Things To Think About If You Need To Get A Wheelchair Accessible Desk For An Employee
Posted on: 21 June 2016
If you are an office manager and have a new employee who uses a wheelchair, you are going to have to look at office furniture that is accessible for the new employee so that they can do their job. The biggest thing you are going to need to deal with is a wheelchair accessible desk.
Wheelchair Accessible Desks
You may think that almost any desk would be wheelchair accessible. However, that isn't true. There are special considerations that a wheelchair user is going to have that aren't met by a regular desk.
Height
Wheelchairs, while they may vary some in size, are generally not the same height as a chair would be. That can mean that the leg hole in the desk won't necessarily won't be the right height for the person in the wheelchair to get into easily. The height of the leg holes in the desk should be enough so that the person in the wheelchair can fit under the desk comfortably and get as close to the desk as necessary to do their work without causing strain or stress on the body. The easiest way to handle this is to get a desk that can have the height adjusted. For example, a desk that can transition from sitting to standing has the ability to be adjusted to your employee's needs. While these desks don't often have storage under the desk, that can be easily remedied by using something like file cabinets sitting next to the desk.
Width
Another issue is the width of the leg holes in the desk. The ADA states that the openings for doors should be at least 32 inches wide. That would be a good place to start when it comes to the opening of the desk; however, that may still be a tight fit for the wheelchair. A desk that has an opening of 34 or more inches may be more appropriate since it gives more room for the person in the wheelchair to slide in to the space. This is especially true if the person has to have an extra wide wheelchair.
As an office manager, it is your job to make sure that your employees have the proper supplies to do their job. For an employee who uses a wheelchair, an accessible desk is just one of those supplies. Explore your options through a supplier like D and R Office Works Inc,
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