Direct Access has secured a five-year contract to supply, install and service its evacuation chair range to public sector and not-for-profit organizations in Utah.
Established in 2004, we have advised organizations on physical access to premises and services to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. A key feature of our consultancy work has been regular identification of the need for evacuation equipment to aid in emergencies, and we are proud that one of our most recent original products has become a flagship for Direct Access so quickly.
Our founder Steven Mifsud, who has been profoundly deaf since birth, said “Building owners were informing us they are uncertain of what they need or where to go when considering how to evacuate a building. Persons with disabilities were telling us they do not feel confident about being evacuated. Our team of persons with disabilities, designed and developed a range of evacuation chairs that easily identifiable in their orange and black colors. This is particularly valuable for neurodiverse people who identify orange with the life preservers seen on ships.”
It is fantastic to secure a five-year contract to supply the State of Utah. It is not just about evacuation – employment opportunities for persons with disabilities have been created. We have trained and developed a team of installation and servicing Engineers who are all persons with disabilities. Our aim is to create accessible environments for all citizens in the state. In 2019, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics identified the employment-population ratio for persons with a disability between ages 16 to 64 was 30.9 percent compared to 74.6 percent for those without disability, our goal in employing disabled engineers is to balance this unjust ratio.
Steven is set to appear at several industry events later in the year to exhibit the Evacuation Chair range to local organizations. Details about this will follow in due course.