Player safety is near the top if not the most important consideration when it comes to field maintenance. Artificial turf fields are being evaluated for player safety on a regular basis because of the increase in the number of synthetic turf playing fields and the extended life being expected of these sports field. One of the safety measures being applied is the GMax rating or impact attenuation testing.

One firm that has jumped into this field and has many years of experience on these surfaces is GmaxTurf.com, Buzz Splittgerber. New tools are coming out on the market and knowing how to use these tools properly is important in achieving reliable results for further evaluation and remediation. Buzz is using the state of the art TSI's Clearview Bumper II for testing the attenuation of artificial surfaces with results transmitted wireless through a PDA and
recorded on in Excel worksheet format.

ASTM Standard F355-A defines equipment requirements for impact attenuation testing on turf.

Once these readings are recorded the facility manager can then develop a plan to improve the safety of the playing surface, for example loosing the infield material with difference field maintenance devices, adding additional infield material, moving infield material around on the play surface, etc.

The Sports Turf Managers Association has collected and developed a number of valuable resources for the maintenance of artificial turf fields.