Lee Wilson, founder of the Accessible Exit Sign Project believes that cartoons are an excellent way to send a message in a clear, informative and humorous way. As people say, “a picture paints a thousand words“.
The following cartoons are a creative collaboration between Lee Wilson and Michael Richards. Michael is a professional cartoonist based in Washington in the U.S. Michael’s the creative drawing talent and Lee comes up with the ideas and colors in the cartoons.
Whilst these cartoons may not be humorous, we hope that they can help highlight the need for accessible buildings with an accessible means of egress.
Please contact Lee to discuss the free use of these cartoons for non-commercial purposes, such as in presentations, websites, newsletters, magazines or the like where they will help convey an important message.
The White Paper discusses the many complex issues that have lead to the develop of this initiative and argues for the support of these new emergency and exit signs.
The performance-based template provides support to accept the use of The Accessible Exit Sign Project signage as a variation from the prescriptive ‘Deemed-to-Satisfy’ provisions of the building code.
The template also provides support for this approach with consideration to the content of the White Paper. It proposes the use of a performance-based building solution to accept that emergency egress and exit signage provided throughout the building will adopt a best practice ‘universal design’ approach and argues that this approach provides a safer solution for all building occupants, including people with disabilities.
The proposed signs presented in the assessment form part of the ‘Accessible Exit Sign Project’, which adopt the ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’ on all emergency egress and exit signage used throughout the building.
Please click the image of the cover of the Performance Assessment Template cover below to open the document, which can then be downloaded directly to your computer.
Download as a PDF document
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Please remember to read and adhere to the licence agreement, by downloading this file it is considered acceptance of the terms of the licence. Thank you
The Project is an international awareness campaign that promotes the need for an accessible means of egress. The objectives of the Project are to start discussions between industry stakeholders, disability groups, legislators, developers, and insurers etc, to look at better building design solutions that provide safer buildings, reduce risk and meet the needs of all occupants.
A critical part of safe evacuations is providing clear wayfinding information for all occupants, with appropriate exit signage to identify the accessible exits, refuge areas, evacuation lifts and other evacuation devices.
The Universal Design Meets the Exit Sign concept presents a case to support the use of these signs in all buildings, which can provide a safer built environment. This justification and rationale for adopting the new accessible exit signs is detailed within a comprehensive White Paper.
The approach taken when preparing the White Paper has been to release a combination of mediums, including a website, audio files and a document in accessible formats. These are now available for download.
We are very excited to let everyone know that the Universal Design Meets the Exit Sign promotional video has also now been released.
It is available on the Universal Design Meets the Exit Sign website at the moment, as well as on YouTube. It will be loaded onto a dedicated page on this website very soon.
Check out the new website too, there’s lots of great information.
Just a quick note to let everyone know that the The Accessible Exit Sign Project promotional video has been released.
It is available on the Universal Design Meets the Exit Sign website at the moment, as well as on YouTube. It will be loaded onto a dedicated page on this website very soon.
Lee Wilson, Founder of the Accessible Exit Sign Project was approached late last year to write an article for the Asia Pacific Fire Magazine, which has now been published in the International Fire Protection Magazine, Issue 61.
You can now download a copy of the article by clicking the image above or this link
The following is an extract of the opening of the article:
A gap exists in many countries legislative framework relating to the evacuation of people with disability under disability discrimination, building and workplace safety laws. This gap exposes those members of the community with disability, particularly those with sensory or mobility disabilities to the risk of being delayed in their ability to evacuate a building or being entrapped within a building.
In 1997 the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) acknowledged this gap and recognised the need to improve the provisions for access and emergency egress for people with disability. The ABCB published RD 97/01, Provisions for People with Disabilities, a Regulatory Document which proposed an amendment to the Building Code of Australia (the ‘BCA’). The proposed amendments included radical changes to the access and egress provisions, including the requirement for accessible exits or places of safe refuge, or a combination of the two. Most of the access provisions proposed at that time were subsequently introduced into Volume 1 of the 2011 edition of the BCA, part of the National Construction Code. The access provisions have generally remained unchanged in subsequent editions of the BCA.
Wikipedia has now referenced the Accessible Exit Sign Project and the growing movement towards providing accessible exit sign designs. This acknowledges the requirement to consider all occupants in exit sign strategies in buildings and confirms that the Project is growing in awareness and recognition.
