Toilet (WC) For Disabled People

Although there are many disabled people's toilets in Penang, most are not up to the requirements specified by Malaysian Standards, (at least not at the moment that I write this post). I noticed that many hotels, shopping centers and public buildings were not stingy, in both money and space, when they built these toilets. But sadly, many of these toilets just missed many of the subtleties required by the standards. I believe most people still do not know how to build a proper toilet for disabled people and hope this post can help them.

Important points to remember:

1. Toilet size should not be smaller than 1600 mm X 2000 mm. It must have enough space for wheelchair to manoeuvre inside.

2. Toilet sign must be clearly visible. Only internationally adopted symbol should be used.

3. The doors should be either of the sliding or outward-opening type.

4. Floor should not be slippery.

5. There must be knee space clearance under the basins.

6. Mirrors must be big enough so that it is usable by people who sit on wheelchair.

7. Door locks and taps should not be of the types that require pinching, tight grasping and fine finger control.

8. An emergency call button should be provided.

9. Doors should be of the type that can be opened from outside in case of emergency.

10. Layout and fixtures must be standardized so that people with visual impairment can find the paper, sink and place to flush the toilet.

Here is a layout plan of a good toilet.

Here is the side view of a good toilet (dimensions given in mm).

The three dimensional drawing below shows what the toilet should look like. Please note how the accessories are arranged together.

Why doors should either be sliding or open outward.

The drawing above shows the space needed for a wheelchair to manoeuvre inside the toilet. The wheelchair needs to turn 360 degree as well as to park beside the toilet bowl. Sliding doors or outward-opening doors maximise the space inside the toilet.

The photograph above shows why a wheelchair user is unable to shut the toilet door that open inward.

What are flip-up grab bars? Why are they important?

Flip-up grab bar is a grab bar that can flip up and down (see photos above). It must be able to flip-up to allow a person to transfer from his/her wheelchair to the toilet bowl (see drawings below).

Step 1: Wheelchair user positions his wheelchair beside the toilet bowl. The grab bar is in original position – down.

Step 2: Wheelchair user flips up the grab bar. The grab bar is no longer obstructing him from transferring to the toilet bowl.

Step 3: The wheelchair user transfers to toilet bowl. (The flip-up bar is still up.)

Step 4: The wheelchair user flips down the grab bar and sits securely on the toilet bowl.

This is the plan view of why a flip-up grab bar is important.

Here are some examples of unsuitable grab bars.

Right and wrong ways of fixing grab bars to the wall.

The above drawing shows the correct way (see the red arrow). The drawing below shows the wrong way (see the red arrow). Please note the verticle grab bar in relation to the sitting person. The grab bar must be reachable to the sitting person. It should not be far back and thus not reachable by the sitting person.

Here are examples of correctly fixed grab bars.

Here are examples of wrongly fixed grab bars.

The photo above shows a good example of a verticle grab bar that cannot be reached if a person is sitting on the toilet bowl. The photo below shows an example of a completely missing vertical grab bar.

Basins should have knee clearance.

The photo above shows an example of a basin with knee clearance. The photo below shows an example of a basin that is without knee clearance. A wheelchair user has problem getting close to the latter type of basin.

Suitable and unsuitable mirrors.

The photo above shows a mirror and can be used by a wheelchair use. The photo below shows a mirror that is too high for wheelcheel user.

Rubbish bins that use foot peddles to operate are unsuitable.

The simple rubbish bin in the photo above serves it purpose better than the rubbish bin in the photo below. Many people with disabilities do not have the ability to step on the peddle to open the lid of such rubbish bin.

Taps and door handles that do not require pinching, tight grasping and fine finger control.

Some people with disabilities have limited finger control, lever-type taps and door handles (as shown in photos above) are more suitable for them than those shown in photos below.

There is a need to standardize all toilets.

Toilet design must be standardized for people with visual impairment and people with learning disabilities. Any person can find the lever in the photo above (see red arrow). But in the photo below (see red arrow), the flush lever is located at an unusual place.

Notes: The specifications given here are based on:

1, Guidelines On Buildings Requirements For Disabled Persons, Bahagian Kawalan Bangunan, Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan, Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan, Malaysia, November 1999.

2, Malaysian Standard MS 1184.

First Avenue Mall (with translations)

A wheelchair user can enter First Avenue Shopping Mall by the ramp near the Parkson entrance. The ramp has a gentle slope. But it is a bit narrow. (A ramp should not be narrower than 1.2 m or 4 ft. To know more about ramp go HERE. ) The handrail is only at one side, thus this is unsuitable for people who can use only one arm. (Eg. Someone who had stroke.) Near the end of the ramp is a lift. But it is behind a closed door and thus, not so obvious to people who are new to the place. It is good to take note of this lift because the next one is quite far away.

