02/12/96 First rights of access came into effect and placed a duty on service providers not to refuse service to disabled people; offer a worse service; or offer service on worse terms for a reason related to the person’s
disability
01/12/98 The employment provisions of the DDA
extended to employers with 15 or more employees
01/10/99 Service providers required to make reasonable adjustments to policies, procedures and practises which exclude disabled people, provide auxiliary aids and
services
01/10/2004 Where there is a physical feature that makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for a disabled
person to make use of a service, service providers will have to take all reasonable steps to remove, alter or avoid it if the service cannot be provided by a reasonable alternative method
01/10//2004 The employment provision threshold of the DDA will be lowered to companies of 2 or more
Building Regulations 1991
Part M2 "Access and use" requires an ‘aid to
communication’ to be installed in certain circumstances for new buildings or those undergoing extensive
refurbishment.
BS 8300 : 2001
The design of buildings & their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people—Code of Practice
Audio Frequency Induction Loop systems (AFILS)
The following standards govern the use of AFILS:
EN60118-4 (IEC 118: Part 4: 1981)
formerly BS6083 part 4: 1981
BS7594: 1993
A loop system allows hearing aid users to receive signals picked up and transmitted directly to the hearing aid
telecoil: the ‘T’ position.
A person with impaired hearing will be able to overcome the difficulties of a noisy environment or poor acoustic space and hear more clearly.
The loop is an insulated thin wire which runs all around the perimeter to be served. The size of field required can vary depending on the application
It is powered by a driver amplifier which is fed from a
microphone and/or sound amplification system.
To download a copy of Your Guide to Audio Frequency Induction Loop Systems
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