Zip-line rail – response from manufacturer

With play safety, there are multiple aspects that must be considered including potential additional risks that are associated with any modifications and/or additions. The only people who are suitably qualified to assess these changes are the designers of the equipment. We have therefore raised a potential additional rail with the manufacturer and received the response below.

During the design and certification of the product, the manufacturer did discuss the use of rail around the platform with their professional certification body, however, after a risk assessment, it was discounted as being a far higher risk than an open platform.

They have stated that users are often pushed back, along the cable, to the launch platform. They have witnessed that this can often be with some enthusiasm and speed, which could lead to collision injuries if a rail were introduced.

If a rail was introduced, it may also be mis-used by some children and it would provide an elevated take-off point over the platform, which could lead to higher risk injuries. It would also provide easier access to the higher parts of the cableway structure, such as the carriage and cable.

The current platform is less than 1m in height and as such, the risks of any unfortunate falls are minimised to be within commonly accepted thresholds. The current platform has been purposely designed to be ‘not easy’ to access, with a single access point on its front that is steeply angled. This is to provide a clear signal to users and their supervisors.

The open platform design has been accepted in the market for many years and is also adopted on many other similar products. The manufacturer has installed hundreds of these products provided throughout Europe and the have a very good safety record.