Although the governments social focus over the past couple of years has mainly been on the environment and on everyone being sustainable. Because of this government agenda the 2005 Disability Discrimination Act has been pushed under the carpet and is largely forgotten. This article will focus on the DDA, the problems companies face in implementing it and how companies and organisations have used the genius of a platform lift to get around these problems.
When the DDA was announced, it had been the aim to provide 'access for all' and have 100% accessibility in all public buildings across the UK for disabled people. However, according to the Employers Forum Disability Standard 2007, this figure is not yet been met and many public buildings are finding it very difficult to do this. The forum, which enable organisations to assess their companies 'performance' in meeting disabled accessibility standards report that just over 70% of business owners have a public property that is complicit with the terms of the DDA and that there are no significant barriers restricting access for disabled people.
Although this is by no means a bad figure, the truth is that if many companies are struggling to implement ways of making easy for companies to do this. The main issue that is preventing companies from implementing the act are the regulations laid down by the English Heritage to do with listed buildings. These regulations prevent companies who own listed building from making big alterations to the foundations of a listing building to preserve its original architecture (there are certain situations where this is can be done but installing elevators and certain ramps fall foul of the regulations). Also cost and the perception that disability access products are unsightly and detract from the overall aesthetics of the decor, which is very important for most businesses.
However, what has been of big help to business owners is that Platform Lifts can provide a lasting solution to each of these problems. Their small size and flexible installation process means that they can install them quickly without making barely any alterations to the foundations. This means that they are completely compliant with the terms of the DDA. Recently a dentist in the UK was classed as a grade II listed building and they could install a platform lift with ease and speed.
The precision in installation, engineering and design of the Platform lifts means that designers can create bespoke designs that fit into almost any building without detracting from the quality of the décor of the building. For example a certain retailer wanted a black and chrome design to suit their stores appearance, this design was met with ease and with much less financial and time cost to the retailer.
To conclude, Platform Lifts provide a practical, cost effective solution to becoming compliant with the terms of the DDA and do not infringe upon the regulations handed down by the English Heritage foundation.
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