Good questions?
> Please could anyone let us know if they have recently had an Access
audit?
We have been responsible for carrying out access audits in a wide range of
organisations, (approximately 400 so far) including several Universities
> What criteria were laid down for the audit?
Naturally this varied depending upon the desired outcome and can take the
form of two types;
1) in multi building sites an overview procedure makes sense - this takes a
more cursory look at the buildings and identifies where to concentrate
detailed survey work, but places all fo the buildings in a long term
strategy. This also has a slightly lower cost that the more detailed
format.
2) more detailed format which considers each of the buildings in detail and
develops strategies for their improvement. These are really 'feasibility'
studies as the solutions should be fairly well worked up 'architecturally'
with a reasonably accurate order of costs for the recommended solutions.
At its least an audit should point out the difficulties and capabilities
that can be expected in a building. The survey MUST include mobility,
learning visual and hearing disabilities for all areas of the building from
a staff and student point of view. This should include the building,
literature, access to education and escape strategies from the buildings.
Ideally recruitment, equal opps employement should also be considered.
At its minimum the audits should identify (1) the areas of difficulty, (2)
prioritise the difficulties, (3) make recommendations for their
improvement, (4) cost the improvements and (5) build the whole lot into a 5
year programme of development.
Ideally you would add to this;
1) interviews with students and staff to spot bits that are important to
them and help in the prioritisation.
2) interviews with building management to get the building develpoment
programme so that this can be integrated into the 5 year plan.
3) issue a questionnaire to get feedback from a wide range of people.
4) issue info on a WWW site or email to give students and staff access to
the audit team.
5) hold open days int he University as a 'drop in' to gather comments
6) generate detailed architectural plans of the proposed improvements.
(This is not exhaustive - but some of it has to be cut to the cloth of cost
in the next question)
> Who did it?
There are ranges of people who can do some of the above - the Museums and
Galleries Association publishes one of the best guides and lists of
consultants in this area - with the best briefing systems that I have seen
- I know it costs, but I don't know how much. Centre on Accessible
Environments do it and are based in London, Local Access groups do it, the
standard can be high, but must be tightly controlled, or there are animals
like us who specialise commercially in this area. I would advise getting
several competitive quotations.
> How much did it cost?
Answer to this is always how long is a piece of string. typically a simple
building with a limited degree of architectural input can be as low as UKP
1,000 but a large-ish university campus can be in the order of UKP 12,000
> Was it helpful?
Definately ask as many people this question - if it was not then ask why -
many people comission these audits with no clear 'vision' and others are
useless because they were not clearly briefed etc. The feedback that we get
from most of our clients, who have paid a considerable amount of money, is
that the format is useful, which is why we have developed these formats? -
Do ask around and always ask for a recommendation from a previsous client
or two!
If I can provide any further information please do not hesitate to contact
me on the details below, or visit my flegdgeling web page at
www.allclear.co.uk/index.htm
Regards
James Holmes-Siedle, Director
All Clear Designs Limited
3rd Floor, Cooper House
2 Michael Road
London SW6 2ER
Tel (0171) 384 2950
Fax (0171) 384 2951
email [log in to unmask]
Cserve 100451,3571
http://www.allclear.co.uk/index.htm
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