What You Should Know About Elevator ADA Compliance

By Rosella Campbell


The rise of modern technology has given us so much innovations that has made life a hundred times better than they were in the previous generations. Today, people went through activities of daily living with ease and speed. Work became lighter and more accurate, thanks to new inventions. Getting to places was easier, even if you only had to travel within a building. The rise of skyscrapers also lead to the creation of elevator ADA compliance.

An elevator, also known by the British as the lift, is a type of vertical transport equipment. It efficiently transports people in between floors within the same building. It is of great use especially in structures that have ten or more floors, when climbing the stairs to get to the desired level is just too much for the legs and might even injure the knees.

Aside from usage in commercial buildings, these are also used in the manufacture of products. Lifts in these places appear in the form of conveyors that transfer materials into ready silos that are waiting for them at the end of the belt. They are also of essence in agricultural fields, as they allow transfer of products with ease and with less damages to these products where manual handling is deemed to be too rough.

These lifts can be used for many different purposes. The most common use of these transports mechanisms is the loading and unloading of individuals to their desired destinations. For this purpose, passenger lifts are used. They carry people according to a set limit of capacity, which is always in relation to the available floor space.

On the average, these elevators can carry from 500 to 2700 kg. The speed of the car travel greatly depends on the height of the infrastructure. Lower ones that only have eight levels maximum can travel 200 ft per minute. Those with more than eight levels can travel 500 ft per minute or more.

Not all of these elevators are meant for use by people. Some of them are exclusively used in hoisting goods, furniture, and other things that can be too big for the ordinary type used by individuals. These cars often bear signage that prohibit a passenger to ride on. While it is prohibited for passenger use, it is not really illegal.

One unique subtype of the said lift is the sidewalk lift. This is aptly named so because it is usually seen on the sidewalk just beside the immediate building. These are used to transport goods from the basement to the ground level, and vice versa.

While these are made for use by everyone, there are still some elevators that do not provide convenient usage for people with special needs. People with disabilities often get troubled having to ride on a lift, which is why the ADA allows these to comply with certain specifications.

In accordance with the said compliance, lifts should be accessible, with wheelchair friendly routes. They should also operate automatically, and should open and close without special buttons. These should also bear both visible and audible signals that tell whether the car is going up or down, along with the floor level the box is currently on.




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