The section of the article reads the following, under a new heading “Accessible designs”:
Accessible designs
There is a trend towards providing a more accessible, socially inclusive exit sign design based on universal design principles, including consideration for people with disability in an overall exit sign strategy for a building or facility. The Accessible Exit Sign Project started in Australia in 2014, has spread to New Zealand and the United States, and is an international awareness campaign that promotes the need for an accessible means of egress. Advocates proposes that appropriate exit signage to identify the accessible means of egress is a critical component to the successful emergency planning for any building.
The proposed new exit sign design features an “Accessible Means of Egress Icon”, which includes an adaptation of the “running man” symbol with a new wheelchair symbol. The design is considered an enhanced version of the ISO 7010 and ISO 21542 accessible exit sign that shows the “running man” and International Symbol of Access at the end of the sign. The universally inclusive design with the “running man” and ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’ wheelchair symbol essentially share the same upper torso, and the design shows the two moving through the door together. The Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES) has stated that the introduction of the “Accessible Means of Egress Icon” onto exit signage changes the current discriminatory approach to emergency exit signs and presents a fully inclusive design.“The combined ‘Running Man’ and ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’ shown above are working together to escape the building. They move in unison, display the same urgency and motion and appear to be travelling at the same speed. Their heads are forward, showing their haste. Arms are extended and motioning back and forth as they move through the doorway.”
The accessible exit signs are now being produced in Australia and in New Zealand, also featuring braille and tactile lettering suitable for people that have low vision or are blind.The design is intended to show where wheelchair accessible exit routes, evacuation lifts, evacuation devices and areas of refuge are located.The concept also provides more intuitive building design to assist people that are blind or have low vision to locate an exit.The design also meets the intent of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which requires signatory countries to consider the need for universal design in buildings.
We’re raising funds to help finance new ideas and running costs for the Accessible Exit Sign Project https://accessibleexitsigns.com/.
So why are we here trying to sell t-shirts? Well, we need to spread the word about the Accessible Exit Sign Project. This is a campaign that promotes the need for an accessible means of egress in all buildings for all building occupants, especially important for those people who face barriers when presented with a fire escape stairway as the only way out of a building. We also think that these designs look great on the t-shirts.
Hi, we are excited to announce that there is a complete new range of t-shirts and hoodies available from Teespring.com
These have been made available to try to generate some funding for the project and help pay overheads (web hosting, domain name registrations, marketing, etc.).
If you feel like you’ll enjoy one of these shirts, please consider making a purchase. Thank you (they’re available for a limited time ranging from 11 days to 26 days depending on design).
The Accessible Exit Sign Project has been featured on page 3 of Issue 85 of The Professional Engineer journal, published by the Society of Professional Engineers.
The article announces that Safety Sign Sales Ltd in Christchurch, New Zealand are now a licensed partner of the project.
The Society of Professional Engineers is based in the UK, but has an international membership. Please consider visting the Society’s website and reviewing their great work.
GBC Safety Glow is a manufacturer of Photo-Luminescent products on a global scale. Manufactured in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, U.S with local people and state of the art technology. The company has built a reputation on providing quality products through quality people. The GBC Safety Glow team will assess your facilities needs with an onsite walk through anywhere in the U.S and abroad. They will work directly with your safety team and or local building or fire inspector and create a plan to become code compliant. GBC Safety Glow design, manufacture and coordinate installation on every project no matter what the size. People helping People is their approach!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank GBC Safety Glowfor their support of the Project and commitment to improving the built environment for people with disability in the form of supplying accessible exit signs.
Licensed Partners
We encourage signage companies around the world to become licensed partners of the Accessible Exit Sign Project. By doing so you will not only present as an organisation that considers corporate social responsibility a priority, but you’ll also have a unique product in the market place. You can then use the Icon on our designs, or you can design your own signs to suit your needs or local legislative requirements. We also encourage all those involved in public infrastructure projects to consider the use of the ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’ within your own projects as we can also work on project specific license agreements.
Please contact us at info@egressgroup.com.au, we’d love to add you to our list of licensed partners.
I had a really good question sent to me on LinkedIn today, the LinkedIn user commented they were unsure if building inspectors in the United States would accept the Accessible Means of Egress icon on exit signs, and asked if they are acceptable in my home country (Australia). Here’s my response:
“Thanks for your comment and question. The signs will be available in the US very shortly, we’ve just signed up our first licensed partner to the Accessible Exit Sign Project (and are accepting other partners now too).
