by Brianna Crandall — December 24, 2014—The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) released last month a new standard for improving and maintaining accessibility and inclusion for disabled people in the built environment. The standard, welcomed by the mayor of London, stems from an initiative announced by the U.K. government and the mayor aimed at improving accessibility following the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Built Environment Professional Education Project (BEPE), funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Greater London Authority, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, is a five-year project and forms part of the 10-year Olympic legacy program to realize lasting change, which includes championing inclusive design, considered a gold standard for accessibility.
Following the development of the standards, Mayor Boris Johnson said, “I welcome the BIFM’s work to change its professional standards to explicitly address the access needs of disabled people. This will embed access and inclusion into the thinking of facilities management professionals in order to make a real difference to disabled people’s lives. This is a direct legacy of the trailblazing work undertaken throughout the delivery of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games to ensure that venues and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park were designed to be fully accessible.”
The standard will form part of BIFM’s FM Professional Standards Framework, with new units on the topic in the BIFM Qualifications in facilities management. It is expected to raise awareness of the issue of inaccessibility and drive an improvement in environments so that they become fully inclusive and enabling for all users.
Gareth Tancred, CEO of BIFM and member of the BEPE Board, added, “The BEPE initiative is all about going beyond legislation, to really inclusive and accessible work and leisure environments, so that disabled and elderly people can fully participate in our society. FM is fundamental to that and we are proud to be leading the way by setting out the professional standard to drive adoption and delivery in this area.
“I have personally seen many touching examples that inclusive FM practice can make on an individual’s life, but unfortunately that is not necessarily the norm. We believe that adhering to the basic levels of practice set out by the law is simply not enough. FM must go beyond compliance if we are to create truly inclusive environments.”
