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Buildings

6.21 Building management

Building management

Accessibility cannot be guaranteed by good design or physical alterations alone. How a building is managed in its day-to-day running will have a huge impact on how easy the building is to use by disabled people.

For example:

A spacious lift lobby with plenty of room for a wheelchair user to manoeuvre is rendered useless if used for the temporary storage of goods or materials
The thoughtless addition of a new series of signs to direct people to a new facility can undermine a carefully chosen signage system
Installing an induction loop at a counter or in a theatre or meeting room is pointless if its presence is not clearly advertised.

It is important that those involved in making a building accessible, whether new or existing, contribute to the drafting of a building management manual. This can take the form of a simple loose-leaf binder (and can also be provided electronically) with sections covering the following areas:

Car parking

ensure that non-disabled drivers do not occupy bays intended for disabled people.

Routes

ensure that external routes, ramps and steps are kept clean, unobstructed, well lit and, in winter, ice-free.

Doors

ensure that door closers are regularly maintained, door ironmongery is kept clean and free moving, and side-hung doors accompanying revolving doors are not kept locked.

Lobbies corridors and aisles

ensure that spaces required for access and wheelchair manoeuvres are not obstructed by deliveries, storage or goods on display.

Lifts

ensure that lifts are checked regularly to see that the lift car floor aligns with the structural floor, and that short-rise lifts are not abused by people using them as goods lifts.

Toilets

ensure that supplies of toilet tissue, paper towels and vending machines are regularly replenished and that the toilet compartment is not used as an unofficial storage area.

Signs

ensure that new signs integrate with the existing signage, that signs are replaced correctly when removed for redecoration, and that signs are not damaged, covered or obscured.

Building information

ensure that maps of building interiors and site maps are updated when services and facilities change location.

Sound enhancement systems

ensure that installations such as induction loop and infra-red systems and microphone/speaker systems are advertised and regularly checked.

Alarms and security

ensure that alarm systems, including those in toilets, and systems such as Deaf Alerter are regularly checked.

Surfaces

ensure that:-

cleaning and polishing do not render slip-resistant surfaces slippery
the junctions between different flooring materials do not become worn, presenting a tripping hazard
when small patches of flooring are renewed, like is replaced by like
the redecoration of entrances and interiors does not compromise a carefully devised colour scheme.

Lighting

ensure that windows, lamps and blinds are kept clean in order to maximise available light. Ensure that blown light bulbs, internal and external, are swiftly replaced.

Repairs and maintenance

whenever repairs or replacements are carried out, incorporate improvements to meet current access standards.

Design feedback

within 2 years after first use, review the design of a new building with the designers and those who use it, to assess any good or bad points.

next part of fact sheet 6.21