Facilities benefit from treating access
as a process, not a one-time event

— By Joan Weiss Stein

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) just celebrated its 10th anniversary. The critical requirement for existing facilities was — and has been — to remove barriers in ways that were deemed “readily achievable.” That term has a different meaning for each facility, depending upon its size, complexity and the resources available to the organization to make modifications.

The definition of “readily achievable” also changes as each year passes. This requirement began on Jan. 26, 1992, and was intended to create a process for the identification and removal of barriers.

Although the U.S. Access Board is working to clarify many issues in the existing requirements, until those rules become final, the current regulations will be enforced. This effort is directed toward the goal of using the International Building Code as a standard.

ADA compliance is not a one-stop process. Instead, it must be approached in the same manner that all other facilities issues are resolved — by integrating ADA issues into overall strategic and financial planning.

Taking stock
For managers to understand where their facilities fall on the spectrum of access compliance, they first must determine actions that are feasible for an organization on an ongoing basis through the use of self-evaluation and an implementation plan.

Actions that might not have been feasible in 1993 by now might be reasonable. Managers are in the driver’s seat if they take a proactive approach, implementing a plan that works for the organization by documenting and demonstrating positive changes to the facility.

A great deal of attention related to facility access has focused on the requirements organizations face in performing alterations, additions and new construction. But managers cannot afford to ignore the requirement to plan and implement barrier removal in existing facilities.

To ensure that ADA remains on facilities radar screens at all times, the issue should be positioned right up there with safety and risk management. Many ADA requirements are integral to a safe building environment.

Beyond compliance
By now, many facilities professionals have recognized the value that accessibility and user-friendliness brings to facilities as something more than simply complying with another federal law. Businesses have learned the value of creating physical environments that are safer and more accessible for everyone.

Commercial facilities have recognized the value of level entrances and other amenities that were developed for disabled people as being extremely beneficial for everyone who enters the building, from senior citizens to a parent pushing a stroller or someone pushing a wheelchair to a salesperson pulling a wheeled cart.

The ADA is a civil rights law, not a building code, and this difference has caused a great deal of confusion among design and facility professionals, who are used to working in an environment that is specified to particular codes. As a result, the phrase “readily achievable” has been a slippery slope.

Congress’ intention was to create a system under which every organization would be evaluated based upon its own unique circumstances. It would be unfair to use the same financial standard for a large, multi-site organization and for a smaller facility.

Managers who take a wait-and-see approach — “I’m not going to do anything until I have to” — will have no control over the process. Because the ADA is a complaint-driven law, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice or the federal courts that indicates no efforts to identify and remove barriers will come back to haunt you.

ADA as risk management
A recent access-related lawsuit has given the traditional slip-and-fall case a new face, and it has put facilities on notice. In the case, a Wal-Mart store in Georgia lost its appeal of a negligence suit that arose because its restroom did not comply with the ADA’s accessibility standards. A 74-year-old customer lost her balance and fell in a toilet stall that was not large enough to accommodate her walker. The plaintiff broke her neck and became quadriplegic, forcing her to live in a nursing home.

Facility professionals must now factor ADA compliance into their risk management equations. It is only a matter of time before insurance companies require ADA compliance as part of risk management coverage.

The finer points
Although the ADA deals with a wide range of disabilities — including physical, sensory and mental impairments — most of the focus in facilities has been on issues related to wheelchair access. But managers and their staffs must be careful as they evaluate facilities and make appropriate modifications so that they do not overlook other key areas:

• Visual disabilities can range from someone with limited vision to an individual who is totally blind. One tip to enhance the useability and safety of a facility is to make sure that objects such as light sconces do not protrude into the path of travel. If someone who is blind misses that item while using their cane, their head or other body part might find the object.
  
• Although Braille is a critical element of access, many individuals who lose their sight later in life — as a complication of diabetes, for example — rely on raised characters on signage, not Braille. Pictograms on signs work effectively for individuals with visual disabilities, those who may have a cognitive disability, a small child, or someone who is embarrassed to acknowledge that they cannot read.
  
• If it is impossible to ramp a staircase, it is still important to retain the elements of the stairs, including handrails and nosings. Handrails on stairs are important as a means of added support for older individuals or people with limited mobility or young children, or as guides for people with visual disabilities.
  
• When installing or upgrading fire and life safety systems, managers must make sure that visual strobes are part of the system and that they are installed in all common areas where they are required.
  
  

Compliance insights
Completing the ADA compliance process means going beyond installation.

First, managers should understand that the ADA accessibility guidelines (ADAAG) are minimum standards. As a colleague of mine says, “The ADAAG should be the worst you do.” Managers would be well advised that if they can exceed the minimum standards — i.e., installing a 3-foot door — do it. It will make the entrance more usable for a greater number of people with disabilities.

Second, managers should make sure that a worker installing or changing restroom products or dispensers doesn’t hang a paper-towel dispenser 60 inches from the floor simply because that’s what he has always done. Managers must help the maintenance staff to understand access issues; for example, that the ash urn placed in front of the elevator call buttons blocks access for someone in a wheelchair.

Third, managers specifying a product that claims to be ADA compliant must make sure that it is truly useable by people with disabilities and that they are not paying a premium price for what would otherwise be a standard product. If in doubt, managers can call the manufacturer and ask questions about the product, such as, “Does your two-way emergency communications system require voice only?” If the answer to that question is yes, then the product does not meet the requirements of the ADA.

Finally, look first for simple solutions, such as lessening the tension on a door closer — or removing them on interior doors if possible — and making sure that objects ranging from garbage containers to boxes to ash urns do not block the path of travel.

Although the ADA is a federal law, there are instances where state or local codes and requirements conflict with ADA requirements. Generally, if a state or local requirement provides for a greater degree of accessibility, it supercedes the federal regulations. But if there is a direct conflict between one or more of the requirements, managers should seek clarification from the appropriate governing body and document the findings.

Documentation is often overlooked in people’s everyday lives, but in terms of ADA compliance, documentation can and should be an integral part of an organization’s efforts. A manager’s ability to show what an organization has done, what it plans to do, and what things it was unable to do can mean the difference between a good defense and no defense at all.

Most important of all, managers and their organizations can benefit from trying to embrace the ADA as an opportunity, rather than viewing it as a threat. This approach is not only the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do.

Joan Weiss Stein is president and CEO of Accessibility Development Associates Inc. (ADA Inc.) a Pittsburgh-based consulting firm that provides a range of professional consulting services to business, government, corporate, educational and civic communities in their efforts to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.