We at General Elevadores strive to make life easier for everyone that hires our services. One of our main goals is to remove the architectural barriers that can make leading a normal day-to-day life difficult. We always seek to improve your quality of life. For this reason, today we are going to talk about accessible lifts in greater detail.
Let's start at the beginning:
1. What is an accessible lift?
If we need to provide a clear definition of what an accessible lift is, we could say that "it is a lift that has been adapted to enable people with a disability to use it without any difficulty". Although we could highlight the following as the main requirements:
- The lift should have specific measurements to ensure the people using it do not encounter any architectural barrier that prevents them from entering.
- Moreover, the dimensions of the cabin will also need to be adapted to this factor.
- Finally, the signage and control systems will need to be adapted with regard to both sound and vision.
2. Types of accessible lift
In order to delve deeper into accessible lifts, we should explain that there are two types of lift: lifts for people with reduced mobility and lifts for disabled people. Let's look at the differences:
- Lifts for people with reduced mobility
These lifts are basically designed to make life easier for people with mobility issues, such as the elderly.
There are many cases where a few simple access stairs at the entrance to a building or a private home can represent an insurmountable barrier for these people. This is why we need to understand that people with reduced mobility, despite the fact they can walk, do so with certain difficulty and having to go up and/or down stairs can be a problem in their day-to-day life.
To make their life easier, we at General Elevadores provide several options adapted to each specific situation:
- Short-distance vertical lifts: This type of is specifically designed to enable users to overcome different levels of up to a maximum of 3 metres. An example would be the entrance to a building with several steps.
- Chair stairlifts: As the name suggests, this model is more common in homes. It requires no work to install and enables users to overcome several floors in height. In turn, they normally adapt to all types of staircase perfectly.
- Home lifts: This type of lift is personalised depending on the reason for which it is being installed. They need to comply with the minimum dimensions for transporting at least one person and be of a sufficient size to accommodate a wheelchair.
- Lifts for people with a disability
Unlike the previous model, these lifts are designed for people who normally move around in wheelchairs, although they can also be used by the elderly or people with reduced mobility.
We have different solutions geared to each circumstance:
- Platform stairlifts: These platforms are designed to be placed next to a staircase to enable people with a disability to bridge distances without any problem.
- Short-distance vertical lifts: These models need be sized to enable a wheelchair to be moved around the cabin with no problems. In turn, they need to feature a folding ramp and bars to help users enter and leave the lift.
- Reduced speed home lifts: These lifts need to comply with strict requirements to ensure a person with a wheelchair does not encounter any kind of difficulty when using them, and must have enough space for maneuvering the wheelchair when entering and leaving the cabin.
If you would like to find out more about the types of accessible lift we have at General Elevadores, please go to the following section where you will be able to see all the measurements, weights, etc, that need to be complied with for yourself.
Furthermore, if you would like to tell us about your own specific case, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have more than 30 years of experience in the field. Always remember: we are here for you. We make your life easier.