Construction World January 2022

MARKET PLACE

IT’S IN THE SIGNS: KEEPING DISABLED EMPLOYEES SAFE DURING A FIRE Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of employees in the event of a fire is a crucial part of fire safety protocol for every business, but does your business cater to employees with disabilities? W ith the increase of fires in buildings across the country, businesses need to re-evaluate their emergency evacuation plans regularly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all employees. Having the right safety and evacuation protocols in place is crucial in preventing injury and loss of life in the event of a fire breaking out. The primary objective when a fire breaks out is to ensure everyone can get to safety quickly and efficiently. People with disabilities need to be considered in these plans, and the first step in this process is ensuring the unique needs of people with disabilities are considered in fire safety signage. Signage that indicates specific exits for the physically impaired must be provided for, along with signs directing people to assembly points or ‘areas of refuge’ specifically designated for those in wheelchairs. There are alternative safety measures that businesses can employ for people with disabilities of other varieties, such as vision or hearing impediments. However, Dean Gopal, Product Manager of Eaton’s Life and Safety Division for Africa explains that there is a wide range of ability in the spectrum of ‘disability’ – from physical disabilities that impair an individual’s ability to walk to an exit or hear a fire alarm, to learning disabilities that make understanding evacuation instructions challenging. It’s important to ensure that all safety and evacuation signs take this into account. Building on decades of expertise in life safety systems, Eaton’s adaptive evacuation systems make use of illuminated evacuation signs that intuitively direct building occupants away from danger and toward the safest possible exit. Considering only 38% of people see safety signage during an emergency, Eaton’s self-contained emergency lighting, which

public address or voice alarm solutions, which can also help guide the visually, physically and learning disabled to safety by providing recorded or live safety instructions in audio form,” says Gopal. Safeguard the wellbeing of all employees by ensuring that people with disabilities are adequately provided for in emergency planning. Installing effective and intuitively designed safety signage at key points in commercial buildings is a crucial part of this.  Eaton’s mission is to improve the quality of life and the environment with power management technologies and services. It provides sustainable solutions that help customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power – more safely, more efficiently, and more reliably. Eaton’s 2020 revenues were USD17,9b and it sellsproducts to customers in more than 175 countries.

can be set to flash or pulse, is a highly effective safety measure for emergencies. Not only is it effective in helping the visually impaired find their way to the nearest exit, but it ensures everyone takes note of safety signs, effectively speeding up evacuations. As such, this system assists all employees to move toward the correct exit to avoid confusion and wasting valuable seconds that could place lives in danger. “Adaptive evacuation systems work particularly well alongside

“Safeguard the wellbeing of all employees by ensuring that people with disabilities are adequately provided for in emergency planning.”

10 CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2022