All too often, Access Consultants have to explain to clients why they have to spend significant amounts of money towards the end of their building projects, to provide the minimum requirements for access. Most often it is the case that these non-compliances could have been picked up earlier on in the design process. This is why Domatic Access strongly suggests that Architects, Building Surveyors and other Building Practitioners should engage with Access Consultants from the very start of the design stage to the final working drawings. Here are the reasons why we believe that it is best practice to engage with Access Consultants for every project.

At the Schematical Design stage
As you and the client are working on the general layout of the design, Access Consultants can assist you to start thinking about the:
• Required Continuous Accessible Paths of Travel (CAPT) into the building
• CAPT’s inside the building
• Circulation spaces of change of directions of CAPT’s
• The provision of sanitary facilities
At the Design Development stage
Once the layout has been finalised and you start working on the development of the design, we guide you on:
• The CAPT from any Designated Accessible Parking Bays to the entry of the buildings
• The opening clearances of doors and the required circulation spaces on either side of doors
• Widths of internal walkways
• Gradients of ramps, as well as circulation, width and length of ramps
• Setbacks and widths of stairways
• Provisions of Tactile Ground Surface Indicators (TGSI’s)
• Circulation spaces inside sanitary facilities.

At the Working Drawing stage
Finally, once the design has reached the final stages of the design process and when it comes to the section of fixtures and fittings, we can conduct an in-depth review of:
• Door schedules
• Fixtures and fittings schedules to ensure that comply with access standards
• Luminance contrasts
• Final confirmation of circulation spaces

What if a specific access requirement cannot be met or there is a specific requirement of the client?
If a performance requirement, which is set out in the Building Code of Australia (BCA), can’t be met for a specific reason, even though we have been involved throughout the design stage. Then Domatic Access can issue a Performance Solution report with consultation with the Building Surveyor. Also, if the client has a specific requirements to go against a Deemed to Satisfied provision of the BCA, then we may provide a Performance Solution, within reason.