Too Much Accessibility?

Too Much Accessibility? Why do we wait for things to go wrong !

We believe there is far too much focus on accessibility for mobility impaired persons to access building for fear of discrimination and bad publicity.

With so many experts and influencers is it not time that more thought is given to basic life safety, if access is provided into a building (generally upper and lower floor levels) then there must be suitable and sufficient provisions in place for safe evacuation of mobility impaired person in the event of an emergency and when lifts can not be used.

We regularly promote this, but the message is still not getting through and lives are potentially put at risk and Fire Service personnel are also potentially put at unnecessary risk having to rescue people that should be out of the building.

Despite our ongoing commitment to raising awareness and educating building managers, individuals, regulators and enforcing authorities, accessibility still seems to be the most important factor.

In many cases, building managers put far too much faith in outsourcing their responsibilities believing that absolves them of responsibility, it does not.

It is time to get back to basics, if you do not have suitable and sufficient provisions to evacuate all users of your building in the event of an emergency without depending on the Fire Service then access restrictions must be considered.

Don’t wait until it is too late, it is not an option or a simple tick box exercise, documentation, equipment, training, maintenance and ongoing review are essential for demonstrating compliance and more importantly ensure the safety of all users of your premises.

If you have a mobility impairment, ask if there are provisions to get you out and if you are involved in building management are you sure provisions are in place ?

If in doubt you can always do an online search that will probably lead to confusion, or you can get professional advice free of charge from experienced, competent market leading industry professionals.

Stay safe !