ADA Compliant Filing Systems
Hanel Rotomat Office Carousels

Ergonomics in the workplace is of the utmost importance with insurance prices rising and injuries in the office occuring frequently. The following is a list of non-ergonomic actions used in retrieving and refiling media every day in filing systems. Do you find yourself bending, twisting, reaching, stooping, or climbing to get to your records? If so, you are not using the "Golden Zone" for optimal ergonomic safety and ADA compliance.

The only filing system set up for true ergonomic and ADA compliance is the Hanel Rotomat Office File Vertical Carousel Filing System.

The specifications that apply most directly to document filing are requirements for clear space, forward reach, side reach and knee clearance requirements for accessibility of wheelchairs.

Clear floor or ground space for wheelchairs
The EEOC would consider a filing area that provides a 2.5 feet by 4 feet of clear floor or ground space accessible by a single, stationary wheelchair and its occupant. The employer may position this minimum clear floor or ground space for forward or parallel approach to the filing area.

Forward Reach
If clear floor space permits access only from the front, the ADA requires that you should not have to reach higher than 48 inches. If they are approaching from the side, they should not have to reach higher than 54 inches and no lower than 15 inches from the floor.

If there is an obstruction - like a counter over which they must reach, the high forward reach requirement is based on how far users are expected to reach without bending. If it requires them to reach less than 20 inches without bending forward, the 48 inch height requirement remains as if there were no obstruction. If it allows them to reach between 20 and 25 inches without bending forward, then the high reach requirement is 44 inches.

If clearing an obstruction requires them to reach more than 25 inches, however, then the facility would not be considered accessible because this would be difficult for a wheelchair bound worker to reach without bending forward.

Side Reach
For parallel or side approach, there are similar considerations. Since the side approach enables the person to get closer to the equipment, the maximum forward height is 54 inches. Likewise, the low forward reach is nine inches, since the side approach would allow a little more flexibility.

If there is an obstruction, the person must not be required to reach more than 24 inches without bending to the side, no higher than 44 inches and no lower than nine inches.

Knee clearance
In addition to changing forward and side reach requirements, obstructions such as countertops also impact approach. The space beneath the obstruction must be between 27 and 34 inches. Low enough to enable maximum reach without bending forward, high enough to allow the user to maneuver underneath it. Likewise, if there is forward access to the equipment, the space below obstruction must be deep enough not to interfere with forward reach requirements.

Information can be found in DOJ 28 Code of Federal Regulations Part 36, Revised as of July 1, 1994
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities