Facilities for Disabled People
The Importance of Facilities for
Disabled People in our Buildings-Part S
The National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act was amended and published by the Department of Trade and Industry in May 2008. Some parts of the Act were affected more than others; some changed very little. Part S, which deals with facilities for disabled people (or persons) is one section that had changed radically. In fact, according to Ron Watermeyer, a civil engineer, chairperson of Standards South Africa’s Technical Committee for Construction Standards and a member of the secretariat of the Inter-ministerial Task Team for Construction Industry Development (amongst other things), it is one of 12 parts that has been “fundamentally rewritten”.
The reason, of course lies in the motivation for changing the National Building Regulations in the first place. Dr Watermeyer was tasked with rewriting the SABS document, now referred to as SANS 10400 (rather than the original SABS 0400), which contains “deemed-to-satisfy” rules. And according to him, the motivation was based on several factors.
By 2008, when the Act was last amended, there had been numerous changes to South African society, and these directly affected the building industry. More specifically, he said:
- the apartheid system was no longer applicable,
- local authorities throughout the country had been completely restructured,
- the National Home Builders Registration Council had been formed,
- South Africa’s population had more than doubled,
- building control and systems had become increasingly complex,
- new and innovative construction systems had been introduced.
If you’ve ever read Section 24 of the Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution, you will know that: “everyone has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being.” Since the buildings in which we live are an integral part of our environment, the implication is that constitutionally they MUST be safe and have Facilities for Disabled People. So the primary motivation regarding changes to the Act was to make them safer than ever before. And of course this meant that it was imperative that anything relating to disabled persons, and their facilities, had to be upgraded.
What the Act Says in Terms of Facilities for Disabled People to be Provided
The essential requirements of the National Building Regulations (in terms of facilities for disabled people or persons) are that:
1. People with disabilities should be able to safely enter the building and be able to safely use all the facilities within it – specifically toilets.
2. There must be a means of access that is suitable for people with disabilities to use. In addition, access must be available from various approaches of the building via the main entrance and any secondary entrances, and should lead to the ground floor.
3. There must be a means of egress (a point of departure) that is suitable for people with disabilities to use in the event of any sort of emergency. This relates to any sort of emergency, but in addition, a further clause states that departure routes (or egress) must also be designed in accordance with Part T of the regulations, namely the section that relates to Fire Protection.
4. Lifts in buildings must be able to serve the needs of disabled people. This includes ensuring that any commonly used “path of travel” MUST be free of any sort of obstacles that would limit, restrict or endanger people with disabilities who use that route.
There must also be absolutely no obstacles that will prevent people with disabilities from accessing facilities within the building. The regulations refer specifically to people with impaired vision, but clearly they also relate to people in wheelchairs, or people who have trouble walking freely.
5. Buildings that incorporate halls or auditoriums for public use are obliged to ensure that a reasonable percentage of space is available for people in wheelchairs or other “assistive devices”.
In addition to these clauses, the National Building Regulations also state that where there is parking available for more than 50 motor vehicles, there must be parking facilities that accommodate disabled persons. There is also an obligation to ensure that persons with disabilities are provided with a suitable means of access from the parking area to the ground floor – or storey – of the building.
Of course this also means that the “deemed-to-satisfy” rules have changed.
According to this section of SANS 10400, The application of the National Building Regulations Part S: Facilities for persons with disabilities, “Establishes requirements for external and internal circulation routes, including doors and doorways, ramps, stairways, handrails, lifts, toilet facilities, auditoriums and halls, obstructions in the path of travel, parking and indication of facilities.”
Get your copy from the SABS online store or directly from them in Pretoria (head office), Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth or East London. The ISBN number is 978-0-626-25219-9, and it sells for R406.98 incl. VAT.
https://sans10400.org.za/fire-protection/The Facilities for Disabled People in our Public Buildings are Important
The Facilities for Disabled People in our Public Buildings are Important
What are the regulations for disabled in a corporate gym. WC, changing & shower.
Thanks for the article. I am a student of facility management in Malawi. Though this is for South Africa, it has indeed helped me understand as an upcoming facility planner and manager, to understand the legislation for the disabled people.
Wilma this is sometimes covered by local bylaws and sometimes just by management policy. It’s a huge problem and one that many shopping centres ignore because it is so difficult to enforce. All you can do is go and talk to management and ask them to police the parking so that the people it is intended for can use it. I think the most common policy is for discs to be issued, so that parking attendants can see whether people can legitimately park there. But even so this has problems since it doesn’t specify the driver of that particular car.
Robb contact the centre management to find out how you can get a permit.
l refer to Benoni Lakeside Mall. Altough they have parking, no one has access to the as one has to register with some private person in order to get a permit to park there. All spaces stand empty and we the disabled can not park there.
i have a question what are the laws for paraplegic parking? can anyone with a sore foot park in this bay?
especially at a hospital.. and persons with a baby cos the door is to far??? i get this all the time at a hospital in pretoria can you mail me the law so i can go and show it to them..
regards
Ingrid there is nothing in the Building Regulations that relate to pulleys. Whatever you provide for her needs to be safe, so have it installed by a professional.
