Facilities Management

SPACE

In its current state the SOBA restroom facilities is in need of renovation so as to accommodate disable individuals and as such a space audit must be conducted to evaluate the room’s physical characteristics. A. Space audits provide information for the assessment of space allocations, prospective planning to accommodate changing situations. It looks at the overall area and identifies where there may be issues.

Space is an expensive resource and has to be used effectively and efficiently. Space is expensive to buy, costly to maintain, slow to dispose of and can easily become ineffectively utilized.

1. Installation of Grab rails

Situation – Currently the restroom has no proper equipment to assist in providing disabled individuals with greater mobility and independence. Navigating a bathroom raises unique challenges for people with disabilities. Handrails, grab rails and grab bars are simple products to which provides great assistance to the disabled as they can find it difficult to stand up without support and to also help in negotiating steps so as to eliminate the possibility of a fall

Implication

The implication of installing grab rails:

* It will assist in safely moving around and preventing falls

* The individual is able to move independently and without assistance

* Provides extra support and security

* It also assists in the transferring on and off of the toilet

Recommendation – We recommend that the SOBA restroom room be equipped with the following grab rails; (1) Straight, and (2) drop down hinged rails.

Straight rail- These are wall-fixed rails which run in one direction only. They can be fixed in a horizontal or a vertical position, or at an incline / angle.

Drop down rails- These rails are useful when there is no suitable wall on which a standard grab rail can be fixed, or where space is a problem. In areas where there is a wall on only one side of the toilet, they can be used in combination with a fixed rail to...