Australian & International Standards Compliance 2018-2019

ASNZ 4422:2016 – Playground surfacing

The Standard gives a method for assessing the suitability of materials for use as soft fall. The Standard simply outlines a method of determining a head injury criteria (HIC) value, which is a calculation of the severity of a deceleration impact on a child’s brain during a fall.

Test results – NATA certified (National Association of Testing Authorities)
  • CombiFlex – under synthetic grass – 2.7m (8 feet 10 inches)
    ASNZ4422:2016 – Acousto-Scan August 28, 2018 – certified full NATA report
  • CombiFlex – under 15mm EPDM – 2.5m (8 feet 2 inches)
    ASNZ4422:2016 – Acousto-Scan May 7, 2019 – certified full NATA report
ASNZ 4586:2015 – CombiLock – Wet Barefoot Ramp Slip Resistance Test – ATTAR, Melbourne

The CombiLock product was tested 26th September 2018 by ATTAR, Melbourne.
Testing Procedure:

The wet barefoot ramp slip resistance test (AS/NZS 4586 Appendix C) uses a panel of the test surface which is constructed on a ramp large enough for a person to walk on.  Two test people attach themselves to a safety harness, after bathing their feet for 10 minutes to soften the skin, walk bare foot on the test surface while the angle of the platform is increased until the limit of safe walking is achieved. This is generally when the test walker slips or feels that they will slip on the board. The angle that the limit of safe walking is obtained is known as the mean angle of inclination. Three calibration boards A, B & C are also tested, with the classification of the test panel based on the mean angle of inclination obtained in comparison with the calibration boards.

Read more on the accredited testing body’s website: http://www.floorsliptest.com.au/wet-barefoot-inclining-platform-test/

  • Test 26th September 2018 – rating achieved AS4586:2013 Slip resistance classification – Appendix C Wet-Barefoot Inclining Platform Test.
  • The tile achieved a ‘B’ Rating of 17°, however the CombiLock tile actually achieved 21.6° which is just short of the highest level of 24°.
Australian Wool Authority Authority – Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics – Chlorine resistance

The AWTA provided a detailed analysis of the test results, and provided the following observation:

“The item is polypropylene. Whilst polypropylene is damaged by chlorinated solvents such as carbon tetrachloride it is unlikely to come into contact with that and as we have seen concentrations of chlorine in swimming pool water are unlikely to cause an issue. We can be confident about the 5 years from that point of view. A point to be mindful of however is that polypropylene does degrade due to the actions of UV light and would need to be adequately stabilized to be able to resist that. Suffice to say, that adequately stabilized polypropylene should have a good outdoor life.”

(Please note: CombiLock does contain a UV stabilizer)

EN1177:2018 Europe – Acousto-Scan May 8, 2019

CombiFlex – under EPDM – 2.5m (8 feet 2 inches)
EN1177:2018 – Acousto-Scan May 8, 2019 – certified full NATA report

ASTM F1292 USA – September 20, 2019

Full certified report issued:

  • Product A – CombiLock alone – “2 feet” = 660 mm
  • Product B – CombiLock with vinyl loop – “3 feet 3 inches” = 991mm
  • Product C – CombiLock on CombiFlex – “9 feet 9 inches” = 2.97 metres
  • Product D – CombiFlex with EPDM – “8 feet 10 inches” = 2.69 metres
  • Product E – CombiFlex with synthetic grass – “8 feet 2 inches” = 2.489 metres

Australian Standards Compliance prior to 2018

Tests conducted June 5, 2017 – AS4422:2016
Date Result Fall Height Test Conditions
June 5, 2017 PASSED 3 metres Synthetic grass with 10mm of sand infill over CombiFlex and 1000gm/m2 CombiMesh on concrete – dry surface, good condition
June 5, 2017 PASSED 2.5 metres EPDM over CombiFlex and 800gm/m2 CombiMesh on concrete – dry surface, good condition
June 5, 2017 PASSED 2.1 metres TPE over CombiFlex and 1,000gm/m2 CombiMesh on concrete – dry surface, good condition

Historical Data:

ASNZS4685:2014 & AS4422:2016
Date Result Fall Height Test Conditions
November 20, 2014 PASSED 2.0 metres (6’7″) CombiTile over CombiMesh on CombiFlex attenuation tile. Dry surface, good condition
November 20, 2014 PASSED 2.5 metres (8’3″) PolySoft trowelled over CombiMesh on CombiFlex attenuation tile. Dry surface, good condition
November 20, 2014 PASSED 3.4 metres (11’2″) PolySoft over CombiMesh on two CombiFlex attenuation tiles. Dry surface, good condition
November 20, 2014 PASSED 2.3 metres (7’7″) Synthetic grass over CombiMesh on CombiFlex attenuation tile
November 20, 2014 PASSED 1.9 metres (6’3″) PVC tile over CombiMesh on CombiFlex attenuation tile. Dry surface, good condition
February 19, 2016 PASSED 3.5 metres 75mm of approved playground woodchip over CombiMesh layer over a standard CombiFlex shock attenuation layer on a crushed rock base. Dry surface, good condition.
February 19, 2016 PASSED 2.5 metres 32mm Synthetic Grass with 10-15mm sand infill over CombiMesh layer over a standard CombiFlex shock attenuation layer on 80mm of stabilised crushed rock. Dry surface, good condition.