Some typical client questions:-
No problem - For multi-occupational dwellings, we can source products
that able body persons can utilised and not even known, the devices
have been installed for any specific function or use other for them!
The only exceptions being specific help or call points type devices,
the general building services remain invisible, to the untrained eye.
We can reduce the number of control devices required at wheelchair
height, by eliminating them entity down general corridors and living
areas, except for a few override devices.
This can be developed with the client, dependent on the level of
anticipated disability to be accommodated for.
Remember:
We are engineers, we design out problems, so you don't have solve them!
We design in these facilities for clients who are planning a new
or refurbished home / development.
Where the client brief is to create a dream home, and want to
incorporate these facilities to give them extended use of the
house as an integration solution, should they be come partially
disabled, or allow for planned retirement into a grand elderly age.
As the home can accommodate these future specialist needs,
without being a burden on their lifestyle.
Without need for them to rely on standard assisted care environment,
so much, be relocated into a care home.
Use Davmark's knowledge now, for your enjoyment later.
The simple answer is: we can't know fully everything about the different
levels of disability, which can occur.
But as engineers we do now how, things works:-
And we ask questions!
And we refer to engineering consultants who are disabled and work closely with
the disabled. At the same time we know advanced technical solutions that make
things easier. A simple example is lighting that turns on when you enter a room
that is dark. No need to operate a switch. Doors that open automatically. Simple
things that help.
Yes, this is one of are core services we provide within the Davmark Group.
Davmark Group can help you achieve these objectives, with advise and
selection of the correct products to do the task, in the appropriate manner.
Yes
Movement between floors
Passenger lifts are the most suitable means of moving between
floors and should be provided wherever possible.
Regardless of whether a lift is provided or not, stairways
should always be provided as an alternative.
They should be designed to suit ambulant disabled people and
those with impaired sight. If a change of level is unavoidable,
a ramp may be provided on internal circulation routes.
With the exception of the need for hazard warning surfaces on
landings, the design requirements for internal stairs are similar
to those for 'stepped access'. A hazard warning surface is not
required since there is no recognised warning surface for use
internally which will meet the need.
Access to facilities
People should be able to have access to, and be able to use, all
the facilities provided within buildings. They should also be able
to participate in events at lecture/conference facilities and at
entertainment, leisure, social and sporting venues, not only as
spectators, but also where appropriate as participants and/or as employees.
Where permanent or removable seating is provided, allowance should
be made for disabled people to have a choice of seating location.
To aid users with visual impairment any seating should contrast
visually with its surroundings. Wheelchair users should not be
segregated into special areas. A clear view, without obstructing
the view of others, should be possible. Sufficient space should
also be allowed for guide dogs to rest beside their owners.
In bar and refreshment areas, counters (or at least a section of
counter) should be at a level suitable for wheelchair users. All
floor areas, even when located at different levels, should also
be accessible, as should facilities such as telephones, toilets
and self-service food counters.
In sleeping accommodation, for example in hotels, a proportion
(at least 1:20 rooms) should allow for independent use by
wheelchair users. The bed, any en-suite facilities provided
and any other room facilities (e.g., built-in wardrobes) should
be accessible. In practice this may mean providing extra space,
especially as en-suite facilities are preferable.
Within such rooms, a pull-cord operated emergency assistance
alarm (with a reset button) should be provided and located so
that it can be operated both from the bed and from the adjacent floor area.
The alarm signal, should be capable of being easily seen and
heard by those available to give assistance and at a central control point.
The remainder of the rooms should be suitable for people who may
have mobility, sensory, dexterity or learning difficulties. To
assist such users, bedrooms should have a visual fire alarm signal,
in addition to an audible one, and room numbers should be embossed.
They should also allow access by wheelchair users who may wish
to visit such rooms.
In lecture theatres etc, an enhancement system to help people with
hearing impairments fully participate may be needed. Also presentation
facilities and equipment should be accessible to all.
Regard should be had for wall finishes, as these will form the
background against which people will appear, as well as lighting.
Both should take account of people with visual impairments and
those who may need to receive information by lip-reading or sign language.
Public address, hearing enhancement, and telephone systems should be
selected to ensure intelligibility, and in this respect the design of
the acoustic environment is important. The presence of a hearing
enhancement system should be indicated by use of the standard symbol.
