COVER STORY
larger turning circle and therefore cannot be used on staircases with tight landings; manual chairs can require some physical exertion and therefore may not be suitable if you are having to evacuate down a number of staircases. In some cases, the equipment with lowest cost may end up being quite dangerous and therefore more research needs to be done on suitability before committing to a purchase.
As well as the stairs, the nature of the building may dictate which functions are needed from the chair. If the offices are below ground and need an upwards evacuation or if the owners are going to use this equipment to cover lift breakdowns as well as evacuations, it is necessary to have electric kit that can travel in both directions on the stairs.
In these instances, a higher expense is necessary to ensure that the equipment is safe, suitable and comfortable as possible. The option with the least cost could cause injury or worse in a real emergency and in terms of finance could end up costing more long term through extra training, repairs from incorrect use or additional units if they are written off.
The Operator
Finally, a consideration that we feel is extremely overlooked is the staff operators that a business has available for use. Manual evacuation chairs bear a physical burden on the operator that can be overwhelming in certain situations. For example, if there is a large weight difference between the operator and passenger, it can require a lot of physical strength to be able to safely manoeuvre down and out.
Also, as previously mentioned, in tall buildings with several flights of stairs that need to be descended to evacuate, the evacuation can be extremely cumbersome which can be dangerous. Some chairs are recommended for a two-person operation and if the businesses do not have the facility to dedicate two members of staff to the evacuation, then certain pieces of kit may not
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be appropriate. When choosing personal evacuation equipment, it is essential to evaluate your own team and make the right choices for them, too. Alongside the equipment, staff will also need to be trained on the equipment and here lies another area where unexpected costs arise. A lot of the less expensive chairs require more from the operators which can lower their confidence. Operators are likely to ask for more training which creates costs that businesses may not have accounted for.
The number of factors to consider can be extremely overwhelming, especially when the evacuation/PEEPs are on a long list of jobs that need to be done. At Evaccess, we offer a high quality and personalised consultancy service where we find the equipment that is most suited to all of the business’ needs. We will evaluate every factor and can showcase a range of equipment that is suitable on the financial side and the practical side. We always remain honest and transparent and open with the pros and cons of different brands and models to ensure that customers make the most informed decision how to move forward. We work closely with our friends at Triple A Solutions to make recommendations towards PEEPs so that we can give customers a well-rounded experience, then have all the relevant information before they commit to any equipment.
If you have any worries or feel as though you relate to any of the issues raised in the article, Evaccess can answer any questions you may have on your equipment, your training or your PEEPs. We are committed to finding dignified solutions to evacuation and work from a wide catalogue of kit from a range of suppliers so always ensure our advice is completely impartial with the customer, operators and passengers at the centre of all our recommendations.
Get in. Get out. Together.
https://evaccess.uk/
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