movemanSKG Platform Lift Facilitates Higher Education For All

Coleg Glan Hafren, in Cardiff, is one of the largest providers of further education courses in South Wales. Its facilities have recently been enhanced with the opening of a new Learning Resource Centre at the colleges Trowbridge campus. Located in a new extension of the main building, the centre is housed on three levels. It is accessible to all students, both able bodied and disabled, thanks to the installation of a specialist platform lift. The lift was installed by leading supplier, Movement Management, and is a demonstration of the colleges commitment to improve physical access for the disabled.

The college has over 11000 students, ranging in age from 16 to 70! It offers a wide choice of courses with, for example, forty different A-Level subjects on offer. It also offers a range of Access courses, designed to enable students to gain entry to higher education in one year. Most of these types of courses are held at the Trowbridge campus.

The impressive new Learning Resource Centre was opened in October 2001. Its facilities include a sixty seat open access area, a silent study room and an IT training suite. In line with Coleg Glan Hafren's general admissions policy, which sets out special arrangements for students with special needs, the LRC is fully accessible to all students. The Movement Management Prestige platform lift enables wheelchair bound students to use the full range of the centres amenities. It has a travel height of four metres and stops at two upper levels. The use of glazed panelling in the design of the lifts shaft helps it to blend in with the modern decor of the new centre and creates a very unobtrusive installation.

The Companion Prestige platform lift is designed for use by the less able. It can travel up to three storeys and has a carrying capacity of 400kg. Its 1500 x1100mm platform means that there is sufficient space for a wheelchair user and attendant.

The Prestige is supplied as a totally self-contained with its own enclosure. This prevents anybody or anything becoming trapped under or falling off the platform. The enclosure is fabricated from steel and/or glass panels and requires no additional support structure. Alternative door styles and entrance arrangements are available with automatic power opening an option. This means that the lift can be manufactured to a customers individual specification.

Landing doors incorporate self closers for ease of use. Control buttons are tactile, which makes it easier for those with sensory impairments to summon and direct the platform. The lift will not operate unless constant pressure is applied to the up or down button. This ensures that the lift cannot travel until the occupant is ready.

" We actively encourage the inclusion of students with disabilities and, wherever possible, we try to ensure that the colleges excellent facilities are equally accessible to all students. This is the third Movement Management platform lift that the college has installed. Their products provide an excellent low cost solution where stairs present a physical barrier to access." says Peter Turner, the colleges Estates Manager.

The Prestige is CE marked which means that it conforms to all relevant European safety standards and codes of practice. It also meets the requirements of Part M of the UK Building Regulations.