How to make elevators and special lifting equipment accessible?

The elevators and special lifting devices constitute essential elements so that anyone can reach rooms at different levels at home, in public buildings, at work, in parking lots, shopping centers, leisure centers, etc.||Their existence can be essential to guarantee equality in the enjoyment of these resources and their non-existence, in situations of inaccessibility, it can bring with it situations of discrimination||However, for elevators and other lifting devices to be used by everyone, their design must meet a series of requirements to make their use accessible and safe.

Accessibility in ELEVATORS

1. Cabin

The cabin must allow access to a person in a wheelchair and his/her companion. Its size will depend on the number of doors it has and their position:

• Minimum dimensions (according to autonomous communities; consult legislation):
  • Single door: 1.00 m wide and 1.20 m deep in the boarding direction.
  • Two facing doors: 1.00 m wide and 1.20 m deep

• Recommended dimensions:
  • Single door: 1.10 m wide and 1.40 m deep.
  • Two facing doors: 1.10 m wide and 1.40 m deep.
  • Two corner doors: 1.40 m wide and deep.

The cabin will have a handrail at a height of between 95 and 105 cm, separated by 45 to 55 mm from the vertical walls. The handrail must be easy to grip and its section will preferably be circular, with a diameter of between 40 and 50 mm. It will also have a plinth with a height greater than or equal to 30 cm. It may have a folding bench.

The elevator buttons will be at a height between 90 and 120 cm and separated from the corners by a minimum distance of 40 cm. The information on the buttons will be represented in high-relief and Braille. The buttons will be larger than 2 cm. Framed buttons will be avoided as they must clearly stand out from the panel. Under no circumstances will low-relief or thermal buttons be used. The stop or alarm indicators will be different in shape and colour from the rest of the buttons. Visual intercoms must be installed to ensure the transmission of information to deaf people or those with communication limitations.

The lighting level inside the train will be at least 300 lux. Stops will be indicated by an audible signal and visual information on the floor of the immediate stops and other up and down movements.

2. Doors

These will be automatic doors with a minimum clear width of 90 cm and a minimum clear height of 2.20 m, with a curtain sensor. Their sweep will not invade the cabin space. In the case of swing or folding doors, there must be a space of 1.00 m wide and 1.20 m deep not swept by the door. Isolation of people in the lift must be avoided, so, in addition to installing video intercoms, it may be advisable to have glass areas in the doors that allow deaf people visual contact with the outside.

3. Boarding/disembarking zones

The entrance hall must have a minimum size of 1.50 m by 1.50 m and must be free of obstacles. At stops, the floor of the car and the floor must be flush and with a maximum separation of 2 cm. The area must be marked by a tactile floor with grooves parallel to the lift door. The call button will have the same characteristics as the car button panel. The floor indicator will have a minimum size of 10 cm wide by 10 cm high and the numbering will be in contrasting relief. It will be placed centred at 1.60 m from the floor, on the jambs on both sides of the lift; if there is no space in these, it will be placed in the area immediately adjacent to the door.

4. Floor

The main characteristics that must be required of flooring are its hardness, non-slip capacity in dry and wet conditions and the absence of roughness other than the piece itself. In general we can say that the flooring must be:

• Stable, avoiding loose soil, gravel, sand, etc.

• Non-slip, both dry and wet, for which appropriate tests must be carried out on site, simulating the most favourable situations for slipping, such as the accumulation of dust and irrigation, and checking that it is not slippery even in these conditions.

• Without roughness other than the piece itself, which means that the pavement is perfectly placed and, above all, that proper maintenance is carried out.

In addition, the joints must have a resistance similar to that of the pavement, and their thickness must not exceed 10 mm. The maximum height of reliefs and studs must not exceed 7 mm to avoid tripping.

Source: SID (Disability Information Service)