Introduction Regulations Specification Refurbishment Support Q&A DORMA – The Equality Act 2010 The Way Forward To Designing Accessible Buildings A RIBA.

Introduction Regulations Specification Refurbishment Support Q&A

DORMA – The Equality Act 2010

The Way Forward ToDesigning Accessible BuildingsA RIBA Approved CPD Seminar

Date: Thursday 12th April Venue: University of Brighton Presenter: Dick Watts


• Core Equality Act legislation

• DORMA, the company

• Common access issues

• Detailed specifications

• The Equality Act: Building Regulations -

Standards

• Case studies

• Details & support

DORMA – The Equality Act: The Way Forward


• A family owned company

• Founded in 1908

• First products – double action door hinges

• 1950’s began production of closers

• 1960’s first automatic door operator

• 1970’s Glass door hardware

• 1980’s global expansion

• 1990’s Security products

• 2000’s Movable walls

The Company


• Automatics Division

• Door Controls Division

• Glass Division

• Movable Walls Division

• Service Division

DORMA UK


The Equality Act: Chronology

• 1995: DDA bill passed

• 1996:- unlawful to discriminate against disabled employees- unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less

favourably

• 1999: service providers must alter practice or provide alternative means of providing the service

• 2002: SENDA bill passed

• 2004: October 1st - service providers must make reasonable adjustments to physical features of their premises

• 2005: DDA amended and updated

• 2005: September 1st - (SENDA) education providers must make reasonable adjustments to physical features of their premises

• 2006: from December 1st Private Clubs must make reasonable adjustments to physical features of their premises

• 2010: DDA was incorporated within and superseded by the Equality Act

Disability Discrimination Act


• Commercial

• Retail

• Financial

• Residential

• Education

• Healthcare

• Transport

The Equality Act applies in all these areas


The Law

Where a physical feature makes it impossible or

unreasonably difficult for disabled people to use a service,

service providers since October 2004, have had to make

reasonable steps in order to:

• Remove the feature

• Alter the feature

• Provide a reasonable alternative means of avoiding the

feature OR

• Provide a reasonable alternative method of making the

service available to disabled persons

New buildings should therefore be designed to provide

access to services


Who is a service provider?

• Anyone who provides a service to the public or a section of the public

• Local councils and government departments

• High street outlets - Banks & Shops

• Leisure facilities- Cinemas, sports stadia,

pubs and restaurants

• Hospitals, clinics public utilities and places of worship


The Equality Act 2010 is civil legislation, relating to access to services rather than access to the building– buildings & products cannot therefore be “Equality Act compliant”!

How can the Equality Act be “complied” with?

What they can comply with are:

• Building Regulations – provide guidance to ensure minimum acceptable standard of construction for new buildings and existing buildings

• British/European standards - provide recommendations in the design of new and existing buildings to meet the needs of disabled people

Pic of building site


The Equality Act: Best Practice

• BS 8300:2009 + A1:2010(Latest guidance July 2010)

Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people code of practice

• Building Regulations Access to and use of buildings

• Part M England, Wales

• Part R Northern Ireland

• Section 3 Scotland


Why follow this guidance?

• Commercial reasons- if people have difficulty in entering your business premises, they will seek alternatives

• Legal reasons- Building Regulations Part M - The Equality Act is LAW- Breach of the law could result in court, fines and bad PR for any business

• Moral reasons- Why should any individual be discriminated against?

• Life or Death- If specified solutions are wrong this

may create a ‘life threatening’ scenario


Where do you begin?

Planning and Design

• Entrances• Internal doors• Fire doors• Room access doors• Clear door widths – access• Accessible toilet doors• Escape doors

Common sense approaches and simple solutions for:• New build• Refurbishment including historical buildings


• Overhead door closers• Concealed door closers• Hold-open door closers• Low energy door closers• Lever furniture• Locks• Panic hardware

Internal Doors

• Fire doors - Corridor doors- Room access doors• Accessible toilets• Escape doors


Design Issues

Opening Forces BS 8300:2009 + A1:2010(Latest guidance July 2010)

&

Building RegulationsApproved Document Part M 2004(New guidance 3rd March 2005)

Agree that:

The force required to open the door should not exceed 30N between 0°-30°

and must fall below 22.5N between 30°- 60°


• It is critical to achieve both the desired maximum opening force as described in BS8300 & ADM while still maintaining the required closing force (BS EN 1154) to effectively close the door.

• Door closers of high efficiency and with rapid drop off of opening resistance should be specified to ensure compliance

Design Issues – Specification of door closers


Opening/Closing comparisons

5

10

15

20

25

30

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180Opening momentClosing moment

Door opening angle °

Do

or

clo

sin

g m

om

ent

[N]

Conventional rack & pinion closer with scissor armConventional rack & pinion closer with scissor arm (solid lines)

Cam action closer with slide channel (dotted lines)


Opening/Closing Comparisons


Design Issues

Other considerations affecting opening forces

• Locks• Seals• Hinges• Air Pressure


Locks and latches

Critical specification issues

• Force required to activate the latch

• Independently sprung handle & latch

72mm min


• Seals •Hinges

• Air Pressure

Design Issues

Cm =P . A . w

2Cm = closing moment of door closer [Nm]P = air pressure [Nm2] {Pascals}A = door surface area [m2]w = door width [m]


