FEATURED ARTICLE
Stairway Platform Lifts by Hamish Murray
Hamish started work as a carpenter and joiner in 1980, proceeded to gain Building Foreman Clerk of Works, unrestricted Builders Contractor Licence and was a Site Supervisor for jobs up to $20 Million. Since returning to the workforce, after a workplace injury in 2002, he worked at Royal Rehab and Assistive Technology Australia. He currently works as the Universal Access Officer at the City of Parramatta. His experience together with his building knowledge has given him a broad understanding of the way people connect with the built environment. Hamish is an Associate member of the ACAA.
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i! Could you please ask the manager, after they have finished doing what they are doing, if they could come out here and give me permission to walk up the stairs, so I can spend money in your shop/have a meeting/ drop my child off or access my house?”. This is not inviting, not equitable and certainly not dignified. That is, however, the fact that presents itself time and time again for those who can’t manage stairs and must rely on the stairway platform lift as the only means provided when accessing a premise.
pedestrian entrance with no obvious attempt to include an alternative, more forgiving access method simply because it is too hard.
Don’t get me wrong, stairway platform lifts have their place within building access and can be a great asset to providing access to areas that were previously unachievable, especially an area with historical significance or within an existing building. But this is not a reasonable outcome with new construction!
NCC BCA provide 6 limitations on use, my basic interpretation summed up to 3 points are:
Let’s have a look at why I have these concerns. A new building in plan form is just lines on a page, you can always make changes. This may be an over simplification, and may get the architects offside somewhat, however, this is why we design before we build.
1. Don’t install them where there may be a crowd trying to get out all at once (i.e. in an evacuation).
NEW BUILDINGS
2. They should not be installed when a different type of lift or means of access could be used (i.e. a ramp).
Providing a stairway platform lift as a principal means of access into a new building is in my opinion not acceptable. All too often I have seen proposals, including childcare centres, that include stairway platform lifts at the principal
The big issue here that I see is point (2) above; for a new building a good designer can find a design that uses ramps in preference to a stair lift.
3. Not to be used to access more than two storeys.
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