Car parks for disabled people are located near the lifts and the paying machine. I saw a sign saying that non-disabled people's vehicles will be clamped if they parked there. This is a good practice and I hope other shopping malls and public buildings will follow this example.

Once inside, most wheelchair users should not have problem moving around the mall. However I had some difficulties looking for the ground floor disabled toilet because the sign was blocked by a wall. (It is near the ladies' toilet.) There is one feature I dislike about the toilet. The grab bar cannot be flipped up. This can post problem to some wheelchair users who transfer to the toilet bowl by placing their wheelchairs side-by-side the toilet bowl. Please refer to the following videos about flip up grab bar and side transfer to the toilet bowl.

(沿着靠近Parkson出口的斜坡轮椅残障者可以方便进入First Avenue Shopping Mall。这个斜坡的斜度合适。但是，这个斜坡有些狭窄。（斜坡的广度不该少过1.2m或者4ft。为了对斜坡的正确认识，请点击这里。）斜坡旁边只备一个扶把。所以，这会对那些只有一只手能使用的人士造成不便。（比如那些中风者。）靠近斜坡的尾端就是电梯。但是，这个电梯坐落在一个封密大门的后面。所以，特别对于那些第一次到这里的人并不是很明显。最好是有留意到这个电梯因为接下来的电梯离这儿蛮远的。

残障者的停泊车位是靠近电梯和付款机。我看到有个标记显示如有些并非残障者贸然使用这里的泊车位的车子将被反锁。这是一个很好的做法。我希望这样的做法可以成为其它购物中心仿效的榜样。

进到里头，轮椅使用者可自由自在移动。无论如何，我面对一些难度察觉在底层无障碍厕所的坐落处因为它的标字被墙壁遮住。（这是靠近女厕）有一样是我不喜欢的就是厕所里的扶把不能翻转起来。这个情况会对那些惯于把轮椅靠在马桶旁以方便他们从轮椅转移身子到马桶的轮椅使用者造成不便之处。请参阅以下的影片是教导正确的扶把和靠边转移身子的轮椅者。)

(Golongan yang berkerusi roda boleh memasuki pusat membeli-belah First Avenue Shopping Mall melalui ramp yang berdekatan pintu masuk Parkson. Ini merupakan ramp yang sempurna. Tetapi ia agak sempit silikit. (Sebenarnya keluasan ramp tidak patut kurang daripada 1.2m atau 4ft. Sila klik sini untuk mengetahui dengan lebih jelas tentang ramp.) ‘Handrail’/pegangan yang ada pada ramp hanya didapati pada sebelah sahaja. Oleh itu, ia tidak sesuai bagi orang yang hanya berupaya pada sebelah tangannya sahaja. (contohnya: bagi sesiapa yang stroke.) lif adalah terletak berhampiran pada hujung ramp. Tetapi ia berada di belakang pintu tertutup. Oleh itu, ia tidak jelas dinampak terutama bagi sesiapa yang baru datang ke sini. Adalah lebih baik mengambil perhatian terhadap kedudukan lif ini kerana agak jauh untuk menyampai lif yang lain.

Tempat letak kereta yang khas bagi OKU terletak berhampiran dengan lif dan mesin pembayaran. Saya nampak papan tanda yang menunjukkan amaran dan tindakan mengapit kereta yang diletakkan di sini sekiranya adalah dimiliki oleh sesiapa yang bukan OKU akan diambilkan. Ini merupakan suatu amaran dan tindakan yang baik. Ia patut digalakkan dan dilihat sebagai satu contoh yang patut diikuti oleh pusat membeli-belah yang lain.

Tiada sebarang masalah bagi golongan yang berkerusi roda bergerak di sekitar tempat membeli-belah. Walaubagaimanapun saya menghadapi kesukaran untuk mengesan tandas OKU yang diperuntukkan di tingkat bawah kerana papan tandanya dihalang oleh dinding. ( Ia berdekatan dengan tandas perempuan.) satu perkara yang saya tidak suka ialah ‘grab bar’/pegangan yang ada pada dinding tandas itu tidak boleh digerakkan atau halanya tidak dapat diangkat menuru ke atas. Hal yang demikian akan menyebabkan pengguna kerusi roda yang meletakkan kerusi rodanya di sebelah mangkuk tandas semasa memindahkan badannya dari kerusi rodanya ke mangkuk tandas. Sila merujuk kepada rakaman di bawah yang menunjukkan ‘grab bar’ yang dapat digerakkan serta pemindahan badan dari kerusi roda dimana ia diletakkan di sebelah mangkuk tandas. )