What You Should Know About Elevator ADA Compliance

By Rosella Campbell


The rise of modern technology has given us so much innovations that has made life a hundred times better than they were in the previous generations. Today, people went through activities of daily living with ease and speed. Work became lighter and more accurate, thanks to new inventions. Getting to places was easier, even if you only had to travel within a building. The rise of skyscrapers also lead to the creation of elevator ADA compliance.

An elevator, also known by the British as the lift, is a type of vertical transport equipment. It efficiently transports people in between floors within the same building. It is of great use especially in structures that have ten or more floors, when climbing the stairs to get to the desired level is just too much for the legs and might even injure the knees.

Aside from usage in commercial buildings, these are also used in the manufacture of products. Lifts in these places appear in the form of conveyors that transfer materials into ready silos that are waiting for them at the end of the belt. They are also of essence in agricultural fields, as they allow transfer of products with ease and with less damages to these products where manual handling is deemed to be too rough.

They are powered by traction cables or by hydraulic pumps. Electric motors will the cars to work in accordance to its purpose. Elevators are made primarily for passenger travel, to bring people to varying levels where they are required to go to. The capacity of each car is in direct proportion to floor space availability.

On the average, these elevators can carry from 500 to 2700 kg. The speed of the car travel greatly depends on the height of the infrastructure. Lower ones that only have eight levels maximum can travel 200 ft per minute. Those with more than eight levels can travel 500 ft per minute or more.

Some lifts are not meant for people. These are called freight elevators and are generally bigger and wider than most residential ones. They are used to carry goods and other stuff to specific floors inside a building.

Sidewalk types are under the classification of a freight elevator. They are used to move things between a basement and ground floor area. These are often found on the sidewalk just outside the infrastructure, hence the name. They even feature special doors that close and open automatically.

Elevators are better alternatives that taking the stairs, especially for those people with disabilities. As of late, elevators are required to follow a certain set of rules and guidelines to be able to cater to these kinds of users. The ADA compliance ensures that a lift is safe and easy for use by these people.

In accordance with the said compliance, lifts should be accessible, with wheelchair friendly routes. They should also operate automatically, and should open and close without special buttons. These should also bear both visible and audible signals that tell whether the car is going up or down, along with the floor level the box is currently on.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment