Well, our build day is actually tomorrow but I have some time to post now, so I'll share what I've done so far...
1. Calling people ahead of time is a must... you definitely want to know that you will have your minimum number of volunteers that say "yes" rather than just a "I'll see". Those that said "I'll BE THERE!" two months ago need to be called, too, because plans change...
2. Having a checklist of who is doing what, as far as site prep goes, is a must, and it is in your best interest to follow up and make sure those things are being done on time. Without the site prepped, you won't be able to have your build day. Our site prep is still happening now, as I type, but it will get done by tomorrow morning, that's for sure!
3. We are going to ask volunteers when they sign in, are you up for "heavy", "medium" or "light" work? I bought some red, blue, green, and yellow dots at the local office depot... and have written H on the red, M on the blue, L on the green, and S on the yellow... when people sign in, I'll create a list of Heavy, Med, Light, and Safety/Service workers, so that we always have a list to call on. The dots will go on their KaBOOM nametags in the upper corner, so that when we are pulling people into teams to work on the various components, we can see at a glance, do we have an even distribution of workers...i.e. does each team have a couple of red dots (Heavy), blue dots (Medium), and green dots (Light).
4. Also bring labels and pens so that people can label their water bottles that they'll have out with them on the play space.
5. If you are having cement brought, be sure to clarify whether you are a confirmed delivery or did someone enter you in as "will call". Confirmed deliveries are scheduled in as 'definite', whereas "will call" means that you are on the lowest priority on the list. I thought I was firm, but someone entered me in as "will call". Thankfully the company called ME today to check in, and I told them absolutely positively YES we WILL need concrete tomorrow, moving me into their confirmed list. :-)
6. If you are still in the planning phases of your playground, I have to say that I think that while the industry standard is a 6 foot fall zone, I personally think that this isn't very roomy. Our fall zone is going to be 8 feet, and I'm wishing that we had the means to have it even larger, because kids need room to run around. Maybe it's not so bad when the curbing is level with the rest of the ground, but ours is a raised timber edge and I don't know, it just feels tight even at 8 feet. So I'm just saying, aesthetically and functionally, you might want to visit some playgrounds and see if you want to have a larger than 6 foot buffer, and then advise your designer accordingly. I'm just glad ours are 8 feet because I wouldn't have been happy with 6. I think it also matters to me because it's a school playground and there will be more kids on it at any one time than what you would typically see at a "park" setting. So I like the kids to have plenty of room to move about without bumping into one another.
That's all I can think of for now. I will post when our build is finished. I'm hoping it doesn't rain... it's been a rainy summer here in WA state.
GREAT IDEAS! OUR BUILD WAS ON AUGUST 4TH AND I WISH WE WOULD HAVE HAD MARKERS AT THE COOLERS HOLDING THE WATER BOTTLES. IT WASN'T TOO BAD UNTIL WE STARTED SPREADING MULCH IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY, WE HAD MYSTERY WATER BOTTLES EVERYWHERE, ONCE YOU DON'T KNOW WHO IT BELONGS TO, YOU HAVE TO TRASH THEM. I WOULD RECOMMEND GOING A STEP FURTHER AND PUTTING A SIGN AND MAYBE A VOLUNTEER THAT CAN'T DO MUCH AT THE WATER COOLERS TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE LABELLING THEM SO THEY AREN'T WASTED. WE WERE LUCKY IN THAT WE HAD PLENTY OF DRINKS TO GO AROUND.
ALSO, KEEP CALLING THOSE VOLUNTEERS. MANY DO CANCEL ON YOU, SOME TIMES AT THE LAST MINUTE, BUT WE ALSO HAD SOME SHOW UP THAT WERE DRIVING BY AND NOTICED OUR SIGNS, BALLOONS AND DJ! WE WERE SUPPOSE TO HAVE 49 VOLUNTEERS AND ENDED UP HAVING ABOUT 35. WE DID FINE STAYING ON SCHEDULE DESPITE THE SHORTAGE.
