Accessible Building Design for Small Businesses
There are many ways in which standard building design fails to accommodate a significant portion of the population in Australia. A 2012 survey found that almost 20% of the Australian population live with some form of disability. Thankfully, there are a number of simple ways in which small businesses can ensure that they accommodate everyone who wishes to engage their services, without any unnecessary expense. Read on for a handful of simple ways in which you can accommodate the largest number of potential customers, with no extra cost to your small business.
Your Reception
For non-disabled people, it is generally a simple matter to find the reception within any building: however, this is not the case for everyone upon entering a premises. For people with visual or cognitive impairments, it is crucial that the reception area is clearly labelled and ideally visible from the entrance door. This is the one chance you have to make a first impression for your business, so make it a good one.
Accessible bathrooms
It is often taken as a given that simply having a bathroom which is labelled as 'accessible', or is reserved for disabled people, means that a business is meeting its requirements in terms of accommodating the significant percentage of the population that lives with some form of disability in their everyday lives: however, there are a number of key factors that are often overlooked in this area.
The first and arguably most important factor is the provision of an active emergency cord in all accessible toilets, which reaches all the way to the floor. There is a tendency in most businesses to 'tie up' the emergency cord, to keep it out of the way for customers using the facilities. This defeats the purpose of the emergency cord. In reality, the purpose of the emergency cord is to serve disabled people who may have fallen whilst using the facilities, and are therefore unable to reach a cord which does not reach all the way to the floor. It is therefore essential that all active emergency cords reach fully to the floor in the event of an emergency.
Operational Handles
In any building, it is unavoidable that there will be door handles, flushes on toilets or switches on walls. In public buildings, switches are not of immediate concern; however, in public spaces, large switches such as those that are employed in continental Europe, are particularly useful for blind or visually impaired people. More importantly, however, in accessible bathrooms, lever-handelled entrance doors and flushes allow people with limited manual dexterity to operate doors and flush handles when using the facilities within a premises. Lever handles on doors facilitate easy navigation around a premises for all potential customers, and lever flush handles and taps allow all visitors to your small business to take care of themselves with dignity and respect when using public washrooms.
In a society which takes little care for those who live with lifelong disability, this is one way to distinguish yourself and your brand from the competition, whilst also contributing to a better, more accessible society: so make an effort, and reap the rewards: good luck, and stay accessible!
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