EN 15567-1 : 2007 ; Sports and recreational facilities -Ropes courses – Part 1: Construction and safety requirements

Introduction

Ropes courses vary considerably and may be used for education, recreational, training or therapeutic purposes.

Ropes course activities involve risks that should be managed by the operators. This is achieved through careful supervision, training, instruction, information etc.
Ropes course activities should only be taken by those who are physically and mentally able to comply with the safety requirements specified by the operator.

The various safety devices (for protection against falling from a height and collisions) consist of equipment designed to limit the consequences of falls or collisions. There are inherent risks associated with ropes courses. These risks should, however, be appropriately managed and minimized by the ropes course operator and his staff; it should be understood that they can not be eliminated altogether.

On the basis of a risk assessment, operators should take reasonably practicable measures to ensure the safety of participants. This means that the degree of risks in a particular job/work place/facility need to be balanced against the time, trouble, cost, benefits and physical difficulty of taking measures to avoid or reduce the risk.
Ropes course operators should also consider EN 15567-2, when carrying out risk assessments.

1 Scope

This European Standard applies to permanent and mobile ropes courses and their components.
This Part 1 of this standard specifies safety requirements for the design, construction, inspection and maintenance of ropes courses and their components.
This Part 1 of this standard does not apply to temporary ropes courses (see 3.3) and children’s play grounds (see EN 1176 all parts).
For the use of ropes courses part 2 applies.

2 Normative references

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 335-2, Durability of wood and wood-based products — Definition of use classes — Part 2: Application to solid wood.
EN 350-2:1994, Durability of wood and wood-based products — Natural durability of solid wood — Part 2: Guide to the natural durability and treatability of selected wood species of importance in Europe.
EN 351-1:2007, Durability of wood and wood-based products — Preservative-treated solid wood — Part 1: Classification of preservative penetration and retention.
EN 636, Plywood – Specifications.
EN 13411-1, Terminations for steel wire ropes — Safety — Part 1: Thimbles for steel wire rope slings.
EN 13411-2, Terminations for steel wire ropes — Safety — Part 2: Splicing of eyes for wire rope slings.
EN 13411-3, Terminations for steel wire ropes — Safety — Part 3: Ferrules and ferrule-securing.
EN 13411-4, Terminations for steel wire ropes — Safety — Part 4: Metal and resin socketing.
EN 13411-5, Terminations for steel wire ropes — Safety — Part 5: U-bolt wire rope grips.
EN 13411-6, Terminations for steel wire ropes — Safety — Part 6: Asymmetric wedge socket.
EN 13411-7, Terminations for steel wire ropes – Safety – Part 7: Symmetric wedge socket.
EN 15567-2, Sports and recreational facilities – Ropes courses – Part 2: Operation requirements.
EN ISO/IEC 17020:2004, General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection (ISO/IEC 17020:1998).
ISO 4309:2004, Cranes – Wire ropes – Care, maintenance, installation, examination and discard.

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this European Standard the following terms and definitions shall apply.

3.1 
ropes course.

constructed facility consisting of one or more activity systems, support systems and, if needed, belay and/or safety systems, see Figure 1. A ropes course is distinct from playground equipment in that it has restricted access and requires supervision.

3.2
permanent ropes course

facility installed for more than one week on the same site.

3.3
temporary ropes course

facility that has been installed for up to one week.

(이하 생략)..