Subject:
Bathroom regulations
Message:
Hi I have an elderly mother who is having trouble getting out of the
bath. Can a pully mechanism be built for her. They stay in a flat with
concrete roof. Can i have a pully system, with a winch
(landrover)installed for her. What are the regulations pertaining to
this. Regards Ingrid
Rosemary, parking bays are not specified in the NBR. This would normally be covered by local bylaws and might vary according to where they are located.
What should the size of a disability parking bay be?
Joyce it is not so much that they don’t have to make provision for disabled people, it is rather that they do not have to be retrofitted to comply with the new regulations. If you download the old regulations – SABS 0400-1990 (this is a link for you) – you will see what the regulations previously required. If you find any buildings including government buildings, retail stores and residential apartment blocks that do not comply with these then they are in contravention of the law.
I am concerned that existing buildings do not have to make provisions for disabled! With the exception of historical monuments, how can government buildings, retail stores and residential apartment blocks be allowed to exclude people with disabilities?
Anne retrofitting is not required unless there is a major renovation or extension to the building.
Subject:
existing buildings
Message:
Do existing buildings need to be retrofitted to comply with the SANS10400-s (people with disabilities) – I know that when some of the regulations change (eg fire regs) an existing building may have to be modified to bring it into compliance.
Thanks for the great site!
Hi Adri,
The National Building Regulations “Part S: Facilities for persons with disabilities” deals mainly with physical disabilities as you say, it does not address psychological disabilities (however real these may be). The local authority has the mandate to implement and enforce the Regulations or the By-laws for it’s region. You should address the problem to the building inspector in your area. All the municipal contact numbers are on this page here: municipality-contact
Hi Shaku,
The National Building Regulations regarding People with Disabilities deals with the structure of buildings and the elements such as access, stairs, ramps etc. I do have sympathy with the way many classrooms in South Africa are overcrowded. But I think it is down to the Headmaster and teachers to arrange the desks in the classrooms as they see fit. Maybe you can have a discussion with them and ask if they can accommodate you.
Hi Penny
Is it acceptable for a 9 storey building to only have excalators as the means of access to other floors? There are lifts but they only service two floors. Physical disabled people can apply for a card to allow the lifts to stop on every floor. This is however not available to people with vertigo, acrophobia, and related phobias. The escalators are also ‘open’ in that there is a wide open space all around the escalators with a clear view down to the ground floor and no visual points for people with acrophobia or vertigo to use to try and counteract the condition. Normal stairs is not available as an option. The emergency stairs is obviously not available as it is restricted for use during an emergency. Staff with problems other than being in a wheelchair or being blind must first visit specialists/therapists/etc and acquire a recommendation from them before consideration will be given to allow these staff members a card to also access all floors via the lifts. It just doenst seem right to only give empoloyees / occupants only one option to access different floors and that option being one that is not acceptable to all due to medical conditions (excl wheelchair bound or blind).
Any clarification on how the act sees this will be highly appreciated
I would like to know the space required by a person with disability using a wheel chair in a classroom
Thank you very much for the info. This will help us a lot in our case. More research of cource to be done. Thanks for the speedy answer.
Stephen
Yes Stephen, Part S does cover ramps in shopping malls. It also talks about requirements for ramps used by wheelchairs. You might want to check the whole standard – you can buy it online from the SABS web store, or access it at an SABS library. I can though give you some information.
Part S of SANS 10400 states that, “Ramps might be required for use by persons without disabilities, for example, persons pushing trolleys who require ramps as an alternative to stepped access” and that “Ramps should only be provided where level access cannot be achieved. Where a ramp is provided, stepped access should normally accompany it for persons with ambulant disabilities who find ramps difficult to use”.
There are also very clear guidelines in terms of steepness. Here are some of the guidelines:
1. They should have “a gradient, measured along the centre line, that is not steeper than 1:12”
2. The surface should be “clear” and “trafficable”, and it should bot be less than 1,100 m wide
3. The surface itself must be be stable, firm and slip resistant (see also SANS 784) in both wet and dry conditions.
4. There should be “a landing at the top and bottom of each ramp of not less than 1,2 m in length (clear of any door swing) and of width not less than that of the ramp”.
5. There are additional requirements in terms of ramp requirements between landings. e.g.a relatively gradual gradient of 1:20 can have a maximum vertical rise of 750 mm and the ramp length between landings can be up to 15 m, while a steeper 1:12 gradient ramp cannot be more than six metres and the maximum vertical rise is 500 mm.
6. There must be a handrail on both sides of the ramp, or where the width is greater than 2,4m, a central handrail in accordance with the requirements of 4.10 where the gradient is steeper than 1:15.
