Injury Prevention and Hazard Identification
Core concepts
Injury prevention on the playground rests on a simple chain: identify the hazard, judge the risk it creates, and control it before a child is exposed. Candidates should be comfortable with the difference between a hazard (a condition with potential to cause harm, such as a protruding bolt) and a risk (the likelihood and severity of harm given exposure). Learn the hierarchy of controls - eliminate the hazard, substitute a safer design, engineer a guard or barrier, then rely on supervision and rules last - because questions often reward the most durable control, not the easiest one.
Know the major injury mechanisms: falls from height, entrapment (head, finger, clothing), entanglement, impact with moving equipment, sharp edges, and entrapment of limbs in gaps. Understand that fall height and surface interact to determine injury severity, and that most serious injuries come from falls to inadequate surfacing rather than from the equipment itself.
Traps
Questions like to blur hazard identification with risk assessment. A hazard exists whether or not a child is present; risk depends on exposure. Another trap is choosing supervision as the primary control when an engineering fix is available. Watch for age-mixing: equipment intended for older children placed in a preschool area is a hazard even if every component is individually compliant.
Rule of thumb
If a child can reach it, fall from it, or catch a body part in it, treat it as a hazard until proven otherwise. Walk the space at a child's eye level and at adult eye level; many hazards (overhead bars, protruding hardware) are invisible from only one viewpoint.