The Issue
New Town Public Schools is a district based in North Dakota. The school’s mission is to create an environment which develops, nurtures, and reinforces the success of students. New Town Public Schools recognizes that success includes the lessons learned during play, especially for their younger students.
To uphold their mission, New Town Public Schools ensured their students had access to a playground even during a long construction project that would take over the current playground location. Instead of removing the playground during the two-year construction project, the district chose to temporarily relocate the playground during that time to ensure their students still had access to the playground. And once the construction was complete, they would relocate the playground back to its original location.
SafetyFirst Playground Maintenance had worked with New Town during the school’s playground installation a few years prior. When the district decided they wanted to do a two-phase relocation, they turned to SafetyFirst to lead the project.
The Approach
SafetyFirst is experienced in playground relocation and follows an efficient yet comprehensive process. New Town Public Schools was able to rely on SafetyFirst to manage the process from start to finish removing the stress of communicating and handling both the playground relocation and construction project.
Below are the steps SafetyFirst followed to plan, relocate, and build the renewed playground for New Town Public Schools.
Step 1: Playground Assessment
Evaluated the existing playground equipment to determine which equipment could withstand being moved twice.
Step 2: Planned the Relocation Design
Designed how the new playground would be installed by coordinating the reused pieces and any new pieces needed for the move, including sourcing the new equipment and products.
Step 3: Disassembled and Moved the Equipment
Carefully disassembled the existing playground leaving the site cleaned and leveled for the construction project. Then the playground equipment was moved to the new location.
Step 4: Playground Install
Assembled and installed the new playground using the reused and new equipment, parts, and surfacing while upholding the same safety and appearance standards as the original playground.
Step 5: Follow Up Inspection and Communication
Conducted a check-up to ensure the playground was meeting expectations and all parts of the first phase of the relocation were properly completed.
Since this was a two-phase relocation, SafetyFirst repeated these steps after the construction project was completed. In no time, New Town Public Schools had their playground back at the original location, and it was better than ever.
The Outcome
Moving playground equipment from one location to another is not a common service offered in the playground industry. SafetyFirst believes that allowing schools and parks to reuse their existing equipment not only saves them money, it also preserves the community’s attachment to the playground and is an environmentally friendly route.
In this case, playground relocation allowed New Town Public Schools’ students to have continual access to their playground, even during times of disruptive construction. While the school could have easily decided to temporarily remove the playground, they used SafetyFirst’s unique playground relocation services to move and then move back their playground to offer a consistent place to play during the two-year construction project.
New Town Public Schools’ playground relocation benefited from quick and comprehensive communication throughout the project. While New Town is located in a rural area of North Dakota, they received the same exceptional customer service and on-site responsiveness as urban school districts. To streamline the project, SafetyFirst communicated directly with the architect of the construction project to effectively coordinate the relocation process.
Learn more about SafetyFirst’s playground relocation services! If you have questions about your playground project, we encourage you to get in touch with our team. We work closely with you to determine how we can provide the most value to your playground and organization.