10 ADA COMPLIANCE CHANGES YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT. Does your signage pass the test?
10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
...how did [the ADA changes] impact places like long-term healthcare facilities, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and . medical offices? .
INTRODUCTION The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was signed into law to ensure equal opportunity and accessibility for people with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA changed every aspect of a building’s design— including what signs go inside. Twenty years later, The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (the 2010 Standards) changed the signage game again by implementing new regulations on exactly how a sign is designed to ensure maximum accessibility. ADA signs of all kinds were affected: handicap signs, door signage, braille signs, bathroom door signs—even directory signs, which do not require raised text or braille, were impacted by the changes. These changes obviously affected those who manufacture or design signs, but how did they impact places like long-term healthcare facilities, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and medical offices? Healthcare facilities are places of public accommodation, therefore, their business signage must be ADA compliant. The 2010 Standards changed things so much, many signs made prior to those changes may now be considered noncompliant. Not everyone is aware of the 2010 Standards, so they may think their signs are fine and don’t need replacing—but that might not be the case. Not only does non-compliant ADA signage negatively impact the ability to provide an accessible facility, it can also lead to failed inspections, which can result in hefty fines. When was the last time you checked your signage for compliance? Do you know if your signs are up to code? Continue reading for 10 ADA compliance changes you might not know about—changes that could mean the difference between passing or failing an inspection.
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
Style of Raised Characters (703.2.3 and 703.2.2) In order for the office signage of a medical, dental, or other healthcare facility to be ADA-compliant, rooms that identify a permanent room or space must have raised characters and braille. In the past, guidelines stated that raised character text could be produced using sans serif or simple serif type to comply with the ADA. Sign design changed with the introduction of the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010 Standards), and the fonts we’re able to use became more restrictive: •
Raised text characters on permanent space ADA signage must be sans serif. Characters must not be italic, oblique, script, highly decorative, or in any other unusual forms.
•
Characters must be uppercase.
Detail: bathroom door signs are one of the signs most often seen in a healthcare facility
PUT SIMPLY: Serif fonts, even simple ones, can no longer be used on raised character signs.
Raised character signs must use sans serif fonts to be ADA-compliant
Detail: room number sign with raised text and braille
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
Detail: this room number sign has 1/2 inch raised text with duplicated visual characters
Height of Raised Characters (703.2.5) At first glance, the ADA changes to a raised character’s height aren’t obvious, but upon further inspection there is added information that changes the way signs are designed. The old standards say that raised characters must be a minimum of 5/8 inch (0.625”) high and a maximum of 2 inches. The 2010 Standards expanded on that by adding an exception: •
Character height measured vertically from the baseline must be a minimum of 5/8 inch (0.625”), and a maximum of 2 inches based on the height of the uppercase letter “I”.
•
EXCEPTION: Where separate raised and visual characters with the same information are provided, raised character height shall be permitted to have a minimum height of 1/2 inch (0.50”).
That exception means you may have raised characters as small as 1/2 inch (0.50”), so long as you provide that same information on a sign that meets the requirements for visual character signs. Raised characters must be 0.625” to 2” to be ADA-compliant
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
DID YOU KNOW? Most bold fonts no longer meet requirements for raised character signs as their stroke is too wide.
Proportion and Stroke Width for Raised Characters (703.2.4 & 703.2.6) Oftentimes, a visually impaired person will read a sign not only using braille, but by feeling the raised text on the sign as well. If the stroke of a raised character is too wide, it can significantly impact a visually impaired person’s ability to read ADA signs (a custom door sign, for example). Old standards state that letters and numbers on signs with raised characters must have a width-to-height ratio between 3:5 and 1:1, and stroke-width-to-height ratio between 1:5 and 1:0. 2010 Standards state: •
•
Raised characters must be selected from fonts where the width of the uppercase letter “O” is a minimum of 55% and a maximum of 110% of the height of the uppercase letter “I”.
Detail: a custom door sign must have a compliant font to ensure that it is easy to read
The stroke thickness of the uppercase letter “I” must be a maximum of 15% of the height of the character.
DID YOU KNOW? Most bold fonts no longer meet requirements for raised character signs as their stroke is too wide.
Divide the width of the letter “I” by the height to find stroke percentage.
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
Letter Spacing for Raised Characters (703.2.7) Until just a few years ago, there was nothing that mandated how far one letter should be from another on a sign with raised characters. The 2010 Standards set guidelines on letter spacing for raised characters (character spacing is measured between the two closest points of adjacent raised characters within one message): •
For characters with rectangular cross sections, the spacing between two characters must be a minimum of 1/8 inch (0.125”), and a maximum 4 times the stroke width of the raised character.
•
For characters that have non-rectangular cross-sections, the spacing between two characters must be a minimum of 1/16 inch (0.0625”), and a maximum of 4 times the stroke width of the raised character at the baseline of the cross sections; a minimum of 1/8 inch (0.125”) and a maximum 4 times the stroke width of the raised character at the top of the cross sections.
PUT SIMPLY: No more squeezing letters together to fit in more characters on a sign.
Position of Raised Characters (703.2.7) Like letter spacing for raised characters, there were no regulations in place for the position of raised characters until the 2010 Standards. The introduction of the 2010 Standards changed the way raised characters must be placed on a sign in relation to other raised characters, symbols, or borders: •
Raised characters must be separated a minimum of 3/8 inch (0.375”) away from raised borders or decorative elements.