The design is being offered as a variation from the ISO 7010 / ISO 21542 example and is considered to be a more inclusive design. We do however acknowledge that when using any design solution that varies from a specific countries building code or technical standards it must be approved by the relevant authority. However, many countries now have ‘performance-based’ building codes and facilities are getting more and more reliant on fire engineering to satisfy building code requirements – this could be one of those areas that is considered. We are confident that the inclusion of the new recognizable Icon will benefit any exit sign strategy.
We also acknowledge that this may take some time for adoption, given there is still some parts of the world debating whether to use the “EXIT” word on exit signs or the Running Man design (Australia changed over in 2005). But regardless, the use of the new Icon could also be used to complement the design of locally required signs, and this is certainly the case with the Australian Braille and tactile exit door sign, which has the Icon above the required words in Braille and tactile characters (see my profile photo for an example).
Australia and New Zealand have performance-based building codes and these signs are now on the market which can be adopted as part of an ‘Alternative Solution’.
The following is an extract from a fact-sheet on the topic:
“An ‘Alternative Solution’ has been defined as a building solution which complies with the Performance Requirements other than by satisfying the ‘Deemed-to-Satisfy’ provisions. The Australian Building Codes Board has been quoted as stating that the use of a performance-based approach to compliance “provides practitioners with a strong degree of flexibility to determine the most appropriate means for demonstrating compliance with the relevant Performance Requirements”. This therefore allows some level of creativity in how compliance (or a compliant building solution) can be achieved.
A performance-based approach could be extended with the use of enhanced exit signs under a fire engineered solution. Such a solution could be used to show an accessible means of egress to a safe place outside the building, a safe refuge within the building or the locations of evacuation lifts (or elevators).
This approach has to be a better solution that what would be provided under a ‘Deemed-to-Satisfy’ design solution.”
You can now get your own t-shirt to help promote the Accessible Exit Sign Project. It also helps finance new ideas, pay the bills and keep this website on-line as a free resource (without advertising). Thanks everyone – grab a great Tee at a great price 🙂 Oh – there’s also tanks, hoodies and long sleeve tees too. #accessibleexitsign
Braille Sign Supplies stocks a large range of fully compliant Braille Signs and also proudly manufactures custom Braille / Tactile signs to assist people who are vision impaired.
Using quality materials and superior craftsmanship, they offer fast delivery Australia-wide with a large range of Stock Braille Signs to choose from in their online store. They also offer their clients the opportunity to stand out from the crowd with Custom Braille Signs made to order, with or without the use of the ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’.
All signs provided come complete and ready for easy self-installation. Braille Sign Suppliessigns comply with Australian Standards, the Building Code of Australia, and Wayfinding Guidelines, and feature perfectly rounded beads to create a smooth and user-friendly raised tactile Braille text.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Braille Sign Supplies for their support of the Project and commitment to improving the built environment for people with disability in the form of supplying accessible exit signs.
Licensed Partners
We encourage signage companies around the world to become licensed partners of the Accessible Exit Sign Project. By doing so you will not only present as an organisation that considers corporate social responsibility a priority, but you’ll also have a unique product in the market place. You can then use the Icon on our designs, or you can design your own signs to suit your needs or local legislative requirements. We also encourage all those involved in public infrastructure projects to consider the use of the ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’ within your own projects as we can also work on project specific license agreements.
Please contact us at info@egressgroup.com.au, we’d love to add you to our list of licensed partners.
Safety Sign Sales Limited is New Zealand’s leading supplier of Safety Signs to schools, industry, small and large businesses.
Safety Sign Sales has been creating and distributing signs both to the retail sector and the wholesale sector for over 20 years. They also proudly support a network of local Christchurch businesses to create their extensive range of signs.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Safety Sign Sales Limited for their support of the Project and commitment to improving the built environment for people with disability in the form of supplying accessible exit signs.
Licensed Partners
We encourage signage companies around the world to become licensed partners of the Accessible Exit Sign Project. By doing so you will not only present as an organisation that considers corporate social responsibility a priority, but you’ll also have a unique product in the market place. You can then use the Icon on our designs, or you can design your own signs to suit your needs or local legislative requirements. We also encourage all those involved in public infrastructure projects to consider the use of the ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’ within your own projects as we can also work on project specific license agreements.
Please contact us at info@egressgroup.com.au, we’d love to add you to our list of licensed partners.
