36 CFR Part 1195 Standards for Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment - Preamble

3. Exception to Ramp Running Slope

The MDE NPRM proposed that where there is a change in level at the entry of a wheelchair space that is greater than 1½ inches, the entry shall be ramped and have a running slope not steeper than 1:12 (proposed M303.3). The Access Board explained in the MDE NPRM preamble that this provision is consistent with the 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines’ technical criteria for changes in level. NPRM, 77 FR at 6929. No commenters addressed this provision. The MDE Advisory Committee, during its discussion of wheelchair spaces on weight scales, extensively addressed the permissible slopes of ramps on raised platforms. Specifically, the Committee noted:

• [It] considered the needs of a ramped surface to access the platform on the accessible scale. Because there are different types of scales with different platform heights, the Committee developed a three tiered ramp slope proposal to fit different situations. The Committee reviewed and discussed the provisions on slopes for ramps as they apply to architectural elements in the built environment. The maximum slope for a ramp in the 2010 Standards is a rise of 1 vertical inch for each 12 inches of horizontal distance slope. Under very limited conditions in the built environment, the 2010 Standards allow a steeper ramp for a limited rise. A ramp in the built environment to which this exception applies may use a 1:2 grade slope on a short rise ramp.

Industry experts spoke to the concern for facility space often expressed by healthcare entities. The space constraints affect the desirability of accessible scales since space is often expensive and tight in many medical facilities. Scales that can be wall mounted or portable enhance the flexibility of scales and allow use in tight environments. Currently, these types of accessible scales use the short rise ramp to facilitate easy storage or mounting.

Existing technology for weight cell load allows for a platform profile to go as low as ¾ to 1½ inches. As the height of the platform lowers, the length of the ramp can decrease. The trend in the scale industry is to develop lower weight cell technology. However, industry currently does not know if lower profiles are possible. MDE Advisory Committee Report, 111-112, available at https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/health-care/about-this-rulemaking/advisory-committee-final-report.

The MDE Advisory Committee recommended a three tiered approach for allowable ramp runs on raised platforms: allowing a slope of 1:2 at 0 to 1½ inches, a slope of 1:8 at a height greater than 1½ inches to 2½ inches, and a slope of 1:12 at a height greater than 2½ inches. Id.

The Access Board agrees with the MDE Advisory Committee that additional allowances in the slope of ramp runs of diagnostic equipment used by patients seated in a wheelchair with raised platforms, primarily weight scales, is appropriate. However, for usability and safety reasons, the Access Board has determined that slopes of such ramp runs should not exceed the long standing maximum slope for accessible ramps of 1:8 that is allowable in certain circumstances in the 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines. The Board also notes that the Guidelines only permit changes in level up to ½ inch e.g., thresholds to be steeper than 1:8.

Therefore, the Access Board has decided to add an exception in the final rule to the requirement that ramped entry wheelchair spaces have ramp runs with a running slope no steeper than 1:12 (M303.3.3.1). This exception permits a running slope not steeper than 1:8 for ramp runs with a maximum height of 2½ inches. Consistent with the MDE Advisory Committee recommendations, ramp runs over 2½ inches in height will have to comply with the general requirement of running slopes of not steeper than 1:12.