• Seals• Hinges• Air • Pressure

Design Issues – Adjustable Power Door Closers


New Guidance

Other issues


BS 8300:2009 + A1:2010(Latest guidance July 2010)


Handles

Critical specification issues

• Physical shape of door handle & Location of locking device - Consider manual dexterity problems• Bolt through fixing – Handles used for support• Visual definition of handles – high contrast – Texture of handles - Consider impaired vision

45

95

3

4

95

19

1

2


New Guidance - Backcheck

• “In some locations in a building, a controlled door closing device incorporating a backcheck is sometimes

used to prevent damage to adjacent walls or furniture and to the closer mechanism if a door is flung open with some force. However, when the door is opened slowly, the resistance effect is minimal. With some controlled door closing devices, the backcheck starts to become effective when the door is open

at 70°”.

• “thinking” backcheck – The resistance developed by this backcheck system is directly proportional to door acceleration.


New Guidance - Maintenance

• “Without regular maintenance of all door

fittings, the resistances to opening and closing can increase to an extent that the ability of disabled people to pass through the door may be affected. The opening force at the door opening angles described above should therefore be checked at regular intervals”.


Design Issues

Other issues


BS 8300:2009 + A1:2010(Latest guidance July 2010)


• Must be fully closed at the time of fire

• Must close with the minimum forces as described in BS EN 1154

• Therefore it can present a problem with regards to accessibility

Fire Doors – surface mounted closers


Fire Door Systems

Electro–magnetic hold-open closers

• Surface mounted

• Concealed

• Floor spring

• Hold-open magnets with independent closers

Hold-Open Closers@ Evalina Hospital, London


Fire Door Systems – surface mounted

• A universal ‘hold open’ for internal fire doors• Electro- mechanical tested to EN1155• Hold open 800 - 1200 • The release force mechanism can be adjusted without tools


Fire Door Systems – floor spring

• Inconspicuous solutions

• Virtually invisible

• Electro-Hydraulic hold-open unit

• For fire and smoke check doors

• Hold open 75° - 175°

Floor Spring Hold-Open Closers@ Hairmyers Hospital, Hamilton


Fire Door Systems – hold open magnets

• Surface or flush mounted

• For use with fire certified closers

• Performance is dependent upon doors being closed at the time of fire

• A CLOSING DEVICE IS NEEDED

• Single swing doors require closing devices that conform with BS EN 1154

Independent Hold Open Magnets & Closers @ Baltic Mill, Gateshead


Fire Doors – concealed closers

Some sites demand a more integrated approach

• Listed buildings

• Change of use – new fire regulations

• An aesthetically pleasing solution

• DORMA systems can be integrated into the door leaf and frame

Concealed closer@Penny Hill Park Hotel, Bagshot


Refurbishment – historical buildings


Low Energy Door Operator

• Assistance on demand• The Low Energy system gives the user help ONLY when required• A low traffic solution• Can be retro fitted• Remote wireless push pads• Radio and Infra-red hand held controllers

Room Access


Free Swing Door Closer

• Closer is disengaged during normal use• Allows room occupant to leave the door ajar

• On activation of the fire alarm the magnet releases and engages the door closer

Room Access


Room Access

1

2

5

3

4

1. Wall partition or other obstruction2. 300 mm clear (may be reduced if door is opened by remote automatic control)3. Door hung from corner of room4. Short return might enable the door to swing open beyond 90º5. Doorset


Door Widths

BS8300:2009 + A1:2010 Minimum effective clear widths of door leaf (mm)

Direction and width of approach New buildings (mm)

Existing buildings (mm)

Straight-on (without a turn or oblique approach) 800 750

At right angles to an access route at least 900mm wide N/A 800

At right angles to an access route at least 1200mm wide 825 775

At right angles to an access route at least 1500mm wide 800 750

External doors to building used by the general public 1000 775


Accessible toilets

• Visual definition of the WC is important

• Automatic outward swing door is best

• Occupied sign and disabled push pad are essential


Escape doors

• Consideration must be given to those ‘less able’ in the event of building evacuation

• Crash bars must be fitted at the recommended height

• Alternative methods of opening escape

doors must be provided


Escape doors

• Full door-width touchbars require less force to operate

• Electrical operating functions for specialised applications

• Can be fitted to low energy door operators.

• Ensure people can leave unaided through emergency exit doors


Summary

• DDA Legislation• New build design issues

- Opening forces required

- Fittings• Overcoming problem areas within

existing buildings• Maintenance programme• Security requirements• Best practice

Project specific issues can be reviewed

with our specification team


Thank you

DORMA UK LtdWilbury Way

HitchinHertfordshire

SG4 0ABT – 01462 477 600F – 01462 477 601www.dorma-uk.co.uk


DORMA – The Equality Act 2010

The Way Forward ToDesigning Accessible BuildingsA RIBA Approved CPD Seminar

Introduction Regulations Specification Refurbishment Support Q&A DORMA – The Equality Act 2010 The Way Forward To Designing Accessible Buildings A RIBA.

Documents

equality act compliant

historical buildings

service providers

scotland slide

new build refurbishment

accessible buildings

building buildings products

design of buildings