GLOBAL ACCESSIBILITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM



In the world as it is designed today, lack of accessibility to the physical environment - including housing, buildings, streets and other outdoor environments, public transport services and other means of transportation - is still a major barrier for persons with disabilities. The experience suggests that a focus on accessibility is an effective approach to reversing exclusion and enhancing equalization of opportunities in a positive and sustainable way. Supporting citizens with disabilities to become an effective part of the economy and society as a whole means participation in the mainstream for everyone for whom this is possible and in every area where this is possible One of the first steps was given by General Assembly resolution 48/96 of 20 December 1993, Rule 5 "accessibility" of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, where it is established “States should recognize the overall importance of accessibility in the process of the equalization of opportunities in all spheres of society. For persons with disabilities of any kind, States should (a) introduce programmes of action to make the physical environment accessible; and (b) undertake measures to provide access to information and communication”. On the other hand, the EU's long-standing commitment towards its disabled citizens has been made evident by different initiatives:
  • Article 13 of the EC Treaty, which enables the Community to take initiatives to combat discrimination on the grounds of disability
  • Charter of Fundamental Rights. Its Articles 21 and 26 set out the rights of people with disabilities. Article 26 in particular recognises as a fundamental right "the right of persons with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the community".
  • Directive 2000/78/EC,"establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation". The Directive prohibits any discrimination, be it direct or indirect, on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
Nevertheless, the definitions and the criteria for determining disability are currently laid down in national legislation and administrative practices and differ across the different countries according to their perceptions of, and approaches to, disability.

Apart from regulations, there are other tools to promote accessibility. Among others, it is necessary to mention Standardisation and Certification; concepts like quality, environment, occupational health and safety have had important drivers in standardisation and certification, as the success of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 standards and the OHSAS 18001 specification show.

The Spanish Association for Certification and Standardisation, AENOR, has been working for a long time in accessibility standardisation, although in the last five years these activities have dramatically increased.

Among more than 50 accessibly related standards and projects, it could be emphasized:
  • UNE 41500:2001 IN “Accessibility in building and urbanism. Design general criteria”
  • UNE 41501:2002 “Symbol of accessibility for mobility. Rules and grades of use”
  • UNE 45510:2001 “Accessibility in the urbanism”
  • UNE 45512:2001 “Accessibility in beaches and its environs”
  • UNE 41520:2002 “Accessibility in building. Horizontal communications elements”
  • UNE 41522:2001 “Accessibility in building. Accesses to the buildings”
  • UNE 41523:2001 “Accessibility in building. Sanitary spaces”
  • UNE 139801:2003 “Computer applications for people with disabilities. Computer accessibility requirements. Hardware”
  • UNE 139802:2003 “Computer applications for people with disabilities. Computer accessibility requirements. Software”
In 1998 it was created a Standardization Technical Committee AEN/CTN 170 “Needs and requirements for persons with disabilities”

One of the results of this Committee work was the issuance in 2001, of the UNE 170.001 “Global Accessibility. Criteria to facilitate accessibility to the environment” standard, which consists of two parts:
  • Part 1: RALCO requirements (Roaming, Apprehension, Location and Communication)
  • Part 2: Global accessibility management system
The standard shows three new concepts:
  • RALCO requirements explain the disability from a point of view of its effects and not from the kind of disability.
  • It establishes an accessibility management system and accordingly the accessibility continual improvement in a built environment.
  • Global accessibility management system based on this standard may be certified
a) Part 1: RALCO requirements (Roaming, Apprehension, Location and Communication)

This standard establishes the requirements that must be complied by an environment (places, establishments, buildings and installations) in order that users can go beyond accessibility limitations.

The standard defines the RALCO requirements as “set of requirements related with roaming, apprehension, location and communication activities that must be fulfilled in order to ensure the global accessibility to the built environment”.

b) Part 2: Global accessibility management system

This part of the Standard specifies requirements for a global accessibility management system where an organisation:
- needs to demonstrate its ability to provide an environment that meets RALCO accessibility requirements specified in part 1 of this Standard and applicable regulatory requirements, and

- aims to enhance the environment global accessibility and with it, the customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement.

All requirements of this part are generic and are intended to be applicable to all organisations, regardless of their type or size. The standard specifies requirements for a global accessibility management system that can be used for internal application by organisations or for certification or contractual purposes. It focuses on the effectiveness of the global accessibility management system in meeting RALCO requirements.

c) Global accessibility management system can be certified

The ONCE Foundation and AENOR signed a collaboration agreement in January 2004, with the objective, among others, to promote the global accessibility management system implementation and certification. In this framework, AENOR developed the Accessibility Registered Mark whose property is shared with the ONCE Foundation. This mark is granted to any environment global whose accessibility management system meets the stated requirements.

The use and enjoyment of goods and services necessarily goes through the obligation of all of them being accessible for all citizens independently of their age or possible disabilities. For this reason the global accessibility management system has to be considered as another system integrated inside the organisation overall system, mainly for those firms that try to offer excellent services.

In Spain, two organisations have achieved the Global Accessibility Management System Certification:
  • FUNDACION DEL MUSEO GUGGENHEIM BILBAO
  • PROYECTO SHOPPING 2001, S.A. (Joint Venture of Grupo SONAE and EROSKI)

Luis Miguel SANZ VILLOREJO
Development Assistant Manager
Division of System Certification Quality, Safety and Environment
AENOR