| Sterling Frazer Associates |
| Accessibility Audits |
| Sterling Frazer Associates T: 905-704-9806 |
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| Bridging Business & Customers |
Sterling Frazer Associates provides site audits of your
facilities to determine the accessibility of your business to your
customers. We use the most current and widely accepted
Standards on which we base our reports.
Audits are performed in consideration of your customers with
physical disabilities; including people who use wheelchairs,
scooters, ambulatory devices (canes, crutches, walkers), or
other devices such as prosthesis. We also evaluate the facilities
from the perspective of sensory disabilities and consider the
needs of people who have low vision, are blind, or have
communication disorders (speech or hearing).
Audits start at the entrance to your property, including outside
sidewalks, driveways and parking facilities. We then go inside
to evaluate the entire building -- or if you prefer, just the areas
that are open to the public.
When the audit has been completed you will receive a full written
report including the auditor's findings, complete with
photographs of your facility and illustrations from published
Standards.
facilities to determine the accessibility of your business to your
customers. We use the most current and widely accepted
Standards on which we base our reports.
Audits are performed in consideration of your customers with
physical disabilities; including people who use wheelchairs,
scooters, ambulatory devices (canes, crutches, walkers), or
other devices such as prosthesis. We also evaluate the facilities
from the perspective of sensory disabilities and consider the
needs of people who have low vision, are blind, or have
communication disorders (speech or hearing).
Audits start at the entrance to your property, including outside
sidewalks, driveways and parking facilities. We then go inside
to evaluate the entire building -- or if you prefer, just the areas
that are open to the public.
When the audit has been completed you will receive a full written
report including the auditor's findings, complete with
photographs of your facility and illustrations from published
Standards.
Not all barriers are permanent. Not all barriers are physical. SFA
Accessibility Reports can help you learn the difference and can
save you from making costly modifications that may not impact the
overall experience of a person with a disability to your place of
business.
Consider combining an Accessibility Audit with our Customer Service
training to help you and your staff better understand the needs of
the clients your serve.
Accessibility Reports can help you learn the difference and can
save you from making costly modifications that may not impact the
overall experience of a person with a disability to your place of
business.
Consider combining an Accessibility Audit with our Customer Service
training to help you and your staff better understand the needs of
the clients your serve.
| Thinking about adding Braille signage? Did you know that only 6% of the population of people who are legally blind can read Braille? |
| Recently a new community centre opened with typical fanfare and support from the surrounding neighbors. That is, from everyone but those among the disability community. Here are a few examples of what we found when we audited the facility. The building was constructed with a curb located along the front entrance with no curb-cut or ramp to allow a person with a disability to easily access the front door from the parking lot.** The toilets in the accessible stalls were too high and uncomfortable for people to use. The toilet paper dispensers were mounted too close to the grab bars; making it difficult to reach and hold onto the grab bars when transferring on and off the toilet. Elevators were installed to allow wheelchair access to the upper floors, but to preserve floor space in the building the elevators were so small that a person using a wheelchair could not turn to face the control panel to select the floor once they were inside the elevator car. When asked how so many things could be wrong with a new building that was intended to be accessible, the architect replied, "The client didn't specify what they meant by being accessible." |
| Don't make the same mistake. Ensure that your facility is meeting approved guidelines. Don't assume the Building Code provides the answers to accessibility. It doesn't. In fact, the simple selection and mounting of a grab bar in the accessible toilet stall is case in point. According the Ontario Building Code,a grab bar should be a straight bar mounted on an angle on the wall beside the toilet. Most public washrooms have complied. The problem is, an angled grab bar does not provide a stable surface for the person to safely hold while transferring on or off the toilet -- its on an angle. What is needed is a "L" shaped grab bar -- one that provides a flat surface to place your body weight and the straight upward section of the bar gives leverage to pull oneself up to a standing position when getting off the toilet. Many municipalities in Canada have accepted the Facility Accessibility Design Standards, or the Canadian Standards Association for the Built Environment. Either of these will provide far more useful information than the Building Code when it comes to the needs of people with disabilities. Sterling Frazer Associates are not recommending that you ignore the Building Code as it does provide important safety information for the construction of your facility. We are simply pointing out that in a document that is a couple inches thick, only 8 pages are dedicated to accessibility. After all, its your building, your customers will judge you not the architect or building inspector when they can not access your services. |
| A Case Study in Accessibility |
** Curb cuts provide greater access to people of all abilities, including a person who walks with a cane, crutches or
prosthetic leg. Curb cuts also provide greater access and convenience to parents pushing a baby stroller, a young
child who has shorter legs, or a person using wheeled luggage.
prosthetic leg. Curb cuts also provide greater access and convenience to parents pushing a baby stroller, a young
child who has shorter legs, or a person using wheeled luggage.
| Sterling Frazer Associates 2011 |