Public sector service providers, less concerned with profits but still wanting to provide as high quality services as possible, understand that the DDA helps them confront the needs of a significant body of the public who quite often completely rely on the public body for their needs.

 

“We get clients who want to buy a few ramps and customer service sensors to make what they see as a problem go away. We find however that usually in our first meeting we communicate what a great opportunity the DDA presents and how it need not be that expensive or time consuming to address, yet the benefits can be astonishing” has been My experience.

 

“But, for an organisation to really get to grips with the DDA the initiative has to be lead from the top, and issues relating to accessibility and the DDA need to become part of an organisation’s culture.”

 

To ensure this, Able Consulting are increasingly becoming embedded within some of their clients through Able Consulting Managed Service. “We become like a department within the client. Depending on clients needs we access audit their estate, recommend, supply and install equipment, ensure term maintenance plans are in place, profile personnel and design and implement training programmes, work with top management on strategies, ensure marketing materials are accessible and more. We can manage every part of their solution, if that is what the client wants”.

 

A good example of a company that has put the DDA at the heart of their culture, is Able Consulting client Haymarket Exhibitions. Haymarket put on a wide range of shows and exhibitions of all types. Haymarket host the BBC Good Food Show, BBC Good Homes Show and BBC Gardeners’ World Live; at the other end of the demographic spectrum they also run Max Power Live, The Bike Show and Clotheshow Live. The visitor profile of shows like BBC Gardeners’ World Live has a proportionately high percentage of visitors with disabilities, many of them older visitors.

 

Graham Jones, Operations Director at Haymarket Exhibitions said “Very early on we decided that, strategically, the DDA could have a very positive impact on our business. Satisfying the requirements of the DDA could only be a good thing for all our show visitors”.

 

The exhibition sector is very complex from a DDA perspective, who is responsible for DDA compliance? The venue, the exhibitors, the organisation running the event? Without case law the Disability Rights Commission’s code of practice would suggest the service provider is the party that takes the money. In this case, Haymarket Exhibitions. In practice, though it is likely that all three main parties would become involved in the event of a complaint.

 

Haymarket Exhibition’s first step was to commission Able Consulting to conduct a number of access audits at their live events to find out exactly what the issues were and what had to be done. Able Consulting also looked at their internal processes and documentation, for example the handbooks they supplied to exhibitors. At every stage Able Consulting suggested process, equipment and training solutions in addition to continuing to monitor the live events and progress.

 

A public DDA policy, considered to be a strong defence should a complaint reach court, and internal communications and complaints handling procedure has been created and implemented. Able Consulting also arranged for Haymarket Exhibition’s marketing team to receive training in disability awareness and for their websites to be reviewed for accessibility.

 

The exhibitors’ handbook was substantially rewritten, demonstrating Haymarket Exhibition’s commitment to educating its partners about the DDA and ensuring that exhibitors’ stands are accessible.

 

Able Consulting continue worked with Haymarket Exhibitions in improving access at all their events and throughout the operation, starting with pre-show marketing, booking and the shows themselves. Together, Able Consulting and Haymarket Exhibitions have developed a long term ongoing DDA strategy to ensure Haymarket Exhibitions keep abreast of legislative changes and continually improve their service for their visitors.

 

According to Haymarket Exhibitions “The DDA is here and will be with us, in some form or other, for a long time. Rather than adopt the approach many companies have taken, and do the minimum to comply, we really want to turn the DDA into a positive impact on our business, not yet another red tape burden”.

 

The DDA is not only here to stay but is constantly evolving. April 2005 saw further amendments to the original 1995 act actually accelerating some of the legislation, particularly those relating to transport.

 

Paul Barran’s views are simple “You look at more mature regulatory environments like the United States or Australia and what has evolved is quite often a much better service environment. People with push chairs benefit from initiatives to help the mobility impaired, just as much as people in wheelchairs. Clear signage helps everyone, not just the partially sighted. Demographically we are also an ageing nation, and the older we get the more prone we are to medical conditions that cause disability. The DDA highlights a lot of the right things to do”

 

 

“The disabled market, if that is the right name for it, is the fastest growing in the UK, maybe the only growing market in the UK as birth rates are falling. Some estimates place the disabled pound as being worth up to £120 billion. A service provider would be mad not to want a piece of this market and the public sector have a duty of care to provide the best service they can. I think service providers investing in DDA solutions are doing the right thing, both morally and from a business perspective.”

 

A last word from Paul Barran, Able Consulting DDA guru and veteran solutions provider; “Its never too late. Just because you’ve done nothing so far does not mean you can’t start now. Don’t miss out on the opportunity the DDA presents and don’t get caught out by the law”.