Sofsurfaces Inc., Established Leader In Playground Safety Surfaces Introduces Breakthrough Technology

SofSURFACES Inc., established leader in the manufacturer of playground safety surfaces, announces the introduction of a breakthrough technology designed to provide superior safety performance.

(prHWY.com) July 16, 2012 - Petrolia, Canada -- Petrolia, ON Canada - SofSURFACES Inc., established leader in the manufacturer of playground safety surfaces, announces the introduction of a breakthrough technology designed to provide superior safety performance.

As a continuation of their commitment to innovation and industry leadership, SofSURFACES has spent three years in intensive research and development to create the DuraSafe series of interlocking playground surfacing tiles.

The new DuraSAFE product has been engineered to overcome the significant issues that today's playground safety surfacing market is facing.

Specifically, current guidelines require all playground surfacing to be safety rated to a Head Injury Criteria of 1000. Head Injury Criteria or HIC ratings are derived by dropping a device similar in function to a crash test dummy onto the prospective safety surface. Upon impact, the device sends key measurements associated with the impact force and time duration to a computer which translates the various measurements into a Head Injury Criteria rating.

The current standard for playground safety surfaces (ASTM F1292) defines the 1000 HIC threshold as the maximum allowable limit for a playground safety surface, after which point the playground should be taken out of service until such time that the surface can be repaired or replaced.

"The current safety standards are problematic because many manufacturers are installing surfaces to the letter of the standard without regard for future performance" says John Prins, President of SofSURFACES. "Our studies indicate that newly installed surfaces that approach the 1000 HIC threshold at the time of installation are unlikely to remain compliant for more than a year or two. The end result is a very unhappy customer who initially felt they were doing the right thing by investing in a "state of the art" unitary system, only to realize that expensive refurbishment is required after a few short years".

"The SofTILE Durasafe series was designed to address this issue by offering initial fall protection performance far lower than the 1000 HIC threshold defined within the 1292 standard. Our surfaces have been designed to perform in the 570 HIC range" says Prins. "570 HIC was our target performance standard because it aligns with the most recent and advanced information coming from within the automotive field.

But there is a second reason why SofSURFACES has set forth to lead the market with better performing surfacing systems. "Based on everything we know", Say Prins, "unitary safety surfaces will deteriorate over time which will reduce the initial level of cushioning performance. Things like UV exposure, contamination with sand and dirt, temperature extremes and water contamination all serve to reduce the cushioning properties of surfacing over time. Often this reduction is safety tile performance is neither detectible visually nor by walking the surface which makes for a dangerous situation. Our system, with very low initial HIC ratings, has been designed to target a serious industry concern by ensuring that a child who plays on older surfaces, will remain protected from life threatening and debilitating brain injury. This is an achievement that we are very proud of" says Mr. Prins "and something that is not being done anywhere else".

About DuraSAFE

DuraSAFE has been engineered with a unique hollow core impact pedestal built into the underside of the tile system. This new design builds upon similar technologies that the company has deployed for the past decade. The functionality of the system revolves around the mechanical design of the impact pedestal which creates a buckling and recoil action upon impact. Essentially, the design functions as a series of 60 interdependent shock absorbers. The unique underside design absorbs significantly more energy during a fall which reduces the likelihood of brain trauma. The hollow core impact pedestal design is also more resistant to factors that negatively affect safety performance such as aging, temperature extremes and contamination with sand and dirt. The end result is a product that provides much better initial fall performance and is able to maintain that performance for an estimated 20-25 year timeline.

About SofSURFACES

SofSURFACES has been engaged in the design and manufacture of playground surfacing systems for the past 20 years. They are currently the largest producer of safety tiles in North America. SofSURFACES distributes their products nationally through a network of qualified distributors. For more information contact SofSURFACES at 1-800-263-2363 or visit http://www.sofsurfaces.com/

Contact Information:
Sofsurfaces Inc.
Jeromy Morningstar
Sales & Information: 800-263-2363
International Inquiries: 519-882-8799
Email: info@sofsurfaces.com
http://www.sofsurfaces.com/

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