Hi Martin,

 

Just a thought, and you are probably aware, but there are now more ‘cost effective’ evacuation chairs that enable a person to stay in their own chair.......

Not always possible I grant you, but a better option nowadays then a few years ago.....

And it cuts out that essential manual handling training which rarely seems to be covered sufficiently............

 

If you need any info I’ll arrange for it to be sent from a manufacture we use.........

 

Ian

Access Matters

08456 121233

 

 

Hi David,

 

You are not alone! Your sentiments echo discussions I have had with many clients.

 

I advise clients much along the lines you have outlined here and empathise:

·        Costs of training to use selected device.

·        Potential cost of people handling courses (not all organisations adopt but if staff have to assist or lift a chair user out and into an evac device my thinking is they need to same training as care home staff to do it safely)

·        Multiple staff should be trained in most cases, holiday, sickness and leavers present problems.

·        Establishing the demand in buildings open to the public is very difficult (recently calculated potential for 50+ chair users in a uni building - find staff to cover that scenario!)

·        What happens when you get to the bottom and the chair(s) is left behind?

·        How many evac devices should be provided in public buildings where occupancy fluctuates?

 

In my experience the end users and management of the building, if convinced of the benefits, will easily exert their influence on the designers. I have never actually quantified it but in the sort of projects I work on (large scale) it usually becomes plain for everyone to see.

 

In relation to designers, I have some sympathy with them. They have complex requirements to be met and the building regs still indicate that a refuge and evac chair is the solution. In my experience, once an architect ‘gets it’ they will include evac lifts. The problem arises when the design has already been developed and it would result in changes.

 

(PS. On a new build college project having pitched my argument at the estates and equalities team the Estates Manager advised he would sooner value engineer the cladding and look of the building than loose the evac lifts).

 

Feel free to give me a ring if you want to talk through it.

 

Regards

 

Martin

 

 

Hi All

 

A topical thought for you all.

 

(i) We are now quite a  large procurer of construction work here in Aylesbury and use external  architects (who for this thread shall be nameless) as designers. How many of you have experiences of using architects and how do you find their knowledge of evacuation issues other than “just get evac chairs”.

 

(ii) We have a policy of using evac chairs and have noted some weakness in a Stategy basing all evacuation of anyone with any physical disability at any time in an open plan "hot desk environment.

 

My question is how many of you have watertight evacuation policies and personal evacuation plans, and on review, how many are fit for purpose?

 

My thoughts are:

 

That training should be practiced regularly, (typically) every 6 months talking out each person for up to 2 hours per year.

 

That evac chairs should be serviced annually.

 

For someone with the ability to manoeuvre between a wheel chair and an evac chair with trained users evac chairs are preferable to death and a practical tool.

 

On review here at AVDC I have established the following weaknesses';

 

When the organisation has a flexi system and the helpers (identified in the PEP) are not about there are problems - resulting in the person having to work on the ground floor or from home is restricted to ground floor or  anywhere where level evacuation takes them to a point of safety.

 

That anyone with more severe disability who cannot  transfer themselves between both cannot be evacuated by evac chair and the above point applies. This can include larger electric wheel chairs that can be heavy.

 

That sufficient evac chair users should be trained up to cover sickness / leave / lunch / flexitime /meetings trips to loo and sandwich machines etc .from preferably  the sane floor- I have been told this can be up to 8 staff for full cover -  and remember someone has to carry down the wheelchair unless the employer stores one on the exit floor. If this is not possible competent people from other floors from above should be available - not from below as this means two way flow on staircases etc.

 

That the lift should be adapted so that it becomes the solution , not the problem - this means 1 hour fire protection and independent power supply - or that equal access should be afforded on the ground floor/floor with level egress.

 

Thorough review of our own plan relying on evac chairs in a more flexible operation means that it is very beaurocratic moving onto impractical and would welcome comment from colleagues how we can overcome the limitations with evac chairs. In effect we are designing a system that can never be 100% suitable.

 

I would welcome comment from those who agree and disagree because I may be overlooking something obvious- I know many of you are busy. The following thread has really provoked me - http://www.workplacelaw.net/forums/listComments/thread_id/256

 

ps - has anyone done a cost benefit analysis justifying a new build of a protected lift against evac chairs? I know a conversion of an existing lift is over £25K –

 

 

In short I appear to be the only one  with this view with the architects not wishing to enter into discussion – am I the exception!

 

Thanks

 

David

 

 

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