Fall protection mats and slabs

WARCO manufactures fall protection tiles and fall protection slabs in various designs. They are certified according to EN 1177 and provide maintenance-free fall protection for public and private areas for many years. Find out everything you need to know about fall protection from WARCO here.

1. All advantages at a glance
2. Free fall height and fall space
3. Fall protection on publicly accessible play areas
4. Fall protection from backfilled material
5. Can be used all year round and permanently
6. Lay properly with little effort
7. Three mounting systems
8. Added value for the carrier or operator
9. Examples from practice

As a renowned manufacturer, WARCO has outstanding expertise in the field of fall protection mats. WARCO's expert advice is available by telephone and in writing for all phases of planning and execution of surfaces with impact-absorbing properties.

• Production of fall protection for over 20 years.
  
• The right fall protection for every fall height.
• Plug-in connection or dovetail connection.
• As a substitute for jointless fall protection.
  
• Inexpensive colors and noble color designs.
• Flammability class Efl or Cfl-s1.
• Competent advice - reliable service.
• High quality fall protection, easy to install
• Practical - easy to mount anywhere.
• Economical - durable, easy to clean, low maintenance.

The free fall height and the fall space are decisive for the planning of a fall protection surface. These values are usually specified by the manufacturer of the play equipment or climbing wall.

The free fall height is the greatest perpendicular distance between the clearly intended body support and the surface below, e.g.

• when standing on a platform, the distance between the feet and the floor.
• the distance from the gripping surface to the ground when shimmying along a shimmying route.
• when swinging, the distance from the center of the seat perpendicular to the floor at a swing angle of 60°.

The fall space is any area around the play equipment that must provide fall protection as a possible impact surface. The depth of the fall space, i.e. the length of the impact surface, must be at least 150 cm and is calculated from 150 cm free fall height using the formula: Length of the impact area = (2/3 of the free fall height) + 0.5.

The EN 1176 standard sets out the binding safety requirements for public playgrounds - whether run by municipalities or private operators. It also contains regulations for shock-absorbing floor coverings, i.e. for fall protection.

In practice, this means that a shock-absorbing floor covering, i.e. fall protection, must be installed under playground equipment. Suitable fall protection materials include wood chips, bark mulch or gravel. However, only fall protection mats made of rubber granulate offer maintenance-free and cost-effective fall protection over many years.

The advantages of fall protection mats made of rubber granulate are obvious: On the one hand, the handy sheets can be laid on a suitable base layer (WARCO recommends plastic ground grids here) without extensive earthworks.

In use, fall protection mats are low-maintenance, maintenance-free and durable. And if a panel does get damaged, it can be easily replaced. This means that the playground can be used in any season and in any weather.

Only at first glance does loosely distributed fall protection, i.e. wood chips, bark mulch, fall protection gravel or fall protection sand, appear to be the cheaper fall protection. However, if one considers not only isolated the material price, the calculation looks quite different:

• Poured fall protection is often used by animals as a toilet.
  
• Feces, food scraps, broken glass and other debris mix with the loose fall protection material.
• Bark mulch or wood chips rot.
• Toddlers like to put bark mulch or wood chips in their mouths.
• Broken glass and splinters of wood pose a high risk of injury.
• Fall protection gravel or wood chips are used as throwing material.
  
• The loose fall protection is carried into the terrain, i.e. played away and must be refilled.
  
• Poured fall protection collects dust when dry, and mud can form when wet.

Outdoors, an area secured with fall protection slabs can be used all year round and in any weather. The water-permeable rubber granulate tiles allow precipitation to seep away quickly and without puddle formation. The surface of the fall protection slabs dries again in a short time. It is slip-resistant both when wet and dry.

At low temperatures, a fall protection covering made of rubber granulate provides noticeable insulation against the cold of the ground. Vibrations and structure-borne noise are dampened. This increases comfort for users and residents of the fall protection area.

WARCO fall protection tiles are harmless to health, the EPDM used even meets the requirements for baby toys. The fall protection tiles are manufactured in fire classes Efl or Cfl-s1.

WARCO fall protection mats are easy to install. A stable and level base layer is sufficient. If a bound or lattice base layer is already in place, installation can usually be carried out without any further preparatory work.

In the case of grown or filled subsoil ("green meadow"), WARCO recommends the installation of a base layer based on plastic honeycomb grids.

A bedding of sand, chippings or gravel is unsuitable for laying elastic slabs of rubber granulate, as sooner or later this will result in the so-called "cupping" of the fall protection slabs (formation of dents in the bedding).

In contrast, the plastic soil grids laid on a thin layer of chippings and filled with chippings form an ideal base layer that is stable in position and open to infiltration. It has a load-bearing capacity of approx. 400 t/m2 and can be built up with little effort and without major earthmoving.

For the operator of a fall protection area, WARCO fall protection pays off in several ways.

Before buying, the expert advice will provide you with competent and objective help in planning fall protection surfaces and selecting the most suitable fall protection mats.

During the investment phase, you will benefit from favorable manufacturer prices and sales-related discounts. You will be pleased to know that the installation of the fall protection mats can be carried out quickly and cost-effectively by your own personnel or a suitable service provider.

During operation, WARCO safety hazards place only a small burden on your budget. Because the floor is durable, robust and low-maintenance. And, of course, it offers fall protection with a certificate.