Publish this important guidebook to FREE accessible, audio and eBook formats, as well as converting the text to an accessible website.
My name is Lee Wilson and I’m a Disability Access Consultant in Melbourne Australia. I work in the built environment trying to improve the level of accessibility in new buildings, existing buildings and those being refurbished. For over two and half years I have specialized in one area – accessibility.
Check me out on LinkedIn or at my website http://leewilson.com.au/. I strive to improve accessibility and make the world (or at least the buildings within it) better, safer and inclusive for all.
I’ve been working in building compliance and accessibility for a number of years and recently completed a degree where I had to research and write a thesis. I chose a topic close to my area of expertise and spent over 12 months researching evacuation considerations for people with disability. My thesis was completed, but I kept writing as I knew there is a need for this book. I have several qualifications in building surveying, risk management, construction management and project management.
I was amazed to find that the needs of a large percentage of people in society are not considered when they need to evacuate a building. In Australia, as well as many countries around the world, this means that we have very accessible buildings and laws that require buildings to be accessible, inclusive and equitable for all in terms of access into the building, and to services within the building. BUT… that’s where it generally ends, there is very little consideration for how to get people with disability OUT during an emergency, particularly those faced with barriers such as fire escape stairs.
That’s where my book comes in. The guidebook is currently available from https://accessibleexitsigns.com/evacuation-guide/ as a free PDF download. It’s filled with great information about this area, presented in an easy to read format, with cartoons, intermingled with quotations collected on the issue that send an important message.
I want to make it FREE or as close as free for all people in all formats. I want to get this message out there in other FREE formats – as an audio MP3 chapter book, large print book, plain text book, and other eBook formats. Did I mention I want to give this away for FREE, or as close as I can to free on eBook hosting websites.
I also want to load the text and cartoons onto an accessible website, with links to download the document in differing formats and to listen online. This project also includes all associated costs to develop, prepare, host and maintain the website, “disabilityevacuation.com” for the years to come, this is my personal commitment. At the end of the day, I just want this information in the public domain.
The guidebook contains 154 pages in total, including useful information with considerations for all building occupants, including people with disability. It also includes templates for personal and group emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs and GEEPS). Though the book discusses the legislative requirements in Australia, the concepts are applicable in any building, in any city or town, in any country of the world. As far as I know, this is the first such guidance book on the topic in Australia.
Interested in this project? Please go have a look now, as the book is available as a PDF download for FREE and you can preview the entire document online – https://accessibleexitsigns.com/preview-the-guide-here/, note, this has not been published in hard or soft copy and is available from this website in PDF format only.
As mentioned above, the current version of the guidebook is currently available as a free PDF download and is primarily being used to promote the Accessible Exit Sign Project and features the proposed ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’ on each page.
This project will see a new revised version released, without the emphasis on the Accessible Exit Sign Project and promotion of the Icon.
Whilst undertaking my research to prepare the guidebook it became evident that:
Building owners, building managers and employers need to take a holistic and pro-active approach in ensuring they have met the needs of all building occupants and have plans in place for evacuation of their building; and
A significant proportion of people entering these buildings could be exposing themselves to an unacceptable risk every time they enter – unless their needs have been considered and the necessary plans for their safe evacuation are in place.
The primary objectives of the guidebook are to:
Help workplaces and employees work collaboratively to develop personal emergency evacuation plans.
Provide guidance to employers and facility managers, so that they may identify opportunities to reduce risk and provide a safer built environment.
Assist building occupants, including people with disability to identify strategies to:
Reduce their own risk exposure
Understand legislative requirements
Determine who is responsible for their personal safety and evacuation planning
Equip them with the knowledge and resources to ask the right questions about their own safety
Work with their employers to develop an individual personal emergency evacuation plan
The PDF initial free version (version 1) has been downloaded several hundred times already, any problems or corrections have been made during this time.
I now have a team of professionals, each an expert in their own field waiting to move to the next stage of this project (as discussed above), which will see a new version (Version 2) released, without promotion of the ‘Accessible Exit Sign Project’ and ‘Accessible Means of Egress Icon’, and a more international flavor.
The only limitation in advancing this project has been funding. Thank you
The Project is an international awareness campaign that promotes the need for an accessible means of egress. The objectives of the Project are to start discussions between industry stakeholders, disability groups, legislators, developers, and insurers etc, to look at better building design solutions that provide safer buildings, reduce risk and meet the needs of all occupants.
Accessible Exit Sign Project 