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Product category: Lifts and Stairlifts
News Release from: Britannia Lift | Subject: DDA compliance
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial Team on 12 January 2005

DDA compliance can give access to new
business

Britannia Lift's Technical Director, John Patey, discusses the options available to businesses as they look to become DDA compliant and the potential benefits this can bring.

Britannia Lift's Technical Director, John Patey, discusses the options available to businesses as they look to become DDA compliant and the potential benefits this can bring Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) has huge implications for many UK businesses and Local Authorities since, from October 1st those who are considered "Service Providers" will be required by law to have made reasonable changes to their premises in order provide disabled access

(Service providers include many types of businesses such as restaurants, hotels, public houses, theatres and shops).

Despite this legislation having been imminent since 1995, a recent Disability Rights Commission (DRC) survey suggests that many businesses, large and small, are not fully prepared for the new law, with many organisations still lacking adequate disabled access.

Mary Pye, head of public sector duty at the DRC said, "it seems that people would rather bury their heads in the sand than turn awareness into action by getting ready for the changes in the law." One reason for this is cost.

In many cases it is both difficult and costly to install disabled access into existing premises that were not designed with disability issues in mind.

However, with an estimated 10.8 million disabled users in the UK, providing better disabled facilities could prove to be a tremendous opportunity for many businesses.

Indeed, due to the ageing population of the UK, this figure will rise in coming years, making it even more important for organisations to cater for disabled people.

For this reason, making a business DDA compliant should be seen as an investment.

Obviously cost is still a major factor, as many businesses do not have the budget available to spend large amounts on altering their premises.

In order to keep cost to a minimum, it is important that the right access solution is chosen for each individual organisation.

There are a range of access solutions on the market, such as ramps and various types of lift, and different sites require different solutions.

For example, street access to a building where someone needs to negotiate a flight of steps would require a different solution to travelling between floors inside a building.

In many instances a ramp would appear to be the most economical and universal way of providing disabled access, but this is not always the case.

Regulations require that, even under the most favourable circumstances, the gradient of disabled access ramps is no greater than 1 in 12.

This means that they take up a large amount of space which is not always practical, especially for street access to buildings.

For travelling between levels that are up to 2m apart, a scissor-type access lift is often the most appropriate solution.

Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, scissor lifts are commonly used for industrial applications, as they are both durable and reliable.

Also, scissor lifts only require a relatively shallow pit to house their working parts, which cuts down on installation costs.

As the maximum travel of a scissor lift is dependent upon platform size they are not generally the best solution for travelling between floors in a building.

In this case, a more suitable solution would be a mast-type lift.

These require significantly less building work to install than standard passenger lifts, making them a less expensive and more viable solution where the building's structure cannot be altered.

"Whilst a number of other companies offer access solutions, Britannia is one of the few that can design, manufacture and install entirely using only its own staff." Comments John Welton Service Manager at Britannia, This gives Britannia the advantage of being able to provide and install custom designed and cost effective access solutions.

As Britannia manufactures its own lifts, it avoids the potential delays and quality concerns often associated with imported units.

Also, Britannia will design a lift that is tailored to its working environment, taking into account the individual characteristics of a building thus minimising any alterations that may be required on installation.

This makes them particularly suitable for providing disabled access to listed and historic buildings.

Britannia Sales Engineer, Dave Douglas, says "our engineers have a reputation for being friendly and receptive and working well with contractors".

" That, together with our after-sales support adds to the comprehensive service that we have been providing our customers for over 40 years." Britannia Lift understands the problems facing businesses as Part III of the DDA approaches.

Limited budgets and, in many cases, building restrictions limit the options available to business owners as they look to provide improved disabled access to a range of services.

By offering a comprehensive, flexible and cost-effective service, Britannia Lift can help organisations to become DDA compliant and to open up their businesses to disabled people across the country.

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