Quality In Fields “Beyond” Quality: Universal Accessibility

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In his blog A view from the Q , Paul Borawski invites us to think  about what new fields or disciplines could most reap the benefits of quality tools and techniques.

In relation to this question I think there are needs on the issue of universal accessibility.

Universal accessibility aims to remove the barriers that might limit people to conduct their daily activities. This approach takes into account the needs of people living with disabilities, as well as the needs for anyone to have to deal with situations involving a deterioration of its capacity.

The principle of universal accessibility is essentially based on the idea of ​​creating a barrier free environment.

Faced with universal accessibility, I believe that the tools and techniques of quality have much to contribute, as professionals design homes, environments, businesses, thinking only of those who have all the skills or not considered that with age these skills are declining, although the potential of a person to contribute ideas remain intact.

Traditionally, when interacting with the environment arose barriers that restricted the development or social participation, was attributed to the age, health condition, or more specifically to alterations of this, ethnicity , language , to size , ability , sex of people affected by them.

Today it is recognized that the presence or absence of difficulties, barriers, in an environment depends on its characteristics, its design, construction or provision.

The current challenge is how to provide quality tools to professionals who design, build, and manage content filled environments in the task of ensuring equal opportunities for all people to facilitate the full exercise of their personal rights.

According to the study of the future of the ASQ in 2011, one of the global trends is the aging of the population, which creates challenges and opportunities at the same time, organizations need the talent and experience of older people and they in turn need a friendly environment for their performance. Demographers predict that by 2025 the majority of the population will be over 65 years, this is a challenge for professionals in charge of building houses, furniture, buildings and ensure accessibility and welfare of the population.

Many efforts are being made in the field such as ISO 170001, which consists of two parts under the general title Universal Accessibility :

- Part 1: Criteria DALCO to facilitate accessibility to the environment.

- Part 2: System access management.

The first part one identifies the requirements for the actions of deambulation, apprehension, localization and communication that must be met to ensure universal accessibility. DALCO is an acronym for:

Deambulation, D : Action of moving from one place to another. For example walk trough streets, hallways, corridors, offices, going up or down steps, stairs , ramps.

Apprehension, A: Action to take or grab something. Implies action to achieve what will be grasped.

Location, L:  Act of checking the precise place someone or something is in.

Communication, CO: Action exchange of information necessary for the development of an activity.

The second part defines the requirements of a management system accessibility, which is based in ISO 9001:2008 methodologies to design a management system.

I am convinced that all quality professionals we must support with our knowledge and experience to all efforts made to ensure a better quality of life for the population.

Cesar Diaz Guevara