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Accessibility
to the disabled by A2Ch: not merely an audit report, a real decision aid
AC2h was founded by the
engineering firm A2C which specialises in vertical transport engineering. With
the law of 11 February 2005, commonly known as the “disability act”, A2C found
itself facing major regulatory requirements in terms of accessibility, as all
public buildings must be 100% accessible by 1st January 2015 (i.e.
approximately 350,000 buildings to diagnose by 2015).
That’s when the idea of A2Ch,
an accessibility consulting office, emerged. Once founded, the firm was placed
under the management of Alain Tricon. He knows more about accessibility
problems than anyone, having spent 2 years of his life in a wheelchair. Alain
soon decided to organise the firm’s work in a secure, industrial manner: “We
had to start from scratch and given the complexity of our job, we opted for a
computerised solution that would allow us to industrialise all our processes,” he
explains. “In our line of work, several factors make data collection more complex:
for instance, the multitude of architectural configurations (no two buildings
are the same); the number of points to be checked to cover all the disabilities
referenced in the legislation (sight and hearing impairment, paraplegia, small
people, etc.), the recurrence of problems (an accessibility defect on a door can
recur 200 times in just one building); and obviously the mobility of our
technicians who must move around the buildings with a whole load of equipment like
luxmeters, laser tape measures, electronic levels, as well as plans of the
building, cameras, SatNavs, notepads, etc.”
Furthermore, the company
wanted to assert itself as a provider of high value-added services, as Alain
Tricon confirms: “More than a mere audit report, we aimed to provide our
customers with real decision aids, giving them the possibility of handling the
data and easily making simulations and choices in accessibility compliance.”
A
consulting office with almost industrial needs
“Before we started using the IBIZZ
software and the Ikôn, we were back in the Stone Age,” Alain recalls with no
regrets. After one day in the field, it would take us 5 days to draft the first
version of the audit report and sort through the data collected, put the photos
in order and geo-locate them, etc.” “It was a real headache and took up a lot
of our technicians’ time, whereas their real added value lies in the
recommendations they make, not in sorting through documents!” remembers Alain.
The management therefore went
for the obvious option: an automated data collection and processing system. A2Ch
thus turned to the company IBIZZ, specialised in mobile solutions, which
developed a very detailed specification, particularly for the mobile terminal.
Ibizz and Psion Teklogix’ answer: an industrial solution applied to the needs of a services company
“The demands were such that
we very soon ruled out using tablet PCs and smart phones,” explains Sylvain
Crozet, project manager at Ibizz. “We were faced with requirements similar to
an industrial project: we needed an ergonomic, lightweight, compact terminal
offering impact and weather resistance, a screen large enough to work in direct
sunlight, an alphanumerical keyboard, a Windows Mobile-type OS to do updates remotely,
long battery life and… a camera with flash.”
The last, but not least
criterion was the guarantee of a durable solution that would still be in
production in several years’ time. “Once all the requirements added up, the
choice was soon cut down,” explains Sylvain. “The Psion Teklogix Ikôn met all
the conditions of our project and we thought that if it was right for industry,
it would be right for A2Ch too!”
With
a single baseline, 80% less processing time and near-zero risk of error, the
gamble truly paid off!
In use, the Ibizz software
combined with the “Pocket” as the A2Ch technicians call it, proved particularly
efficient: “During our assignments, we must do several tasks that the “Pocket”
can fully handle: the built-in clock for obstacle timing, the integrated
database to find the statutory check point, GPS for locating, the camera to
take pictures of the obstacle. We can also capture technical data and the
suggested solution while including a first cost estimate accessible via the pricing
database. We can even use handwritten or voice-recorded notes if necessary.”
While it takes the same amount of time to collect data as before, i.e. about a day on average, back at the office the solution takes on its full significance: “We have reduced the time it takes to produce the audit report by 80%!” enthuses Alain Tricon. “Not only have we gained in productivity, we also have a competitive edge because, thanks to the tool, we can offer more than a mere audit report. The quality of our reports combined with the data-handling tools we deliver to our customers allows them to do simulations and facilitates decision-making on the accessibility project.”
A
structuring tool delivering high added value and growth for the company
Alain Tricon underlines
another important point: “Thanks to the Ikôn, we can guarantee our national
customers a single baseline of practices and data, throughout
About
A2Ch –ACCEO group
The ACCEO group all began
with the creation in 2002 of A2C, an Engineering Firm specialising in Vertical
Transport (lifts, freight elevators, escalators, etc.). Recognised for their
skills in Surveying, Project Management Support and Prime Contractorship, A2C have
conducted several hundred assignments in the Hospital sector (more than 100 client
references), for Key Accounts (Club Med, Monoprix, EDF, France Telecom, etc.), for
Institutional clients (the French Senate, the French National Assembly, the
MINEFI, etc.), and social housing authorities, etc.
In 2007, the emerging market
of compulsory elevator inspection required A2C to split their design
engineering activity. A9C was founded in May 2007 and then A2Ch, a consulting
firm specialising in accessibility to the disabled. The firm does accessibility
diagnoses for public buildings and local government and also works on Project
Management Support and Prime Contractorship jobs involving accessibility to
buildings.
The synergy of the 3 lines of
business is undoubtedly one of the main reasons behind the creation of A2CH, as
vertical transport is still one of the most complex aspects to implement in
accessibility to the disabled.
Find out more on: www.ac2h.fr and www.acceo.fr
About IBIZZ
Ibizz design, develop and
manufacture solutions to help their customers track the items they use, produce
or sell. From the outset, the company has specialized in mobile computing (particularly
with Psion Teklogix PDAs), to offer customers tools that can assist users in
the field, with no restrictions.
Ibizz is very much for “agile” applications,
offering greater flexibility and freedom and enabling all users to share data
from their PCs and their rugged PDAs.
Ibizz have also developed
expertise in RFID identification technologies. They train, advise and integrate
the equipment of various RFID manufacturers. The company thus offers a “Pocket
Patient Record” solution for RFID patient record tracking.
More information on: www.Ibizz.fr
About MOBELEC
In January 2005, following a
reorganisation of their sales policy, PSION TEKLOGIX decided to appoint Mobelec
as value-added wholesaler due to the strong business and technical relations our
two companies had had for several years.
MOBELEC is in charge of
marketing PSION TEKLOGIX equipment to resellers, integrators and software
editors and provides hardware-related services (advice, supply, maintenance).
Find out more on: www.mobelec.fr
(*) Interministerial Delegation for the Disabled, September 2006.
