Posted By Paul Dear All, I would appreciate if any one could advise on the following issue. A resident in office buidling became disabled (wheelchair). PEEP was carried out with him and it was identified that he has trouble with opening door towards himself. When he opens a door, he needs to take hold of the handle, then move back. I have searched internet and magazines and could not find any aid for this (only grabbers for things that are not particularly useful in this situation). I was hoping to find some portable device which would enable him to "hook" it through the handle, pull the door towards himself and not to have to move back so far in a wheelchair. Did any one see such devices, or probably dealt with such situation. Many thanks, Paul

Posted By Paul Thanks Julian. The entrance door is automatic, but inside the building there are many other doors. I do not think it would be practicable to fit all of them with automatic devices. If the circumstances change maybe it will be considered, however at this stage portable device would be a solution.

Posted By Paul Ron, you are absolutely correct- he is assisted during the evacuation. However he simply noted during PEEP exercise that he could do with some sort of "hook device" to help him open doors in normal conditions.

Posted By Crim I recently attended a wheelchair training course with my disabled daughter who is very bright but physically disabled and can self propel. The trainer demonstrated the different ways of opening doors, both toward and away from the wheelchair user. These were children aged from about 6 years up to teenager and most managed to open the doors unaided, without using any "tools". Perhaps similar training would help your wheelchair user to negotiate the different obstacles in your work place. You should ask the occupational therapist for advice here. I do understand the weight of fire doors especially when pulling toward and maybe you should consider magnets for holding the doors open during working hours?

Posted By GT Paul Aided door opening devices are available and are operated by powered rams and large touch pads either side of the doors needed to be opened. What I am not sure of is whether they close automatically on a delay system and what period of time is allowed, but I am sure it can be adjusted to suit all needs. Sorry don't know the company names but could investigate if needed. Regards GT

Posted By CFT I have to agree with Crim on this, without getting into the realms of making reasonable adjustments, I have continued to be amazed at how ambulant users as well as wheelchair bound seem to posses a dexterity that I can only admire; perhaps some training on how best to open these doors by a specialist training provider. I recently asked a wheelchair bound person to try our latest 250'000 sq ft building and to see him open and close doors was stunning; he felt that all provisions we had in place were perfect. It would be nice if the user were given the opportunity to be shown the 'tricks of the trade' so to speak. CFT

Posted By Ian Dakin Hi Paul I have just done a report on making a building accessible for a wheel chair user and looked at how they will move around a building that has many heavy fire doors. Door openers will be used on a few doors, but a cheaper option for most doors on fire routes is a fire door guard. This will ensure the doors are open during working hours, but will close when the fire alarm sounds. The wheel chair user will be assisted in evacuation in these circumstances. Our fire extinguisher contractor has done us a price of £95.00 per door guard, which is a lot less than a hydraulic door opener. Regards Ian

Posted By Crim Double swing doors still need training for wheelchair users to open, just because a door opens away from you does not mean a wheelchair user can open it safely, what if there is someone on the other side about to open the door toward the wheelchair user who is unseen because a vision panel is too high?