Access: Advisers ramp up the pressure

Experts have been warning loudly for months that building managers should be preparing for Part III of the Act now — or face the possibility of costly litigation.

What has emerged more recently however, is just how difficult it is going to be to decide exactly how much must be done to keep building owners and managers within the law.

At the end of June, in an interview with The Facilities Business, the Disability Rights Commission admitted that the term 'reasonable adjustment' used throughout the revised Code of Practice on implementing Part III could be open to a variety of interpretations. (TheFB, 23 June).

Lawyers now anticipate a stream of cases testing the definition. They also agree that in the current circumstances the best defence against an accusation of discrimination will be the ability to prove that every effort was made to accommodate the requirements of disabled people — including those with sight and hearing impairments.

At a major conference held at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' HQ in Westminster earlier this month, speakers discussed the kinds of measures that businesses should consider taking to eliminate physical barriers to access, as well as what they must do to prove how seriously they are taking the new rules.

Chris Harrowell, an access consultant with Amey Property Consulting, told the audience of facilities managers, architects and other professionals that companies must have a 'design statement' indicating what action they have taken, and be able to demonstrate they have thought about the issues. If there is no evidence of such provision, they run the risk of litigation, he warned.

Even doing something as simple as cleaning lightbulbs can make it much easier for a visually impaired person to see

Keith Bright

Also speaking at the conference organised by Ecophon, was Keith Bright, managing director of Access, Design & Management and a senior lecturer and director of the Research Group for Inclusive Environments at The University of Reading.

Describing the DDA as a 'major piece of property legislation that will affect all of us for years to come,' Bright said facilities managers must start thinking now about what is needed at their buildings, since it is they who will be at the forefront of the changes.

Detailed requirements
During the conference it become clear just how detailed alterations to buildings, furnishings and furniture may have to be. Take a shiny desk or table top in the reception area of a building belonging to a service provider for example. A shiny surface is hard for people with visual disabilities to see. In order to meet the requirements of the Act, a service provider may therefore need to remove the feature, alter the feature in some way, provide a reasonable means of avoiding the feature, or provide a reasonable alternative method of providing their service.

Of the 8.5 million people in the UK with a disability covered by the Act, only 600,000 of these are wheelchair users — the Act therefore is designed to include people with visual, hearing and learning disabilities.

Under such far-reaching legislation, said Bright, service providers will need to take measures that range from installing doorknobs and taps that can be turned easily, to considering whether the paint they choose maximises visibility.

Bright and fellow researchers at the University of Reading have studied the colour preferences of people with visual impairments to determine the colours and combinations of colours that they can see most clearly. The study is the first of its kind, and as a result of their findings the researchers have developed a design-contrast colour guide.

Companies must show what action they have taken and be able to demonstrate they have thought about the issues

Chris Harrowell

According to Bright, under the Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act it would be necessary to prove that the colour of the walls, floors and doors of a particular building had been taken into consideration. Issues such as these are unlikely to incur heavy costs. 'A lot of solutions are not expensive, they just require thought,' said Bright. 'Even doing something as simple as cleaning lightbulbs can make it much easier for a visually impaired person to see,' he told delegates.

Meanwhile, workplaces will also be expected to cater for people with progressive conditions, such as cancer, HIV, MS and muscular dystrophy. If a person with a disability is employed, said Bright, an assessment of their needs should be carried out and provisions made.

Bright warned that preparations do not have to be made in case a workplace employs a person with a disability, but if they actually employ someone with a disability.

However, he did stress that although service providers must ensure ease of access, this will not always mean they have to make extensive alterations to the building in order to comply with the legislation. In some cases it will just not be practical to make access easier for someone with a particular kind of disability. As noted on the government's disability website, a 6ft-long ramp is needed to overcome a 6in-high step.

However in cases where alterations can't be made, businesses will need to show that they have made every effort to accommodate disabled people in other ways — for example allowing access through a trade entrance.

Access auditors say demand for their services is outstripping supply as a result of the impending changes — and it is going to get worse. Four in ten organisations are still unready for the legislation.