Equality of access in lift provision

Richard Wharton, general manager of access and mobility, Pickerings Lifts about what is required to ensure DDA compliance.

The growing need to take account of the access needs of people with disabilities has been on the agenda for many years.

More recently, however, it has gained significant momentum in the wake of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995, now fully in effect.

Yet there is still a lack of awareness as to which types of organisation fall within the scope of the legislation and equally, what is needed to ensure compliance.

At the same time, the DDA has thrown into sharper relief the broader social responsibility to provide easy and equal access to a product or service, including both access into and within the building.

What is 'disability'.

So what obligations does the DDA place on owners and users and how can compliance be assured?.

One of the first misunderstandings is to consider disability purely in terms of wheelchair access.

The DDA defines a disabled person much more broadly, as someone with "a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities".

There are an estimated 10 million disabled adults in the UK.

In 1999, the DWP Research Report, Disability in Great Britain, found, for example, that more than a quarter of disabilities were not locomotion-related: indeed, wheelchair users account for less than 20% of all disabled people.

The DDA therefore applies equally to the blind and partially sighted, those with hearing difficulties, people with long-term illnesses and those with learning disabilities, all of whom face very different problems regarding physical access to and within buildings.

A checklist for compliance.

When advising clients on what is required to meet the lift-specific provisions of the DDA, at Pickerings we have adopted a Conformity Checklist to ensure full compliance.

Areas covered include:.

- Initial access - The entrance to the building may require a ramp or platform lift to aid wheelchair or other disabled access.

- Internal access - Changes in level that may restrict access to services may similarly need a mechanical device to solve the problem.

- Signposting - Information regarding lift location must be both written and tactile, for the needs of the visually impaired.

- Stopping accuracy - The lift car must stop within very tight limits of the floor level, to enable practical access.

- Call buttons - To meet the new regulatory requirements, lift buttons must be within specified height limits on both the ground floor and landings, to make them accessible for wheelchair users.

Similarly, the buttons should be tactile, illuminated and emit an audible 'bleep' to confirm call acceptance.

The call panel, call buttons and car walls should all have contrasting colours.

- Door sensors - To ensure the doors do not close prematurely, full height infra-red sensors should be fitted to the car doors.

- Interior mirrors - Where the lift prevents the wheelchair from being turned round, a mirror must be fitted on the opposite wall of the lift to aid reversing on exit.

- Interior call buttons - For the same reason, call buttons inside the lift car should be set on a horizontal plane on a compliant handrail.

Specifications also cover how far the call buttons and exit (i.e ground floor) door button must protrude from the car wall.

- Emergency alarm - This should include a visual confirmation of operation.

The above list is by no means exhaustive but provides a clear indication of the kinds of issues which need to be addressed when considering the particular needs of disabled users.

Specialist requirements.

Responsibility to comply with the requirements of the DDA falls on all building operators, but in some applications the requirement will be particularly demanding.

Environments involving a high level of usage by people with some form of impairment or disability for example, whether temporary or permanent, will specify products that are especially robust and reliable.

Designs may need to be adapted significantly and so it is important to select a supplier with the flexibility to meet any special or one-off design and installation requirements.

Selecting and installing the correct lift however is just the start of the process.

In many minds, lifts tend to fall into the category of 'fit and forget' purchases, yet service quality is especially critical in environments involving large numbers of the disabled or those otherwise incapacitated.

Many homes are multi-storey and lifts are the only practical way of transporting people from their flats or bedrooms to communal dining rooms, social areas or medical facilities.

Lifts do sometimes break down and it is this critical to have rapid response, round-the-clock support capability, in order to minimise the inconvenience and distress caused to residents, staff or visitors.

When on-site, installers and repairers must also be sensitive to the environment in which they work.

Putting a new lift in a new, unoccupied building is one thing: installing or repairing a lift or other mobility aid in an existing building occupied by retired or less able residents is quite another.

The service provider must therefore be flexible enough to minimise the level of disruption caused by an emergency repair and be able to plan routine maintenance at a time most convenient to each building user.

Complete support service.

In order to meet their responsibilities under the DDA, manufacturers have recognised the need to move beyond product delivery to the provision of broader solutions.

At Pickerings, for example, we have created a specialist Access and Mobility Group as part of a comprehensive response both to the demands of the DDA and the broader need to ensure full equality of access.

Pickerings Lifts' Access and Mobility Group provides a comprehensive range of vertical and incline platform lift solutions designed to carry a wheelchair - and in many cases an attendant - up heights from a small change in level to several floors.

Unlike many lift companies however, it also provides a complete bespoke design and manufacturing service, if required, as well as a comprehensive installation and back-up maintenance and repair service including a nationwide network of expert engineers providing 24 hour 365 day support.

Similarly, Pickerings Lifts' Key Account Team works proactively with existing clients to provide a comprehensive consultancy and modification service to help meet the provisions of the DDA.

As part of this, Pickerings Lifts typically undertakes a full audit of existing provision for compliance purposes and provides photographic explanation as part of a comprehensive support package to enable a full understanding of what is required.

Back to top