7. If ramps in the same direction are used for a vertical rise of more than 600 mm, they must be staggered by the width of the ramp, to prevent a long straight line of ramps.
8. The camber or banking on walkways and ramps shall not exceed 1:50.
In terms of handrails, there are a number of guidelines, including:
1. The height to the top of a handrail from the nosing of the tread of the stairs or from the surfaces of a ramp shall be in the range 900 mm to 1 000 mm and shall remain consistent along the length.
2. They should be securely fixed and rigid.
3. The clear width between a handrail and an adjacent wall shall be at least 60 mm and handrails should extend 300mm horizontally beyond the top and bottom of the ramp or stairway, and return to the supporting structure, or finished with a positive return.
4. The need to be continuous between landings where this does not create a hazard.
There is a drawing that shows walkway, ramp, landing and where the handrail needs to be.
This part states: “All steps, stairs and ramps should be fitted with handrails on both sides to reduce the risk of falling.” & “Where a change in level of more than 600 mm occurs, a handrail shall also be provided.”
But have a look at a recent response from Janek to Louis in the section on Stairways.
I hope this helps.
Hi Penny,
Do these regulations cover the the legal requirements of ramps in shopping malls. That is, the steepness or angle of ramps inside shopping malls.
Case in point. The ramps in the East Rand Mall to me are extreemly steep and slippery. I barely make it to the top of these ramps. Going down them is a nightmare. One cannot slow down without burning your hands on the wheels of the chair. You can pull the breaks and the wheel chair just slides and has nearly over turned a couple of times. There are no hand rails on these ramps nor on stairs next to the ramps.
There is just a steel round bar near the floor, which management says, is there to protect the tiles on the side walls from shopping trolly’s damaging the tiles.
Also the side walls of these ramps range from hip height to knee height which i believe is also very unsafe.
My mother recently slipped on one of these ramps, and got her foot caught under the bar near the floor, fell backwards and snapped her ankle in two places.
What are the specific rules/law regarding these type of ramps. The mall says, the tiles on the ramps are smaller and therefore more grout and the claim that makes them , “non slip “.
Can you please comment or direct me to a site where it states what the requirements are for these ramps.
Many Thanks
Stephen Williamson.
Thank you very much for your clear and fast response.
Kind regards,
Paula
Paula, SANS 10400 is the current regulation. SABS 0400-1990 was the old regulation. The legislation was updated in 2008 – which you will see if you read the information given elsewhere on this site. To add to your confusion, Part S – which is the section you are referring to, was actually only published in 2011.
In most instances SABS regs had a “1” added to them (0400 therefore becomes 10400) and they all became SANS – i.e. South African National Standards. But the 1990 version of the so-called “deemed to satisfy” rules written by the SABS have been majorly updated.
In the 1990 document, this section was all of five pages – more than one being the actual legislation. It is now 51 pages, though this includes the legislation, contents, definitions and suchlike. The regulations themselves are around 40 pages with some containing just drawings – e.g. of toilets, to show how they must comply.
Let me know if I can help further.
Hello Penny,
I don’t have very clear which is the actual regulation to accesibility for disabled people.
Only the SANS 10400? no longer the SABS 0400?
I am really confused, for what I really appreciate your clarification about the legislation and standards.
Thank you for your advice.
Paula
Joan buildings do not have to be retro-fitted. If you were adding on or extending, the extension would need to comply with the new National Building Regulations. And in the event of an extension, the local authority may make certain demands in terms of things that need to be changed.
Part A of SNAS 10400 says:
“Where an application is made to make an alteration or addition to any building, approval for the erection of which was granted before the date of commencement of the Act –
(a) such alteration shall comply with the requirements of the Act, but consequent changes to any other part of the building which would be necessary in order to make such other part comply with the requirements of the Act shall not be required unless in the opinion of the local authority such consequent changes are necessary to ensure the health or safety of persons using the building in the altered form;
(b) such addition shall comply with the requirements of the Act, but no changes to the original building shall be required unless the addition –
(i) will affect the structural strength or stability of the original building;
(ii) will render any existing escape route from the original building less effective; or
(iii) will affect the health of persons using the original building.”
So you can breathe again. 😉
Having said this, Part S which deal with Facilities for Disabled Persons states that “The provisions for facilities for persons with disabilities contained in the National Building Regulations provide minimum requirements only and do not necessarily comply with the provisions of other legislative requirements.”
“Every effort should be made to provide accessible facilities in as many buildings as possible, notwithstanding the fact that it might not always be a requirement of the National Building Regulations. The potential to adapt buildings after construction might be prohibitive in terms of cost, and therefore any decision made to include an inaccessible area of a site or building or facility at the design stage, when such works are feasible, should not be taken lightly. A factor to be considered is that all facilities, if designed correctly, can also provide safe, comfortable and convenient use to persons without disabilities.”