Playground equipment

Type approval of playground equipment in Holland

Your entrance to the market for playground equipment in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the market for outdoor playgrounds and indoor play facilities is growing steadily. As a manufacturer of playground equipment (indoor or outdoor), when you consider to enter the Dutch market, you should be aware of the rather strict regulations, laid down in the Decree on safety of fairground and playground equipment (1997). According to this Decree, you are obliged to obtain a certificate of type approval, before entering the market. The Dutch government has appointed a limited number of test houses that are entitled to issue these certificates, none of which is based in the UK.

In the Netherlands, the Keurmerkinstituut (Certification Institute) has been appointed by the Dutch government (Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports) to issue type approval certificates for playground equipment. In addition, we are experts in playground safety, we have detailed knowledge of the both the European and the British standards, and our experts speak fluently English. This means that we are able to guide you efficiently through the process of type approval, starting from the design stage up to final delivery. This includes the provision of model-logbooks, which are mandatory under Dutch law. Your customers will be very satisfied, because your products seamlessly comply with Dutch regulations, and they will not be bothered by the enforcement authorities afterwards. The Keurmerkinstituut has an excellent reputation, both national and at the local level, which means that our certificates effectively support your marketing activities in the Netherlands.

Procedure

The process of type approval consists of two parts. First, the technical file (constructie dossier, in Dutch) has to be assessed, before the construction of the product may be started. We can provide you with a list of mandatory items to be included in the technical file. In the case of unique constructions or indoor playground equipment, the Keurmerkinstituut can act as an intermediary between the involved parties, like local authorities, fire departments, and the owner of the site.

Once the technical file, and therefore the design, has been approved, the construction/production of the equipment may begin. If necessary, the Keurmerkinstituut performs checks during the construction process, in order to prevent deviations from the Decree. In the Netherlands, the European standards EN 1176 and 1177 are mostly used as a reference document in type approval, whereas in other European counties, the national standards (BS, DIN, NF, etc) are still widely applied. This certainly does not mean that playground equipment from abroad could only be approved after design changes. We also use the European standard as a reference, but our final assessment is based on the Dutch Decree, which means that every safe product will be approved.

Foreign certificates are sometimes based on non-European standards. Although such certificates may formally be legal, we recommend to have them screened by the Keurmerkinstituut. We then check the design against the Dutch regulations, and -if possible- issue a certificate of the Keurmerkinstituut. This will certainly enhance your credibility in the eyes of your customers in Holland.

All products approved by the Keurmerkinstituut are listed on this website. Due to its very informative content, this site is frequently consulted by decision makers in the world of playgrounds.

We invite you to enter the market for playground equipment in the Netherlands. Please contact Mr. Jeroen Bos, our certification manager, by mail or telephone (see address data). Jeroen is co-author of the Handbook for Playground Safety (NL), and widely recognised as a key player in the assessment of the safety of playground equipment in the Netherlands.