OUR SERVICES
ACCESS AUDITS
Whatever your business, an Access Audit is probably the best starting point for identifying the physical and non-physical barriers within your built environment that may prevent a disabled person from accessing your services.
Following an EMERSON ARCHITECT Training Course, you should be able to complete a basic self-audit of your business premises and start putting in place changes towards the creation of an inclusive environment.
However, it is usually beneficial for businesses to have an independent audit completed by us with a 'fresh' perspective from a professional identifying many 'hidden' barriers. An audit essentially takes a visual journey through your building taking all aspects of the built environment into account as well as the needs of different users.
Access Audits are carried out on-site and use structured methods for checking every possible problem, usually starting at signage to your premises, car parking provision and approach routes right through to internal circulation together with products / services offered.
We incorporate photographs into the audit to illustrate problems, liaising with you to create a working document that prioritises items for change according to their importance and practicality. These items for change are usually prioritised as follows:
HIGH - Undertake as soon as possible
MEDIUM - Undertake within 6 -12 months.
LOW - Undertake in the future (usually physical features requiring extensive alteration)
Our recommendations are normally made are in line with the building standards referred to in DDA (BS8300), local Building Regulations and the principles of Universal Accessibility.
ACCESS APPRAISALS
EMERSON ARCHITECT provides access appraisals for building refurbishments and new build proposals. We work with clients, developers and other consultants by reviewing plan proposals and reporting on accessibility issues. A detailed report is then produced identifying specific access requirements in relation to building regulations and the Disability Discrimination Act.
Problem identification at an early stage ensures that access problems and solutions can be considered before expensive development work has commenced. Designers who work to the Building Regulations alone will not necessarily meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act in addition to statutory requirements. We can work as part of the design team and review project drawings and specifications at key stages to ensure the final building or environment will meet the relevant standards.
We have extensive experience of working with construction professionals, advising on the technical requirements of access standards. In addition to the design phase, we also offer on-going advice throughout the construction phase of projects and can carry out an inspection following practical completion.
ACCESS TRAINING
A survey by the Disability Rights Commission found that "41% of disabled people valued a positive attitude above value for money". Unfortunately, there is no legal duty for businesses to provide employees with training on disability discrimination.
EMERSON ARCHITECT believes that training employees to provide equal access creates huge improvements in customer service, as it has been proved that the majority of complaints of discrimination are due to the way disabled people were dealt with by members of staff. Disability awareness training is the key to achieving a positive attitude amongst staff when approaching a disabled customer.
The DDA states that employers are responsible for anything done by their staff in the course of their employment, even if it took place without their knowledge or approval. An employer can be held responsible for discrimination if a member of staff provides a less favourable service to a customer with a disability than to other, non-disabled customers. However, the employer would have a ‘due diligence’ defence if they could prove that they took reasonable steps to prevent the employee from doing the act in question.
We feel that, as an employer, it is important that you should ensure that staff members are well equipped to provide inclusive service to all. They also need to know what types of auxiliary aids or alternative services are available to customers. To protect business owners, all attendees of our training courses are provided with a training record that should be kept because it may useful if you ever need to defend your actions in county court.
Successful ‘strategy for change’ can only take place from ‘the top down’ as importance in developing and delivering accessible services needs to be understood by everyone in your organisation. At EMERSON ARCHITECT, our training courses have been designed for business owners, managers and employees because everyone is more likely to take accessibility issues seriously if there is top-level commitment.