The Critical Fall Height (CFH) is the maximum height that you can fall to the ground. This would generally refer to climb and play equipment, it is simple measured and the highest point which someone could fall from is the CFH.
So when designing different safety floorings and manufacturing the rubber they are rigorously tested to meet BS EN 1177 safety standards. Which would consist of dropping a weighted object from set heights and seeing how much of the impact is absorbed by the surface.
Generally the easiest way to increase the impact absorption of the safety surface is to increase the depth of the layer. But the higher the drop is the less likely it become that the surface is going to be able to take enough force to provide a safe fall.
Here at Soft Surfaces, we are always asked what the meaning of a Critical Fall Height (CFH) is and people are often curious whether this is industry standard. Our premium rubber surfaces are individually tested with child safety in mind.
Critical Fall Height Explained
Please take a minute to watch this short video which goes into more detail on what a CFH is and how it is determined.
Please see transcription below:
00:00 Hi Guys. It’s Dan from Soft Surfaces here and today we’re going to be looking at the question, what is critical fall height? Critical Fall Height, otherwise known as CFH is essentially the distance of the top of the playground equipment, that could be the slide, the monkey bars, etc. to the actual surfaces installed on the playground.
00:14 That could be something like wet pour or rubber mulch or whatever you’re looking to have installed. So I use the example of wet pour here.
00:19 Say we’re installing a wet pour surface onto a playground. We have to look at the top point of your playground surface and determine how much depth we need to install the wet pour to, to ensure that if a child were to fall from that, they’re much less likely to have a serious injury.
00:30 When having any play facility installed, it’s crucial to ensure that safety is a priority.
00:38 Here at Soft Surfaces, we have over 20 years experience installing these surfaces, and we make sure they meet every single safety guideline possible to make sure your playground is as safe at it can be.
00:43 For more information, please just visit us at http://softsurfaces.co.uk.
- 4 Ideas for Teaching Organisation on the Playground
- 4 Reasons Why Schools Have Artificial Grass
- Activities to Teach Kindness on the Playground
- All Weather Surface Children’s Playground Safety Flooring
- Artificial Grass and Rubber Mulch Surfacing in Derby, Derbyshire
- Artificial Grass and Wetpour Pathway Installation at a School in Birmingham
- Artificial Grass and Wetpour Roadway Construction in Liverpool
- Benefits of a Mud Kitchen for a School Playground
- Benefits of Climbing in Primary School
- Benefits of Sensory Activities for Individuals With Autism
- Bespoke Playground Surfacing With Graphics in Northampton
- Best Playground Equipment for Primary Schools
- Black Wetpour & Artificial Turf Construction at a Nursery in Harlow, Essex
- Black Wetpour Flooring Construction in Canterbury
- Children’s Play Area Flooring
- Children’s Sensory Playground Designs
- Colourful Play Area Surfacing in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Colourful Playground Flooring Design in Cardiff, Wales
- Colourful Rubber Playground Flooring in Wakefield, West Yorkshire
- Colourful Rubber Playground Flooring Installation in Wakefield
- Colourful UK Playground Surfacing in Bedfordshire
- Cooperative Play Ideas for Kids
- Costs of Schools Playground Safety Surfaces
- Creating a Storytelling Area in Your Playground
- Day Care Playground Safety Flooring in Stoke, Staffordshire
- Den Building Ideas for Schools
- Early Years Outdoor Play
- Educational Play Designs
- Educational Playground Surface Installation in Brighton
- Educational Playground Surface Installation in Brighton, East Sussex
- Encouraging Risk Taking in Outdoor Play
- EPDM Rubber Play Area Flooring in Luton
- EPDM Rubber Play Area Flooring in Luton, Bedfordshire
- EPDM Rubber Play Area Surfacing in Leeds, West Yorkshire
- EPDM Rubber Wetpour Flooring in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear
- EPDM/SBR Rubber Surfacing Playground Flooring
- Expressive Arts Playground Ideas
- How Do I Apply for Grant Funds for a Play Area in the UK?
