Disability Discrimination Act - signage required

From October 2004, Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act will come into force, requiring service providers to offer an equal service to all customers.

From October 2004, Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) will come into force, requiring service providers to offer an equal service to all customers.

The aim of this legislation is to achieve equality between the disabled and able-bodied; it introduces a basic duty not to treat disabled people less favourably than others.

The regulations concern access, mobility and site signage, they apply to all service providers, ranging from large corporations to small businesses (not the owners of the premises).

Compliance with the DDA can be achieved effectively by most businesses within a modest budget; however, planning is essential to ensure that the disabled user is not at a disadvantage.

The first stage is to assess how many people with disabilities are likely to require access to a site and how often.

Reasonable measures can then be taken to aid access for disabled users and also the identification of areas and amenities on site.

This can be done, while offering the organisation some protection from potential legal action in the event of accidents or loss of use.

The main issue here is public access; commercial premises with trade counters or public facilities will have to make provision for people with a range of disabilities, not in the same comprehensive way as a healthcare site or museum would, expecting a regular number of disabled visitors, but clear signage and temporary access ramps would certainly be expected.

More comprehensive alterations and improvements to premises could include widening doorways, installing hand rails, providing designated car parking with dropped kerbs, ramped entrances, power-assisted doors, improved lighting and clearer signage with messages repeated in Braille.

The next step is to audit all public access points and internal spaces; for larger sites and those with a high level of public access and therefore increased liability, using a signage expert such Focal Signs and Labels for a free survey is advisable.

It is estimated that 15% (8.5 million) of the UK population is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, including up to 2 million blind and partially sighted people, so a logical place to start for any organisation is clear signage.

When similar legislation was introduced in the US, sign companies capitalized on the opportunity wholesale, often without encouraging the most cost effective option.

However, companies in the UK wishing to comply can purchase good quality signs with strong symbols and Braille support, temporary access ramps and barriers etc.

from an on-line store or catalogues.

General advice on the forthcoming regulations and the use of these products is also free to access from the website.

Larger companies and public service institutions however, are faced with a more daunting task unravelling red tape in respect to their changing responsibilities.

For these reasons it is still recommended that signage consultants are called in for advise in assessing larger sites as their knowledge may actually avoid expensive mistakes and reduce projected costs rather than increase them.

For example: the most prominent signs will be at the entrances of buildings and by their very nature will often be large, clear and prominently displayed.

Of the 2 million blind and partially sighted people, the large majority of the group are actually just visually impaired and, depending on the simplicity of font, lighting and use of contrasting colours may well be able to make out the majority of existing external corporate signage as it stands.

BS standard guidelines have been created for sign manufacturers to ensure signs are easier to read by paying careful attention to fonts, use of raised lettering and contrasting background colours, which may already be met by a company's existing internal signage.

Many companies with large public areas are already aware that clear signage is particularly important at entrances, cross sections, stairwells, lobbies and lifts and use professionals to design and locate them.

When making an assessment of existing signage, areas of concern include the amount of information presented in the sign, making sure it is kept to a minimum with levels of importance indicated hierarchically and by their prominence.

Using well-separated simple fonts against a contrasting background aids recognition and mixing the sizes and cases of the font helps a person keep their place in the text.

The ideal entrance, exit and amenity signs should be placed within reach on a solid surface and feature raised lettering with the same information in the correct form of Braille underneath.

There are several standard types available, providing varying levels of detail and information.

Use of imagery is highly beneficial as this can help people who are blind and cannot read Braille (a considerably high percentage) and also aids people with learning difficulties, who are also covered by the act.

Numbers are also commonly used in this type of sign, as they are more easily interpreted than letters, take up less room and can be easily linked to other information sources and signs.

A visually impaired person should be able to discern as much detailed information about rooms, destinations and objects as a fully sighted person.

This may seem like a large problem at first, but smaller signs are available with raised images and Braille text within locator shapes, working very much like road signs.

The signs are manufactured using injection-moulded plastic, producing a matt finish to avoid confusing reflections and a wear resistant surface to maintain a clean and clear impression.

As these signs are mass produced, they cater for rooms and facilities common to all public buildings, reducing purchase cost and introduce a sense of commonality between sites helpful to visually impaired people.

These signs are particularly useful for smaller buildings as they are often self-adhesive and come recommended by institutions such as the RNIB.

For larger sites such as schools hospitals and other public buildings, a floor plan and site visit by a signage professional is still recommended to make sure that signs are placed in consistent and appropriate places and to make sure that the optimum number of signs are used.

The audit is particularly important for tactile and symbol based signs as they need to be easily accessible, well lit and careful consideration needs to be taken not to give conflicting messages.

For companies wishing to upgrade their existing premises or in businesses where disabled visitors are common, larger sign suppliers also offer a good source of recently developed high-tech signs.

For example; audible signs are becoming more popular as the technology advances and by speaking to professionals, customers can make informed decisions between manual, automatic Infra-red or even radio operated signs that respond when a person carrying an activator card passes.

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