title: Mobile App to Assess Universal Access Compliance.
abstract: In terms of local legislation, South Africa has a handful of regulations that indirectly require Universal Access, which is then in itself largely described as facilities for people with disabilities. The most predominant set of regulations is the South African National Building Regulations, with a specific code which is deemed to satisfy standard titled South African National Standard (SANS) 10400 Part S: Facilities for Persons with Disabilities. Revised in 2011, this building regulation offers some technical guidelines specific to built infrastructure, and largely for people with functional mobility limitations. The description of the term "functional mobility limitations" in the context of this paper refers to people who make use of mobility aids to assist with their functionality in an environment, for example people who use walking aids (sticks, canes or walkers) and people who use wheelchairs. Albeit lacking in specifics around the requirements for other areas of functional limitations, including people who are blind, people who are deaf, and people with cognitive limitations, the SANS 10400 Part S is, to date, the most effective regulatory requirement in the country to assist with making facilities more accessible. With only a few experts in South Africa working in the field, the ability to offer clients Universal Access Reviews in terms of basic compliance with the SANS 10400 Part S is limited by two major factors. Firstly, the costs associated with employing experts in the field to review infrastructure is mostly too exorbitant for clients to carry. Secondly, the amount of time taken to perform reviews onsite and then collate the information into a coherent report for the client is far too long. These aspects result in a gap between clients wanting to meet the requirements, and being able to have the work completed in a reasonable amount of time. To overcome the challenge of larger institutions and organizations wanting to have their facilities reviewed in terms of compliance with National Building Regulations, within a tight budget as well as within minimal timeframes, an innovative mobile application was developed by Universal Design Africa. This App heralds the dawn of a new method to measure universal access compliance. The operation and format of this technology and its application could be adapted to meet all forms of compliance and information gathering, including international regulations and best practice.
authors.affiliation: Universal Design Africa, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Colette
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fransolet
mesh_terms: D001107:Architectural Accessibility; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D006801:Humans; D063731:Mobile Applications; D013019:South Africa