436-3 and 6436-6, as well as measuring the anthropometric dimensions. All anthropometric data of 385 children aged 2 to 12 years were measured and equipment design was performed using Minitab software. Results: In the national standards No. 6436-2, 6436-3 and 6436-6, the size of more dimensions required for the design of the slides, swing, and see-saw is not stated. In the present study, the ergonomic and standard design of these types of equipment is shown. Comparison of designed see-saw with see-saw available in parks showed that the length and width of the see-saw should be 0.37 and 0.25 meters, respectively. In the current study, however, they were 0.24 and 0.35 meters, respectively. Also, the height, width and depth of the swing chair should be 0.2, 0.35 and 0.37 meters, while their actual size in the studied parks was 0.25, 0.42 and 0.31 meters, respectively. Conclusion: The result of this study is helpful for standard and ergonomic designing of children’s play equipment and is very useful for urban planning. This study emphasizes the revision of national standards.

Keywords

• anthropometry
• safety
• equipment
• park
• children