Meeting the demands of the DDA

The growing need to take account of the particular access needs of people with disabilities has been on the agenda for many years. More recently, however, it has gained significant momentum since the full implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995.

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 legal compliance. At the same time, for facilities managers and other premises operators, 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.

The nature of ‘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.

If you require any more information with regards to the DDA please - contact us