Whatever your trade or profession, credibility counts.
You wouldn’t place an important legal matter in the hands of a bar room barrister any more than you would ask a learner driver to park your Bentley.
That’s why, in 1999, the government of the day launched the National Register of Access Consultants (NRAC). It’s also why people turn to us if they need professional advice on how to develop inclusive environments.
Everyday experience demonstrates the value of what we do, starting with the repeated and incorrect references to meeting the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act. The provisions of that legislation were absorbed into the Equality Act of 2010, and it is that legislation which guides our work.
The NRAC is an independent register of accredited access professionals who meet standards and criteria established by a peer review system. It is a UK-wide accreditation service for individuals who undertake access auditing and access consultancy, including surveyors, architects, building engineers and other competent professionals.
Our Managing Director, Ian Streets, joined the NRAC in 2003, even before he set up About Access, because he recognised that it was a badge which signified expertise. He sought – and gained – appointment to the NRAC board early in 2015 because working on accessibility is what he does full-time, whereas some professionals also work on other issues around the built environment as part of a more general role.
The importance of that connection with the NRAC was underlined by a recent project in which we assisted a firm of surveyors with the design of a ramp which was being built to enable a disabled member of staff to access the building.
During the design team meeting the client asked the surveyors if the project had been checked by a member of the NRAC, because they’d had previous experience of installation of a ramp which was not accessible and which subsequently had to be ripped out and reinstated.
In this case the surveyors had not had the design of the ramp checked and when they came to the NRAC we found deficiencies with it. The problems were nothing major but they were things that should have been thought about, and which cost money to put right.
Even if a new ramp is free of problems, we sometimes find that a project team has overlooked the most obvious features, such as the width of the doors.
If someone takes advice from a member of the NRAC it will help them to avoid pitfalls and problems. If they subsequently encounter problems they will be in a better position to defend their actions by having taken advice from the NRAC.
Evidence of the NRAC’s growing status comes from its partnership with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which was sealed with a memorandum of understanding in 2014.
The agreement supports RICS inclusive environment consultants in achieving membership of NRAC, which in turn benefits from a greater marketing and communications capability and collaboration on training and professional development activities. Between them, the two bodies now promote the same nationally recognised accreditation, making it easier for end users to identify the right professionals and for the industry to engage stakeholders on the importance of using access auditors and consultants.
Ultimately our aim is to make sure that clients seeking reliable, informed access advice can do so with confidence. The NRAC comprises appropriately qualified and experienced access consultants and auditors who have demonstrated their expertise in access matters to the satisfaction of our organisation’s admissions panel.
It provides clients with details of those accredited individuals, free of charge, and it enables clients to locate the right consultants for a project quickly and easily, with the whole process backed up by the NRAC’s quality standard for those advising on the accessibility of the built environment for disabled people.
In providing these services the NRAC remains impartial and does not specifically recommend individual consultant/auditors to clients, or guarantee their work in any way. But the work of the admissions panel ensures all consultants and auditors are carefully assessed before they become members and adopt the code of practice.
Registration is not mandatory for a person working as a consultant or as an auditor but it provides clients with a means of checking credentials. Clients should be aware that access auditors/consultants who are not registered may not possess the necessary skills or insurance to advise or work on access projects. All members of the NRAC carry professional indemnity insurance. Clients should ensure that the level of insurance cover possessed by an access consultant/auditor is appropriate for each particular project.
About Access provides services concerned with accessibility for disabled people. Our aim is to help organisations avoid costly and damaging conflict by ensuring that their premises are accessible. We also work to make sure staff are properly trained, and recognise how things can be disabling to customers and colleagues as individuals whose requirements and treatment are key to the wellbeing of a business.
Managing Director Ian Streets is also a member of the Access Association and Network Rail’s Built Environment Access Panel (BEAP) and as such works with BSI Standards, the UK’s national standards body, to advise on appropriate designs for buildings and their surrounding areas.
If you want to know more, or you have a question or concern, please contact us at info@aboutaccess.co.uk
Clients can access the NRAC either through its web site www.nrac.org.uk or by contacting the NRAC directly on 020 7822 8282 or by email info@nrac.org.uk
