Category Archives: Compliance

5 Reasons to make your business more accessible (and more profitable)

1 ♦ Expands reach, improves corporate perception, customer satisfaction & consumer loyalty

2 ♦ Canadians with disabilities spend $25 billion / year and consumers seeking accessible environments,  products & services have $2 trillion dollars to spend

3 ♦ Impact of AODA implementation on the retail sector over the next 5 years from $3.8 – 9.6 billion in increased spending

4 ♦ Accessible societies are more innovative, productive, competitive, prosperous and healthy

5 ♦ It’s the law. Compliant businesses avoid fines for non-compliance up to $100 thousand /day


To learn more about the accessibility, visit

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Accessibility. That’s how we roll.

Some facts from: The Martin Prosperity Institute (MPI) & Adaptive Technology Rescource Centre (ARTC) at OCAD University & The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity (ICP), June 14, 2010, “Releasing Constraints: Projecting the Economic Impacts of Improved Accessibility in Ontario”. Retrieved April, 2012.

Accessibility isn’t about having a ramp, and having a ramp doesn’t make your business accessible!

New accessibility regulations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (A.O.D.A.) coming into effect for Ontario businesses January 1, have more to do with your customer service policies, procedures and staff training than about your physical facility.

The first of five standards, the Customer Service Standard requires businesses provide accessible customer service to persons with disabilities. The other four standards; Information & Communication, Employment, Built Environment and Transportation, will follow over the next few years.

Not only is accessibility law, it makes sound business sense. Currently, 1 in 7 Canadians has a disability, and persons with disabilities spend $25 billion/yr in Canada. Accessibility helps ensure your products and services are available to the entire market while improving corporate perception, customer satisfaction and consumer loyalty.

Is your business accessible? We can tell you.

Need assistance implementing and complying with accessibility laws? We can help.


To learn more about the new accessibility laws, visit

www.rollamile.com


Business Accessibility – It’s Not About Having a Ramp

Ontario businesses must comply with new accessibility rules by January 2012. Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), five standards are being developed to improve accessibility by identifying, removing and preventing barriers in the key areas of: Customer Service; Information and Communications; Employment; Built Environment; and Transportation. The Customer Service Standard is the first to come into effect, and all businesses providing goods or services to the public or to third parties in Ontario are required to comply. While the physical structure of a building plays a large role in accessibility, it is not all about the building.

These upcoming requirements do not apply to the physical structure of a business but relate to customer service and the establishment of policies, practices and procedures identifying and outlining the accommodation of persons with disabilities. While business owners may be concerned about prospective costs of complying, accessibility does not have to be costly to implement.  There are simple, cost-effective solutions to ensure your business is accessible. For businesses with fewer than twenty employees, implementation of these new accessibility standards is primarily administrative and involves the establishment of customer service policies, practices and procedures that include: policies allowing persons with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animal, support person, and / or assistive devices, and, if applicable, whether an admission fee would be waived for that support person.

Feedback and complaint protocols must also be established and identify how complaints regarding access to products and services will be responded to. A procedure to notify customers in the event of a temporary service or facilities disruption may also be required. Customer service policy and procedure documents should be made available in an accessible format (i.e. larger print), upon request.

Training of staff is another valuable requirement of the standard and can significantly improve the overall accessibility of your business. Front-line staff, employees, and contractors should be aware of accessibility policies and procedures, and taught practical, adaptive skills to effectively communicate with clients and prospective customers on your behalf. Businesses with twenty or more employees and public sector organizations should already be in compliance and may have additional responsibilities under the standard.

As well, accessibility just makes good business sense. With one in seven Canadians having a disability, accessibility ensures your products and services are available to the entire marketplace. Canadians with disabilities spend $25 billion a year, and if customers can’t access your products or services, they can’t spend. Accommodation expands reach and improves corporate perception, customer satisfaction, and consumer loyalty.

In addition to the accessibility requirements outlined in the A.O.D.A., there are other cost-effective solutions to improve overall accessibility and ensure all areas of your business are barrier-free. Simply having a pen and paper available at customer interaction points, such as a retail cashier station, can be useful in aiding communication with a hard-of-hearing individual, or even through a language barrier, with a few written words or basic diagrams. Similarly, the strategic placement of chairs can go a long way towards accommodating customers with mobility, stamina or chronic pain concerns.

Accessibility doesn’t just assist people with disabilities; a conveniently placed chair might also help an expectant mother. Wide, obstruction-free aisles are necessary for wheelchairs, but also convenient for those with strollers or shopping carts. Accessibility assists the community as a whole, and by increasing awareness of issues; you can help to make this world more accessible for all.

Most barriers exist simply as the result of a lack of awareness. An increased understanding of disability issues can go a long way towards helping to effectively identify, communicate, accommodate and service people with various disabilities, thus ensuring all areas of your business are accessible.

~ For more information on accessibility compliance and accommodation ~

www.rollamile.com

What Disability Looks Like

Several months ago a friend referred to me as being “sometimes-disabled” and I’ve been “spinning” about it ever since. I think that what he meant was that some days I suppose I look “more disabled” than others, but I guarantee you, I am constantly disabled. In fact, one of the biggest barriers I face is the fact that I don’t always “look disabled”.