- How Do Wet Pour Repair Kits Work
- How Playing Outside Can Reduce Stress and Anxiety
- How to Encourage Phonics Learning on the Playground
- How to Prepare Your Playground for Winter
- How to Refresh Your School Playground
- Imaginative Play Ideas for Kids
- Impact Attenuating Playground Surfacing
- Improving Children’s Mental Health With Play
- Inclusive Playground Equipment for Schools
- Independent Learning Activities for Kids
- Lap, Leap, Neap Play Area
- Large Wetpour Play Area Surface in Stockport
- LEAP Local Equipped Area for Play
- Learning Through Play – Psychology and Theories
- Managing Behaviour Through Active Outdoor Play
- NEAP Neighbourhood Equipped Area for Play
- Needlepunch Playground Construction in Kilmarnock
- Nursery EPDM Rubber Surfacing in Wolverhampton
- Nursery Play Area Maintenance
- Nursery Play Area Surfacing
- Nursery Playground Installation
- Nursery School Green Wetpour Overlay in Gloucester
- Ofsted Requirements for Outdoor Play
- Outdoor Maths Games for Children
- Outdoor Nursery School Surfacing in Preston
- Outdoor Nursery School Surfacing in Preston Lancashire
- Outdoor Play Area Ideas for Kids
- Outdoor Play Ideas for Children With Dyscalculia
- Outdoor Playground Roadway Design
- Outdoor Safety Flooring Designs
- Outdoor Wetpour Surfacing Install in Leicester
- Play Area Line Marking Specification
- Play Area Maintenance
- Play Area Surfaces
- Playground Activities for the National Curriculum
- Playground Designs for Sensory Processing Disorder
- Playground Equipment for Schools
- Playground Fencing
- Playground Flooring Repair in Birmingham, West Midlands
- Playground Games for Children With Dyspraxia
- Playground Games to Encourage Speech Development
- Playground Grass Mats Safer Flooring
- Playground Marking Graphics
- Playground Markings
- Playground Safety Surface Construction in Reading, Berkshire
- Playground Safety Surfacing with Graphics in Shropshire
- Playground Surface HIC Safety Flooring
- Playground Surfacing in Hertfordshire
- Playground Surfacing Options
- Playground Wet Pour Flooring in Northamptonshire
- Playground Wet Pour Flooring in Northumberland
- Playground Wet Pour Flooring in Nottinghamshire
- Playground Wet Pour Flooring in Oxfordshire
- Playground Wet Pour Flooring in Somerset
- Poured in Place Rubber Bouncy Playground Surfaces
- Pre School Play Area Surfacing in Wigan, Greater Manchester
- Pre-School Play Area Surfacing in Wigan
- Primary School Outdoor Classroom Funding Grants
- Protective Playground Flooring
- PS4 Activity Games Space Area in Penrith
- Q26 – Wetpour Playground Safety Surfacing
- Rubber Outdoor External Playground Flooring
- Rubber Playground and Artificial Grass Surfacing in Middlesbrough
- Rubber Playground Surface Construction
- Rubber Spheres Play Equipment
- Rubber Tarmac Flooring
- Rubber Tarmac School Outdoor Playground Flooring
- Safety Surfaces For Playgrounds
- Sand and Water Play Activities for Kids
- School Adventure Trail Designs
- School All Weather MUGA Pitches
- School Athletics Track Designs
- School Playground Design and Install in Manchester
- School Playground Graphics
- School Playground Groundworks
- School Playground Ideas
- School Playground Maintenance
- School Playground Marking Designs
- School Playground Surfacing
- Schools Recreational Long Jump Runway Length
- SEN Playground Equipment for Schools
- Small nursery EPDM Rubber Surfacing in Wolverhampton
- Soft Fall Impact Absorbing Playground Surface
- Spongy Nursery School Surfacing in Carlisle
- Spongy Playground Flooring Construction in Woking, Surrey
- Spongy playground flooring construction that we carried out in Woking, Surrey
- Spongy Safer Pour Surfacing for Playgrounds
- Tests for Playground Safety Flooring
- Top 3 Safety Surfaces for Playgrounds
- Top 5 School Playground Trends
- Wet Pour Surfacing and Synthetic Turf Construction in Worthing, Sussex
- Wetpour Flooring & Graphics Installation in Bristol
- Wetpour Playground with Graphics in Salford, Greater Manchester
- Wetpour Safety Flooring with Graphics at a Nursery in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
- What Is Critical Fall Height?
For more information on the critical fall heights of our safety surfaces, please get in contact directly and a member of our team will be on hand to help with any questions.
Get expert advice, today call us on
Get a FREE quote from our award winning team