THINGS FOR THE MOST PART WENT AS PLANNED, PREPPING THE SITE THE FEW DAYS LEADING UP REALLY HELPED, BUT WHEN THINGS DON'T GO AS SCHEDULED, KEEP YOUR COOL, REMEMBER, EVERYONE IS THERE TO HELP, LET THEM DO THEIR PART.
Actually, when people signed in and labelled their KaBOOM badges, that is when we also had them put their name on a water bottle label--I had bought some extra's, and I had people put that one on their shirt or in their pocket, so that WHEN they did decide to get water, it was available to them...but yes, having the people delivering bottles out to the workers AND bringing a pen/label with them would help minimize the "mystery bottle" phenomenon!
Our build went very well. I was exhausted yesterday. We had great weather...kind of overcast at times, and a little sunny at times, with a nice breeze going. We had more volunteers show up than I expected, and we were able to get some side projects done. The church across the street from our school provided lunch and it was nice to have a home-made lunch (sandwiches, salads, desserts) for a change since I've been eating out lately with all of the last minute running around for the build day prep!
I will have to get some photo's posted soon because I LOVE how our playground turned out. We went with LSI and we got the manta net climber, which is just the coolest thing EVER, according to the kids, and the grown-up kids as well!
We also took advantage of the hillside slope and at that point in the design, there is a 6 foot deck and we put a balcony deck on the end of it, and so after everyone went home, I just went up there and took in the view... it was great!
We had done the post-hole dig by contractor a few days before, and the main posts themselves were already set in the concrete when we got there. The guy had 20 years experience doing it, and so he knew how to get the posts just right. With their round clamp system, it's possible to do the build day this way, so our volunteers got right to work putting on the equipment. We were able to bump up our concrete delivery time by two hours.
I can't think of too much other advice other than, just don't "overplan"... things WILL work out just fine because the supervisors have so much experience and know what to do to get the teams going, and if you choose a capable build captain, then you're good to go. It was nice for me NOT to be a build captain because people were calling me here and there-- Mary how high do you want these bars, Mary how high do you want the bench, and so I really needed to be available to do those things. I also needed to be free to greet late arrivals and get them funneled into some jobs. So as the team leader/project leader, see if you can find someone else to be the one that oversees all the build captains. OR make sure you have someone on hand who knows the design inside out so that they can help with those questions.
Kids activities-- we had the kids work on making thank you notes, and helping with flattening boxes and things like that. We kept true to the rule of "no kids on the build site" because of safety and I was impressed with how well they minded the signs of "Please, No Kids past here" with a heart and the word SAFETY written across it.
The best part of this project was just seeing how over time, from the idea of building-a-playground became a topic that went from "is this even possible" to "wow, this is really happening" and being able to see the excitement in people's eyes as details were being firmed up. And I had more than one parent tell me their eyes misted up when they saw the first posts going in the other day... just remember that people ARE excited about the work you are doing. You don't always know it, but they are.
Congrats! What an accomplishment! I'm happy for you and your team to have completed the playground project. I look at our new playground everyday and smile because I know that all the volunteers had an enjoyable day and the children have a new place to play.
It is amazing that from the beginning of the planning stages to the final build day that everything comes together. You are correct in saying that it is important to have yourself or someone else available who knows the entire project in order for anyone to ask questions.
Enjoy your successful playground project!
We had our day in the newspaper... a few things were lost in translation, such as, Kaboom is not a playground "equipment company" and the playground cost more like $35,000 dollars rather than $20,000 dollars BUT, what can ya do... it's a very nice article all around though!
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/30/it-took-parents-students-and-pennies-to-build/
The sweetest thing has to be the effect this has had on my own two kids--both are very proud of me, and last night my little girl told me "When I grow up to be a grown woman, I am going to build a playground for kids, too. Just like you Mama!"
The old saying, "kids learn by example..." could not be more true.
Thank you for the great tips on color coding for "Heavy, Medium, Light" lifting and ensuring there's an equal distribution in each of your teams. I have many volunteers whom I fear might be labled "light" so this will allow me to better focus our recruiting efforts.
Thank you also for the tid-bit on labeling water bottles! I'm sure that is easily over-looked.