Switches, outlets and controls should contrast visually with their
surroundings and be:-
- easy to operate
- visible
- at an appropriate height
- unobstructed
The colours red and green should not be used to indicate ‘on’
and ‘off’ for switches or controls. Text or pictograms may be
used to clarify the purpose and status of switches and controls.
The special characteristics of historic buildings need to be conserved.
The aim should be to improve accessibility where it is practical, always
provided that the work does not prejudice the character of the building,
or increase the risk of long-term deterioration.
TOILETS
PLANNING GENERALLY
Location(s) within Buildings
It is recommended that the disabled persons’ toilet be located
so that it can be readily usable by both sexes - with its own
separate access, located so that it is not approached via Ladies
or Gents. The locating of toilets for the disabled within the
main male and female toilet areas can present privacy difficulties,
for example, in cases where a wife may need to assist her husband or vice versa.
Davmark™ Group can help you achieve these objectives, with advise
and selection of the correct products to do the task, in the
appropriate manner.
Sanitary facilities
Suitable sanitary accommodation should be available for everybody,
including wheelchair users, ambulant disabled people, people of
either gender with babies and small children, or (if appropriate)
people with luggage etc. In multi-storey buildings, sanitary
accommodation should be consistently located on each floor to help
people with learning difficulties to locate them easily.
Doors to WC cubicles and wheelchair-accessible unisex toilets should
open out, or, if they open in, the door swing should not encroach into
the wheelchair turning space or minimum activity space.
They should also have an emergency release mechanism to allow them to be
opened from the outside. Lights should be activated by push pads,
rather than pull cords.
Davmark can eliminate this light switch by using intelligent build
components - See Davmark
onetouchtzone™
components for further information.
In wheelchair-accessible unisex toilets, an emergency assistance
alarm should be provided.
Davmark™ can integrate this into an intelligent build component
- See Davmark™
onetouchtzone™
for further information.
Facilities such as wash hand basins should be readily accessible.
Support rails should be fitted, with the rail on the open side being
a drop-down rail. The rail on the wall side can be a wall-mounted
grab rail.
A wheelchair-accessible unisex toilet should have a separate
approach to it from other sanitary accommodation and be more
easily identified than a wheelchair-accessible cubicle in a
separate-sex toilet washroom. One such toilet should be located
as close as possible to the entrance and/or waiting area of the
building. If its use is confined to disabled people, it should
be available when required.
Where more that one toilet is provided, then layouts suitable
for left-hand and right-hand transfer should be provided.
In addition, a unisex toilet should allow one or two assistants
of either sex to assist a disabled person.
Consideration should be given to installing a chemical sanitary
waste disposal unit in the accommodation. Some wheelchair users
also find it difficult to use a standard height WC seat and, for
them, it is important that the WC pan can accept a variable height
toilet seat riser.
The cubicles in separate sex toilet washrooms should be of
sufficient size that ambulant disabled people could use them.
The compartment should be fitted with support rails, and include
a minimum activity space to accommodate people who use crutches,
or those with impaired leg movements.
Separate-sex toilet washrooms above a certain size should also
include an enlarged WC cubicle for use by people who need extra
space, e.g. parents with babies. Consideration should also be
given to providing a fold-down table, e.g. for baby-changing.
Accessible shower facilities allow disabled people to use them
independently or be assisted by others when necessary. Individual
self-contained accommodation is preferable as it allows the
correct configuration of handrails and controls to be provided.
However, if it contains a WC, it should not be the only
wheelchair accessible toilet accommodation. It should also
contain an emergency assistance alarm and where more than one
facility is provided; layouts suitable for left-hand and
right-hand transfer should be provided.
Similarly if wheelchair accessible bathrooms are provided,
disabled people should be able to wash or bathe either
independently or with assistance from others. The relationship
of the bath to other sanitary fittings, and to the space required
for manoeuvring, needs careful consideration. Providing a choice
of bathroom layout, wherever possible, will meet the needs of many
disabled people and help maintain their independence.
At Davmark we can integrate your building services needs.
If a building is ‘mixed use’, and the requirements of the
regulations for dwellings and non-domestic use differ, then the
requirements for non-domestic use should apply in the shared parts
of the building, as well as the non-domestic areas.
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