Blog

The integration of Playspace into A-Play over the past 6 weeks has been an enormous task. Playspace was a much larger business than A-Play with a larger factory and offices. The move from Playspace’s premises into A-Play’s home has involved a dedicated team to plan, sort, count, pack, transport and store in our reconfigured factory and warehouse.

In the process A-Play has implemented a new state of the art IT system to accommodate the merging of Playspace and A-Play systems.

To re-commence production of Playspace products key staff have worked tirelessly on the integration of systems and processes to deliver the quality and efficiencies that our merged operation has the potential to deliver.

6 weeks down the track it’s wonderful to have everyone under the one roof.  We’ve been fortunate to welcome a number of key Playspace staff into the A-Play family. Their knowledge, experience and contribution has been invaluable in the transition and no doubt will continue to be well into the future. Many members of the core A-Play team have revelled in the challenges of the integration making the process smoother than it may otherwise have been.

Thank you to all those that have worked so hard. It is greatly appreciated!

We still have some work to do but that’s the nature of A-Play. We never rest on our laurels.

Here’s to exciting times ahead with an industry leading product range backed by industry leading service!

Dean Joel
Managing Director

A-Play is pleased to announce the acquisition of the products and systems of Playspace Playground.

Playspace has been a major player in the Australian playground industry since 1994. They have led the way with product innovation producing wonderful high quality products.

A-Play will continue to produce the Playspace range in conjunction with current A-Play ranges.

The addition of Playspace to the A-Play family means that we can now meet the needs of more customers through a vastly expanded range.

Apart from adding significantly to our product offering, through the acquisition A-Play have brought many highly experienced and talented staff on board.

We will soon be adding the Playspace range of products to the A-Play website. For now, Playspace products can be viewed at www.playspace.com.au

For any assistance with any of our products please contact us. We’re here to help!

From time to time we see articles in the news debating playground safety. Some say playgrounds needs to be safer but increasingly the question is being asked, “Are we making playgrounds too safe?”

The danger of over protecting our children is that they lose the benefits of risk taking. We need to take risks to grow. We need to understand boundaries. And every now and then we need to step over those boundaries to understand limits.

Today’s iPad edition of The AGE Newspaper, featured an interesting article from the New York Times. In the article it was suggested that by removing elements of fear from playgrounds we risk creating children who are generally more fearful. The article referred to research that concluded “While some psychologists – and many parents – have worried that a child who suffered a bad fall would develop a fear of heights, studies have shown that the opposite pattern: a child who’s hurt in a fall before the age of nine is less likely as a teenager to have a fear of heights. By gradually exposing themselves to more and more dangers on the playground, children are using the same habituation techniques developed by therapists to help adults conquer phobias, according to Professor Sandseter and a fellow psychologist, Leif Kennair, of the Norwegian University for Science and Technology.”

In Australia, we have a robust set of safety standards which address key risk issues and set a reasonable balance. These Standards continue to evolve.

The Sydney Morning Herald recently featured an article on our Fit-for-Parks installation in Liverpool, NSW.

Please click here to read the article.

Enjoy!

On Thursday June 16, 2011 I’ll be joining others around Australia who will sleeping out on our streets as part of an event known as the ‘Vinnies CEO Sleepout’.

This initiative was developed by St Vincent de Paul Society and is now run annually to raise funds to help our homeless.

In Victoria Vinnies operates a range of accommodation and support services for people who experience homelessness including hostels, women’s refuges, soup vans, education programs and family services.

They provide crisis accommodation for over 1,000 people every night of the year and provide meaningful support to help people break personal cycles of poverty through education, recreation and referral programs.

The most common reasons for homelessness in Victoria are domestic and family violence.

Nearly half of Australia’s homeless are women and sadly, around 30% are children.

I’d greatly appreciate your support for this worthwhile cause.

It only takes a moment to donate and make a difference. You can donate here.

Thanks in anticipation of your support.

Dean Joel
Managing Director

The GFC and current economic uncertainty has effected industries in different ways. The playground industry has not been immune from financial challenges, impacted by a contraction in the market during the Building the Education Revolution (BER) program when school playground projects almost came to a stand still during major building works. While we’re seeing some return to normality, a number of playground companies have been placed under significant financial strain impacting their ability to effectively deliver projects.

With new playgrounds representing a large investment, it is important that customers ensure that the businesses they entrust with supply, can and will deliver. With all Australian playground companies being privately owned, financial records are not publicly available. However a simple method, and good practice, in assessing the viability of a playground supplier is to check their references. When asking for references request to speak with customers of their most recent projects. Confirm that projects were completed to the agreed specification, to the right quality and on time. If you have concerns, perhaps ask for references from major suppliers. If you still have concerns . . . . . . common sense should prevail.

A little time invested in checking the viability of the playground company intended for your project can save much of the stress that can result from proceeding with a company that may not deliver.

Dean Joel

As an industry leader, A-Play campaigns for the betterment of play opportunities for children across Australia. In a Blog post in November last year I asked ‘Where have all the playgrounds gone?’ This was referring to the demise of many playgrounds to make way for new buildings as part of the Government’s Building the Education Revolution (BER) program.

Following intense lobbying across Government to bring attention to this issue, it was extremely satisfying to learn of the Victorian Government’s recent announcement to allocate $5m to the reinstratement of school playgrounds lost through BER works.

If your school playground has been affected by BER works, you may be eligible for playground restoration funding. For advice you can contact us. We’ll be happy to steer you in the right direction.

Clearly, Victorian schools were not the only ones impacted and we’re continuing in our quest to have this issue addressed across the country.

Dean Joel

This week, Councillor Rodney Degens of Coffs Harbour City Council put forward the idea of a playground for seniors?

Some thought his idea was crazy. What, swings and slides for granny?

Not exactly, the Councillor was putting forward the concept of outdoor gyms accessible to seniors as a means of getting seniors in the community more active. As Councillor Degens put it, “As we are all getting older and in our turn becoming seniors, shouldn’t we desire that these seniors remain as healthy as they can, as flexible and as self-reliant as possible?”

The article grabbed the attention of the media and was run by the local daily and radio station. The newspaper article can be found here

The idea of calling outdoor gyms ‘Playgrounds for Seniors’ is a good one. After all, working out in parks should be fun!

Why should kids have all the fun? Why do so many adults stop exercising as soon as they’ve grown out of playground equipment? What can we do to get teenagers through to seniors more active?

We have the answer. A-Play have just launched a new division, Fit-for-Parks. This new division offers an exciting range of outdoor gym equipment designed to keep adults active. It’s fun to use but offers serious fitness benefits. The range has been designed to provide accessible facilities in public spaces, adding a further dimension to a stroll through the park. There are a multiple fitness stations offering exercises that work every part of the body.

Fit-for-Parks is supported by detailed but easy to follow exercise instructions on each item of equipment.

It offers a wonderful opportunity to help create healthier communities. More information will be posted to our website soon.