Team Work

In talking to Katie last week she mentioned the Branson Hotel she visited that was ADA compliant, in her opinion.  I hear this said every once in a while, but look at where we are coming from.  Katie is the wheelchair guest.  I am the ADA architect that audits buildings for ADA compliance and certifies that the building is ADA compliant.

My job is to know the ADA Guidelines, forwards and backwards, to fully understand what all those 200+ pages of words mean.  Point of Order!  The ADA Guidelines is written by a U.S. Government Agency, the "Access Board".  They are the government agency responsible for writing the guidelines which are the "safe-harbor" for design and construction to be in compliance to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The job of ACCESS is audit the building for ADA compliance, and to ACCESS that means dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's", leaving no stone unturned. 

The ACCESS audits are very thorough, like any audit should be, and must be to have my signature on that audit report.  To all you "Watchdogs in Wheelchairs", your view of building ADA compliance will never be the same as ACCESS' view as the ADA building compliance auditor.  That is why building ADA compliance is a team effort, we both need each other.