Where can accessibility go wrong during the construction of a building
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The team at O’Herlihy Access Consultancy (OHAC) have been spending a large portion of time out on site over the last number of months reviewing the accessibility of schools, offices, protected structures and health care facilities. They have identified that accessibility can go wrong in a number of key areas including:
- On approach to the building. For example it is critical that those responsible for installing tactile paving know the correct type of paving to install and how to install it.
- Getting around the building. For example it is vital to ensure that lifts are fitted out in accordance in line with technical specifications and that ambulant disabled stairs are correctly designed (e.g. visual contrasting nosings).
- Using the key facilities of the building. Common mistakes include the fit out of tea stations and the layout of seating in auditoriums.
- Using WC facilities. OHAC have noticed that the most common mistakes are made here including location of grabrails, incorrectly locating alarms and resets, positioning of sinks etc.
Other areas where it can go wrong include floor finishes, lighting specifications, door opening forces of manual doors, visual contrast, signage and the design of glazed manifestations. In order to ensure accessibility doesn’t go wrong OHAC recommends that:
- All design team members and contractors need to have a good understanding of accessibility requirements.
- Detailed accessibility specifications need to be included as part of the project brief.
- There needs to be strong coordination between all members working on the project.
- Accessibility needs to be incorporated and reviewed at all stages of the project.
- Accessibility checklists need to be in place and most importantly used by construction personnel.
- All those on site need to know the key accessibility requirements to make a building accessible.
If you would like to learn more about how OHAC can assist you, please do not hesitate to contact one of our team on 01-4151285 or e-mail [email protected]