My days do range in severity in terms of mobility and pain and on a “great day” I might be out without any assistive devices and not “appear obviously disabled”. On a “good day” I will usually have an assistive device, ranging from one or even two canes, my walker, or my wheelchair, depending upon where I am, what I am doing and which is most feasible. A friend with Cerebral Palsy is known to say, “The walker’s for me, the cane is for you.” By this she means that she brings her cane as it is an easier device to manage, though the walker is the most accommodating option for her.

Unfortunately, as I am not swift moving, it is on “good days” that I am most jostled by others around me in public. People just aren’t aware that you are unable to move with the ebb and flow of the crowd. On crowded subways, for example, people don’t often bump into each other as they are able to move with the crowd and adjust their paths subtly and subconsciously. As a result, I usually carry a cane on these days as a visual clue to others.

Great days and good days, I am able to be “out in the world”. Bad days I am at home, and again, this may range from working from the home office to being unable to get out of bed. There is a wide range in my days. I often joke that at least it keeps from getting monotonous, I mean the same thing every day might get tedious.

Though upon closer observation there are clues. One will note that I move purposefully, and slowly. Every movement is considered and I have to be constantly aware of my surroundings. I suffer from tremors as well, so often appear to “shake” which occasionally attracts the odd look. I have been informed that when I am in pain, I ball my fists with my thumb tucked beneath my forefingers. But you would have to know me very well, or read my blog, to know this about me and recognize it as a sign of pain. During meals I have to rest my elbows on the table to support myself and when out at restaurants, worry this is noted as poor etiquette. Similarly, when out with my mother I worry that people will think me rude for sitting in a chair and not offering it to my mother.

There are thousands of invisible disabilities, and millions of Canadians with those disabilities. In fact, with one in seven Canadians having a disability, and the majority of those disabilities being non-visible, it is impossible to know who has a disability and who does not.

~ For more information on accessibility compliance and accommodation ~

www.rollamile.com

Barriers to Access

A barrier to access is anything inhibiting or preventing a person with a disability from access, including obstacles that inhibit performance of the day-to-day activities such as shopping, transportation, attending school, or going to work.Persons with disabilities face numerous and substantial barriers affecting all aspects of life.

All of the following types of barriers can impede access to: education, employment, healthcare, housing, transportation, products and services, and recreation for persons with disabilities.

Not all barriers are visible or apparent, and lack of awareness is the cause of almost all barriers.

 


Architectural & Physical Barriers

Structural features of buildings or spaces that inhibit, or prevent, access for people with disabilities.

Examples: Blocked aisles, narrow doorways, lack of ramps

Information & Communications Barriers

Unclear and inaccessible information and communications can seriously hinder understanding and comprehension for persons with disabilities.

Examples: Signs that are not clear or easily understood, Information that is unclear or unavailable in a variety of accessible formats

Attitudinal Barriers

The most pervasive and prevalent barrier of all, misconceptions, myths and stereotypes regarding persons with disabilities result in discriminatory or condescending treatment of persons with disabilities and prevent persons with disabilities from fully participating in society.

Examples: Belief that people with disabilities are inferior or incapable, Belief that a person with a speech impediment also has an intellectual disability

Technology Barriers

Occur when a technology can’t be modified to support various assistive devices or requirements

Examples: A website un-supportive of screen-reading software, voice-mail or telephone systems requiring voice response or numeric keypad entry

Systemic Barriers

Organizational policies, procedures, and practices that discriminate and inhibit access to goods, services or employment for people with disabilities.

Example: Non-accessible hiring processes, off-site job required attendance at non-accessible locations

For more information visit www.rollamile.com

5 Steps to Accessibility

Step 1: Initial Consultation

· Obtain an understanding of accessibility obligations and identify requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AO.D.A.)

Step 2: A.O.D.A. Audit

· Identifies compliance requirements and existing barriers to access and help ensure compliance with regulations and obligations under the A.O.D.A.

Step 3: Compliance Program

· Establishes and implements Customer Service Policies and Procedures related to Assistive Devices, Service Animals, Support Persons, Communications, Temporary Service Disruption Notification, and Customer Service Feedback

· Provision of documents in accessible formats as required

· Creation and submission of Accessibility Plans and Reports

· Accessibility Compliance Manual

Step 4: Staff Training

· Staff training tailored to your business model in accordance with the staff training requirements set out in the A.O.D.A.

· Learn about the A.O.D.A. and accessibility and gain a better understanding of barriers to access facing persons with disabilities

· Learn to identify, adapt and accommodate persons with a variety of disabilities

· Learn tips for implementing accessible customer service policies & other compliance items

· Staff with accessibility awareness improves corporate perception, customer satisfaction, and consumer loyalty and is a significant factor in ensuring your business is accessible

Step 5: ACCESS Audit

· With the Built Environment Standard currently in the proposal phase, the physical structure of a building will soon be addressed under the A.O.D.A. ACCESS Audits identify and evaluate the accessibility of a building or environment to determine how needs of persons with disabilities are met and provide a detailed report describing every non-compliance, barrier or inconvenience along with an outline of adaptations, both required and suggested.

· With the A.O.D.A.’s aim of an accessible Ontario by 2025, businesses need to plan for accessibility implementation. Our ACCES Audits provide an analysis of the impact of accommodation on business including complete implementation costings.

· Our Design-Build services provide complete project management including all architectural, engineering and multi-trade services required for implementation of all accessibility projects.

~ For more information on accessibility compliance and accommodation ~

www.rollamile.com