5 Simple Ways to Care for People with Disabilities

When you jog up the stairs or jump over the curb - often do not think about it, doing it as if "on the machine." But in a person chained to a wheelchair, such an action would cause only disappointment and a sense of insurmountability of the obstacle.

How can we help people with disabilities overcome the barriers of the outside world? We tried to understand this issue and asked several questions from the company, which professionally cares about people with disabilities, for many years making technical solutions. The specialists of the well-known St. Petersburg company, the manufacturer of lifts for the disabled "Lifting platforms", shared with us what protection options for the disabled from barriers and complexities can be called the most reliable and why. In detail about them we will tell further.

Method 1: create a barrier-free environment

Prophylaxis is much more beneficial than treatment. This principle can be fully extended to the problem of an accessible environment. It is much easier and more economical to provide barrier-free access for less mobile groups of the population at the construction stage than to perform complex reconstruction and installation in the future. In addition, in the new construction for really barrier-free space, there is not much to be done:

• The descents and ascents are smooth;
• Entrance to the building - at the level of the sidewalk, without thresholds and steps;
• Railings and floor surfaces - anti-slip.

To provide these 3 main components for the safety and comfort of disabled people - no complex or expensive projects are needed. During the years of implementation of the barrier-free environment, the specialists of Lifting Platform have accumulated sufficient experience and are ready to select a standard project at a price that is quite affordable for the owner of a building or territory - both during construction and during reconstruction.

The question is quite reasonable: if everything is so easy, why are there still territories and entrance groups that are not adapted for the disabled? Unfortunately, very often due to the local peculiarities of the allocated territory (limited space, too high altitude differences, etc.), it is impossible to design a barrier-free environment without installing special technical means.

Method 2: equip the territory with ramps

For curbs and relatively low barriers there is a universal solution for adaptation - erection of ramps. They are structures that provide a safe angle of incline to overcome the descent or ascent. Based on the technical capabilities of space, the ramps design reinforced concrete or metal. The latter in turn have several varieties: in the form of ramps, hinged, roll-ramps, sliding and telescopic. A specialist will help you find a suitable and economical option for your territory.

The only restriction: the design of the ramp should ensure the correct gradient, which in some locations can require up to 10 meters of free territory in length (for example, for lifting 1 meter up). This is not always possible, besides it is often very expensive in value.

Method 3: install vertical lifts

High thresholds, steps and elevations ... How to help disabled people overcome all this and go from the street to the building without doing physical efforts? Often, no architectural and construction changes for input groups simply do not agree. But there is a way out.

Four years ago, when designing lifts with the name ProfLift, the developers tried to solve the main problem of accessibility of the environment: to create equipment that is easy to install, represents ease of operation and at the same time is a guarantee of safety and reliability. The solution embodied all these requirements: for installation it is not required to excavate and equip the mine, the space occupies little space, and in use and safety it is easier and more difficult to find.

Over the years, the solution has proved and continues to prove its effectiveness. Supplies for these years covered most of the regions of the Russian Federation and even the CIS. What should a person do on a wheelchair to take advantage of the ProfLift lift? Three simple steps:

• Go to the platform on a convenient ramp;
• O lower the handrails for complete safety;
• Press the up / down button.

For additional comfort in certain series of equipment "ProfLift" provides special canopies from the weather. All surfaces of the hoist are protected from slipping. The case when the developers have provided everything.

Agree, the ideal solution is a simple solution. The cost of the lift varies from the equipment, on average it is a little more than 200 000 rubles. Any building owner, including commercial ones, from the shops to the service sector, can afford to afford, the price is not so high for a long service life. And recognition and appreciation of the audience are priceless.

Method 4: build elevators for disabled people in the building

The program "Affordable Environment" for more than 5 years, but everywhere you can still find buildings that do not have the means to move the disabled between the floors. Access to conventional building elevators can be limited by thresholds, and the elevator itself may simply not be adapted to move the wheelchair. As a result, to rise independently even to the second floor for a person in a wheelchair there are no options.

Designing lift platforms for people with disabilities does not require much space, installation work is often minimized, and operation does not require any additional costs.

Method 5: order inclined stair lifts

If the installation of an elevator for disabled people is impossible for a number of reasons, or the budget is limited - there is one more technical solution for overcoming stairs with disabled people. Inclined lifts for moving on stairs are devices that provide a smooth safe lift and descent on the stairs by moving the platform with a wheelchair along the rails. Depending on the configuration of the ladder, the inclined lifts can be stationary or folding (to save space in the stairs).

The specialists of the company "Lifting platforms" shared with us that in the nearest future the manufacturer plans to create new models of inclined lifts for stair flights, as well as a mine hoist. Reliable, safe and most affordable.

Manufacturer of lifts for the disabled

How to choose a reliable manufacturer of equipment for the disabled? Who should be entrusted with the installation, so that the lifting platforms retain the durability and safety guaranteed by the manufacturer?

Summing up the conversation with the specialists of the company "Lifting platforms", we can distinguish 3 main criteria of a reliable manufacturer:

1. Availability of certificates for the products.
2. Responsibility of the manufacturer at all stages, including design, supply and installation.
3. Official guarantees.

Trust professionals! Then the territories and buildings around us will be really accessible to all people, regardless of their physical capabilities.