Indoor Playground Designs
Why are indoor playground designs made in China, less expensive than those made in North America?
Indoor Playground Designs - Made in North America
One could start the discussion about offshore indoor playground designs versus made in North America designs by saying… ‘well the manufacturing is less expensive over there’. While this may still be somewhat true, the more important factors are materials, and compliant ASTM design and professional installation that adheres to those ASTM guidelines. Lets take a closer look at each.
Layers & Components
In the humble opinion of this writer, indoor play grounds are a beautiful thing, I wish they would have been around when I was growing up. Climbing, sliding, crawling, exploring multiple levels of adventure! Too fun.
That play adventure is composed of many individual layers and components, each of which has it’s own variables for cost, strength, resilience and longevity. Ultimately leading to quality, as an integral part to the overall completed structure.
All Northwest Play designs are 100% North American made with materials sourced in Canada and the USA, and installed onsite by our own professionally trained installers.
Cost vs. Quality
Here is a list of components that make up a Northwest Play playground:
- Steel Pipe & Clamps
- Decks & Deck Thickness
- Deck Foam
- Activity Foam
- Vinyl & Upholstery
- No Climb Netting
- Standard Netting
- Metal Netting
- Steel Rods (netting support)
- Post Padding
- Safety Ties
- Slide Mats
- Roof Liners
- Safety Surfacing
Who knew, right? Much of the above is hidden by final finishes like the upholstery and post padding, so the buyer never really sees the complete materials picture. And that invisibility creates opportunity to shave the expense of ‘quality’ materials; vinyl thickness and wear, thickness of the deck foam, thickness of the plywood decking, the kind of foam used in pads and activities, steel pipe or tubing, the kind of clamps used, etc.
ASTM Design & Installation
Further to this conversation of quality versus pricing, here in North America (US & Canada), the certification process of safety standards in playground design, manufacturing and installation are set as ASTM guidelines, and not mandatory. There is no safety or compliance certification.
Manufacturers are at their own discretion to ensure compliance with both design – and just as importantly – onsite installation. Here are just a few items of concern when it comes to indoor playground designs:
- Head Entrapment
- Pinch Points
- Shear Points
- Playground Access
- Playground Egress (how quickly children can exit the playground in an emergency)
For offshore manufacturers, compliance is non-existent. Why would it be? Think about it… if something were to happen, who are you going to sue or hold responsible?
Indoor play grounds are a one-off sale. From an offshore supplier – once the sale is made, you present no further value… it’s not like you’re going to buy another playground any time soon. You can only hope that service and support will be provided and maintained as promised. Good luck. Getting a new vertical roller squeeze or hanging punchbag, or a replacement for a worn out Moonwalk Climb, if not impossible, at the very least expensive because of the 30-35 day shipping that is required, plus customs, plus port to site delivery and lastly, your time and effort to make those repairs yourself on site.
The point here is not to fear monger, but to help the new indoor party center developer better understand the true value proposition of the purchase and installation of indoor playground designs from various suppliers for your business.
Our own in-house, professionally trained and experienced installers work from a check list of over 40 pre and post installation items to ensure the safety and compliance of our final product delivery. A thorough walk-thru with the business owner after completion aids in the understanding of basic maintenance and cleaning schedules for long term, worry-free operation.
Playground Pricing - Other Considerations
Working With Installers
The unfortunate truth… as an offshore purchase you may find it extremely difficult if you need local installation and/or service and support. North American installers and service providers will not be interested in helping, because of the product quality (reflecting on them) and more importantly, the liability issues that would come with the installation of product that does not comply with ASTM standards.
Overseas Shipping
Even if the offshore provider has Stateside “assembly”, getting the plastics, pipe or tubing, vinyl, foam and other components here, are subject to transport.
In today’s economy, shipping is expensive… getting a container of product from Asia and elsewhere to port and then through customs to your location on a “just in time” schedule, ready for installation – is a task in itself. Many offshore website claim delivery in 15 days – this is impossible. At minimum 30 days on the water, clearing customs could be another week or more. This doesn’t include any actual manufacturing time.
Any miscommunication, port or shipment interruption, or customs issue could mean that you are paying for extra storage time or having your opening date interrupted. Secondly, ensuring that your shipping container from port to your location is timed to meet with the installation crew can also cause confusion and delay, ending in cost over runs and added expense.
We bring this up because if shipping to site is not included in the final price presented, you can expect to add anywhere from an additional 25-35% of the playground price to your actual cost.
In Summary...
As you now know, pricing differences for materials and components, the quality of each, along with compliant design, shipping and installation all weigh on the final price / value discussion.
It is up to each manufacturer to stand tall in their commitment to safety compliance in both design and installation, because no one is watching. We are huge advocates of certification and are hopeful that with constant pressure, the ASTM Guidelines (Formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) will one day become a designated certification, with inspection protocols and mandates for both new and existing playgrounds. At that point in time, if you are not compliant, the business will be shut down until you are.
After all, it is the children of your community for which you are liable. Let’s keep it fun, safe and compliant.