Detail: this handicap sign has raised text positioned a proper distance away from both the raised border of the sign and the handicap symbol
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
Braille Shape (703.3.1) Everyone knows that when reading a book, a visually impaired person usually uses braille. Signs with braille are extremely important to people with visual impairments as well. Many people may not realize that the visually impaired use braille to read handicap signs and other signs within a building. There were no regulations in place that dictated the shape of braille on a sign, but the 2010 Standards changed that: •
Braille dots on ADA signs must have a domed or rounded shape. Flat or square braille is not compliant.
•
The indication of an uppercase letter(s) shall only be used before the first word of sentences, proper nouns, and names, individual letters of the alphabet, initials, and
Detail: room number sign with domed / rounded braille
acronyms. EXAMPLES: These signs require dome-shaped or rounded braille: ADA restroom signs, door signage, patient room numbers, and many other types of interior signs. Detail: restroom sign with domed / rounded braille
Be sure to use domed or rounded Grade 2 Braille on your raised character signs
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
...keep all the braille together in one location so a visually impaired person doesn’t miss part of your message. .
Position of Braille (703.3.2) The position of braille on ADA signs is just as important as the shape and format. When braille is in a predictable position on door signage, a visually impaired person does not need to feel all over the sign to read it—they need only to feel where they know the braille is supposed to be located. Before the 2010 Standards, braille wasn’t restricted to one place on a sign, but the 2010 Standards changed that: •
Braille must be positioned below the corresponding text. If the sign has multiple lines of text, the braille will be placed below the entire text (under the last line).
•
Braille must be separated a minimum of 3/8 inch (0.375”) away from any other tactile characters, and a minimum of 3/8 inch (0.375”) away from raised borders/decorative elements.
•
EXCEPTION: Braille provided on elevator car controls
Detail: patient room number with raised text, name slots, and ADA-compliant braille below text
may be separated a minimum of 3/16 inch (0.1875”), and may be located either directly below or adjacent to the corresponding raised characters/symbols. OUR RECOMMENDATION: If you have multiple messages on your sign, keep all of the braille together in one location so a visually impaired person doesn’t miss part of your message.
Braille must be at least 0.375” away from raised characters and borders.
0.375" min.
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
Detail: Install raised character signs on the latch side of the door entering into a room
Installation Height for Tactile Signs (703.4.1) The old ADA guidelines required tactile business signage to be mounted 60 inches above the floor (in relation to the center line of the sign). Some things haven’t changed; when mounted on the latch side of a door, signage with raised text and braille meets ADA guidelines. However, the new standards have a few additions in regard to the installation height for tactile signs: •
Signs with tactile characters must be located a minimum of 48 inches above the floor or ground surface (measured from the baseline of the lowest tactile character), and a maximum of 60 inches above the floor or ground surface (measured from the baseline of the highest tactile character).
•
EXCEPTION: Signs with tactile characters for elevator car controls are
OUR RECOMMENDATION: For consistency throughout the facility and compliance with
exempt from this rule.
the ADA, signs are best hung 54 inches from the center of the sign to the floor or ground surface.
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
Visual Character Height (703.5.5) Many signs are considered ADA signs, including signs with visual characters (e.g., directory signs, some informational lobby signs, and some handicap signs). Visual character signs are subject to a different set of guidelines than signs with raised characters. For signs with visual characters, past regulations had a set minimum character height of 3 inches (75mm) for overhead signs. The 2010 Standards expanded on the rule for signs with visual characters based on viewing distance:
Height to Finish Floor or Ground from Baseline of Character
40 inches (1015 mm) to less than or equal to 70 inches (1780 mm)
Greater than 70 inches (1780 mm) to less than or equal to 120 inches (3050 mm)
Horizontal Viewing Distance
Minimum Character Height
Less than 72 inches (1830 mm)
5/8 inch (16 mm)
72 inches (1830 mm) and greater
5/8 inch (16 mm), plus 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) per foot (305 mm) of viewing distance above 72 inches (1830 mm)
Less than 180 inches (4570 mm)
2 inches (51 mm)
180 inches (4570 mm) and greater
2 inches (51 mm), plus 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) per foot (305 mm) of viewing distance above 180 inches (4570 mm)
Less than 21 feet (6400 mm)
3 inches (75 mm)
21 feet (6400 mm) and greater
3 inches (75 mm), plus 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) per foot (305 mm) of viewing distance above 21 feet (6400 mm)
Greater than 120 inches (3050 mm)
Š 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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10 ADA Compliance Changes You Might Not Know About
Detail: Directory signs are one of the first signs someone sees when entering a healthcare facility.
Installation Height for Visual Character Signs (703.5.6) Unlike ones with raised characters and braille, signs with only visual characters had no previous guidelines on how high/low they should be hung. The 2010 Standards set guidelines on where a sign with visual characters can be hung in relation to the floor: •
Signs with visual characters must be hung a minimum of 40 inches above the floor or ground surface.
•
Overhead signs must be installed a minimum of 80 inches above the floor or ground surface.
•
EXCEPTION: Signs with visual characters for elevator car controls are exempt from this rule.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: For consistency throughout the facility and compliance with the ADA, wall signs are best hung 54 inches from the center of the sign to the floor or ground surface.
QUESTIONS: If you still have questions concerning your signs and ADA requirements, please visit www.healthcaresigns.com/ada-guidelines or contact us at 1.877.714.6588.
© 2014 Intersign Corporation - This document is submitted for your personal use under the agreement that this document in it’s entirety or any part will not be reproduced, copied, lent, or used for any purpose without the express written consent of Intersign Corporation at emailus@healthcaresigns.com.
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