Stæbl.academy

Good ideas that are not so good.

In this busy hospital, to help navigate patient inquiries as people entered the facility, a novel idea was introduced in the form of Wayfinding signs attached to the Handrails on the main stairs and rams.

The initiative to do better and help ease the stress of not knowing where to go, who to see, or what to do, was solved by adding the signs.

Is this a good idea?
Unfortunately, it is not.

Here’s an explanation and some insight.

People who require assistance with their mobility rely upon continuous handrails for the entire length of the stair or ramp to stabilise themselves and, importantly, feel safe.

Placing signs and information on the ends of each handrail return obstructs a person from utilising the benefits of the handrail. The handrail returns alert people that they have reached the end of the journey.

It this situation the signage has become a hazard in itself because this important information has been removed from the user. So too, the signage would most likely cause additional stress when a person’s hand makes an abrupt stop as it makes contact with an obstruction.

It’s essential to know how a product or access feature in a built environment works. Everyone needs to know. Even the people who care and volunteer their ideas to make things better.

Sometimes good intention is enough but in this instance it’s created a new hazard for anyone using the stairs or ramps.

It is always better if we can understand who we’re trying to help and how they need our assistance.

—

I’m Dean HOMICKI from Stæbl Academy. We teach businesses how to achieve mobility access compliance in minutes.

Learn more at
HTTPS://Staebl.academy

Good ideas that are not so good.

In this busy hospital, to help navigate patient inquiries as people entered the facility, a novel idea was introduced in the form of Wayfinding signs attached to the Handrails on the main stairs and rams.

The initiative to do better and help ease the stress of not knowing where to go, who to see, or what to do, was solved by adding the signs.

Is this a good idea?
Unfortunately, it is not.

Here’s an explanation and some insight.

People who require assistance with their mobility rely upon continuous handrails for the entire length of the stair or ramp to stabilise themselves and, importantly, feel safe.

Placing signs and information on the ends of each handrail return obstructs a person from utilising the benefits of the handrail. The handrail returns alert people that they have reached the end of the journey.

It this situation the signage has become a hazard in itself because this important information has been removed from the user. So too, the signage would most likely cause additional stress when a person’s hand makes an abrupt stop as it makes contact with an obstruction.

It’s essential to know how a product or access feature in a built environment works. Everyone needs to know. Even the people who care and volunteer their ideas to make things better.

Sometimes good intention is enough but in this instance it’s created a new hazard for anyone using the stairs or ramps.

It is always better if we can understand who we’re trying to help and how they need our assistance.

—

I’m Dean HOMICKI from Stæbl Academy. We teach businesses how to achieve mobility access compliance in minutes.

Learn more at
HTTPS://Staebl.academy

It looks like we’ve done well but have we?

This small wheelchair ramp accessed from a car park has a small everything. In particular, it has a small amount of TGSIs (tactiles).

TGSIs in this situation are required to be 600mm deep (12 dots) at the start and finish of a ramp and positioned with sufficient warning space.

So why aren’t they?

Take a look at the drain grate at the base of the ramp. The type of TGSIs used (integrated) would block the drain if the correct amount of TGSIs were used and were positioned correctly (300mm +\- 10mm).

So why is this Installation non-conforming?

1. The TGSls may not be detectable by tactile means. That is, the TGSIs could be walked over and missed altogether. The TGSIs are positioned at the start of the hazard. The hazard is the ramp incline. The TGSIs need to be 300mm +\- 10mm away from the hazard at the beginning and finish of the incline

If what we design does not serve as a solution to the problem we intended to solve, is the design bad? Is near enough good enough?

Unless the design was intended for us, we might not know. This is why when we are designing for others, research, training and understanding are imperative for a good result for the people we are creating for.

—

I’m Dean HOMICKI from Stæbl Academy. We teach businesses how to achieve mobility access compliance in minutes.

Learn more at
HTTPS://Staebl.academy

All weather and environmental conditions need to be considered when Mobility access is being designed. Adding disability access products like TGSIs to a situation that is already not fit-for-purposes will not make it better. We may feel or even believe that that we are doing the right thing but near enough is not satisfactory when personal safety is placed at risk.

Dean HOMICKI

“Stæbl Academy teaches businesses how to achieve mobility access compliance in minutes.”

Learn more at:
HTTPS://staebl.academy

Disability Access Products that are made
from materials that are not suited for their intended application are dangerous.

Even if a product is tested and has all the certification that a Standard may require this DOES NOT give an indication of a product’s life expectancy.

So, who’s checking and
who’s responsible ?

Dean HOMICKI
HTTPS://Staebl.academy

When is a product no longer fit for purpose? When does it become unsafe?

In the case of Tactile Ground Surface Indicators (TGSIs) the Australian TGSI standard references other slip resistance standards and handbooks but they do not inform us on when, why or where to maintain, repair or replace TGSIs.

It is important to speak with your manufacturers, suppliers and installers to request product care and maintenance instructions. It may be essential for uiu as a custodian of disability access products that uou develop a documented schedule for inspection, cleaning and maintenance. This could help to ensure that the valuable assistance that TGSIs provided to vision-impaired person does not become a risk to them and the general public.

*The image below of Discrete TGSIs no longer confirms with several Australian Standards, building codes and is practically no longer fit for purpose.

Dean Homicki

Learn more at
HTTPS://Staebl.academy

It wasn’t on the works contract.

So it wasn’t your responsibility. And if you were a contractor you’d be correct in the ‘as it’s written’ perspective. After all, you submitted a fixed priced to procure and conduct the works as detailed and noted in the works order so you’ve nothing to worry about. Or do you?

If something’s not correct, appropriate or safe, it’s out of your hands. It’s not your problem. It’s not something you need to be concerned about. It’s not a part of you ‘duty of care’. Or is it?

This can be true in contract law because contracts detail what’s in and what’s out. And, commercial construction and civil contracts, can also imply that a worker or company must also have the necessary education, expertise, competence and experience to do the work as detailed.

So is it implied that the contractor should call out, speak up or send a picture and txt from their phone detailing that’s something’s wrong to the works manger?

Prehaps. Maybe. Sometimes. It’s simply not that simple.

It’s complicated because contract law is a framework, a device or an instrument to form an agreement between two parties who care about different things in lieu of delivery and payment for what’s contained with an agreement.

What is true is this. If we get it wrong in design, if we are ignorant of how one instruction can affect another, we run the risk of achieving one outcome to the detriment of another.

Awareness. Training. Caring. Maybe we’d have better outcomes if these were detailed in contracts as mandatory requirements, explicitly detailed, rather than assumed or morally implied. Until then, that’s for the courts to decide.

Dean Homicki

https://Staebl.academy

Image: Sturt st . Tactiles (TGSIs) are set back more than mandated ( ) requirement of 300mm from the carriageway threshold. Work by .

There's stuff we must know (education) and there's information we need to apply (Learning). This short teaser video is both.

How to use TGSIs (Tactiles) on a Narrow Pedestrian Crossing Kerb Ramps (shallower than 1 in 8.5)?

How to use TGSIs (Tactiles) on a Narrow Pedestrian Crossing Kerb Ramps (shallower than 1 in 8.5)? TSA-TGSI-LEARN_DD-018This Staebl.academy learning session will cover the use of Warning TGSIs (Tactiles) on a Carriageway Narrow Corner, with a Pedestrian Cr...