ADA Compliance Doesn’t Have to Be Scary!

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a civil rights law passed in the United States in 1990. This law is specially designed to safeguard and protect the rights of people with disabilities. It prohibits any kind of discrimination against them. The ADA has drafted specific rules, regulations, and guidelines for businesses to provide easy accessibility to individuals with disabilities.

The ADA guidelines are very specific but may appear quite overwhelming to business owners. Here is where an ADA construction expert comes into the picture.

People with disabilities are becoming a crucial part of the workforce. They also spend and consume products just like others. By reaching out to people with disabilities and making their premises ADA compliant, businesses in the US can attract more customers and build a brand image in the market.

Here are some easy ways in which you can make your business establishment accessible to customers with disabilities. After reading these essential tips and some help from a professional ADA construction expert, ADA compliance will no longer seem so scary.

Identifying any architectural barriers or obstacles

The ADA compliance mentions that your business premises need to be accessible for people with disabilities. For this purpose, you can take the help of an ADA construction expert to get your building inspected carefully. Wheelchairs should easily pass from the doors and entrance; steps in the building must always have accessible ramps; parking lots for people with disabilities need to have designated spots for wheelchairs to facilitate people to get in and out of the car. If you find an area not complying with the ADA standards, you must immediately consult an ADA construction expert.

Alternative options for people with disabilities

If the architectural obstacle in your establishment cannot be removed, you need to provide alternative options to customers with disabilities. For example, an alternate accessible entrance by making use of appropriate signage. Also, suppose the front entrance of your restaurant or grocery store has steps that cannot be removed. In that case, you can provide the option of a personal shopping assistant or home delivery to customers with disabilities.

Welcoming service animals to your premises

According to the ADA, only a dog qualifies as a service animal. If the employees of your business are not sure that a dog is a service animal, they can ask two questions.

• Do you require the animal because of a disability?
• What task is the animal trained in and can perform it?

According to the ADA guidelines, you are not allowed to ask anything related to the disability.

ADA compliant signage board for the entire premises

Signage is a crucial aspect of ADA compliance. It is important for all the signboards in your establishments to be ADA compliant. An ADA construction specialist can easily identify all those non- ADA compliant signage. ADA-friendly signage needs to have braille and a raised alphabet. The font size used must be large and easily legible with the right background and foreground color contrast.

Easy to open doors

For people who have mobility challenges or those in wheelchairs, opening hard and heavy doors can be difficult. If your establishment has such doors, it is better to identify them with the help of an ADA construction expert. After such doors are identified, the closers can be adjusted so that they can be easily opened without much force.

To be recognized as a business or brand that cares about people with special needs, it is important for your commercial premises to be completely ADA compliant. Hiring an ADA construction expert can help you achieve this easily without any hassles.

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Why Wait to be "Forced" into ADA Compliance. If you are a public business or public property owner, save money, lawsuits, time and headaches by being prepared and avoiding it all in the first place. It’s time to call in the ADA pros. Use Protrk, an ADA construction expert, to Get it Done Right Prior to Forced Compliance. 

Call 415-813-9877 today or visit www.protrkconstruction.com for more details.