Undertaking access audits and appraisals: An inclusive design approach
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Marcus Ormerod MRICS is a registered access consultant, chartered surveyor and senior lecturer. He facilitates an MSc programme in Accessibility and Inclusive Design that is studied by distance learning via the internet, and he acts as a consultant on access issues for a wide range of clients. He has undertaken major research projects on inclusive design and access issues and written widely on the subject. As Director of the SURFACE Inclusive Design Research Centre he co-founded the Accessibuilt discussion list that provides a rich knowledge resource for practitioners (http:// www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/accessibuilt.html).
Abstract This paper sets out an inclusive design approach to access audits based on the social model of disability. The difference between access audits and appraisals is examined. The audit process is explored from the client brief through the planning stage, including details of what should be audited. The range of equipment available to an access consultant to collect data while on site is explained. The features of the buildings that are analysed in an access audit are provided and consideration is given to solutions not covered by current guidance.
Keywords: accessibility, auditing, disability, inclusive design, surveys, Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)
DISABILITY AND INCLUSIVE DESIGN
Marcus Ormerod NRAC Access Consultant SURFACE Inclusive Design Research Centre, The University of Salford Bridgewater Building Salford, M7 1NU, UK Tel: þ44 (0)7887 56425 E-mail: [email protected]
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The gradual implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act1 (DDA) over the past ten years has seen a new specialist discipline emerge within building appraisal, namely the access auditor/consultant. People acting as access consultants can come from wide-ranging backgrounds, such as occupational therapy, architecture, building surveying, disability studies, building control etc. Consultants may or may not have personal experience of disability and this has been put forward as an important criteria in understanding the issues related to accessibility.2 It is arguable that, although an understanding of disability is important in access auditing, it is unlikely that a single person, or even a small group of people, would have a comprehensive base covering a wide range of impairments (pan-disability); while ideally a large group of people conducting an audit would uncover many different issues, it would not be feasible for many clients. The basis on which the audit is approached is important and the client’s brief is crucial in establishing the criteria that form the baseline of the audit. It is not sufficient just to state in the brief ‘the audit should provide
q HENRY STEWART PUBLICATIONS 1742–8262
Journal of Building Appraisal
VOL.1 NO.2
PP 140–152
Undertaking access audits and appraisals
Parts of the DDA
Definition of inclusive design
DDA compliance’. The DDA is divided into various sections with definitions of disability in Part 1; employment issues in Part 2; goods, facilities and servic
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