One of the common violations I find during my accessibility inspections are reach ranges to operable parts. There seems to be a misunderstanding about this rule. The rule allows a person with disabilities to reach elements they need to operate: light switches, latches at first aid cabinets, or charging outlets, for example.

The requirement for a forward approach that is not obstructed are that the operable part be mounted no lower than 15″ a.f.f. or no higher than 48″ a.f.f.

At one of my inspections I found several light switches that were mounted higher than 48″ to the operable part. Below is an example of a rocker switch.

Some electricians believe that the rule is meant to be a maximum to the middle of the junction box, but that would be a violation since the rocker switch has its uppermost operable part higher than the middle.

The light switch shown above is mounted 53″ a.f.f. to the top of its operable part

At several of inspections I noticed that there have been Cintas First Aid cabinet mount on the walls of office spaces. This cabinet has two latches on the side to open and close. There is one mounted at the bottom of the box and there is a second one closer to the top of the box to open the lid. The bottom latch was mounted at the 48″ a.f.f. maximum but the top one is beyond the reach range. Since the lid will not open unless both operable parts are unlatched, both latches must be within reach.

The Cintas first aid center was mounted so that the top operable part to open the box was mounted higher than the maximum 48″ a.f.f.

The top latch was mounted at 68″ a.f.f.

It has become popular to have charging outlets in different places along lobbies, corridors and break rooms. One of the places that I see them installed are on banquettes in common areas installed at the base of the banquette. Those will also have to be within reach.

Banquette with a charging outlet at a common area in an office building

The outlet was mounted at 10 1/2″ a.f.f. to the operable part rather than the 15″ a.f.f. minimum required by the Standards

Need a “Barrier Free” HSW AIA approved CEUs?

July 15th – “How Accessible is Your Workplace” at Herman Miller Showroom 2811 McKinne Avenue Suite 18 Dallas Tx at 12:00

August 19^th – “Applying the ADA to Existing and Altered Buildings” at Tangram Interiors, 300 South Pearl Expressway, Suite 200, Dallas. CU begins at noon

Link to Register: https://iida.ejoinme.org/dalaug25ceureg

September 9^th – “The ADA and Residential Facilities” at Kimball’s Downtown Showrrom, 1699 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas 75201

Link to Register: https://iida.ejoinme.org/dalsep25ceu