Consultation & Expert Witness
UD&C provides defense and plaintiff expert witness and consulting services to both private and public entities. We can review documents, provide representation at meetings and negotiations, prepare reports, participate in depositions, offer courtroom observations and testimony, and other similar activities. Our opinions are consistent and presented in a clear, straightforward manner, allowing attorneys to quickly ascertain how to support their clients.
UD&C President John Salmen is a member of the ICC/ANSI A117 accessibility standard committee and represented the American Institute of Architects on the ADA Accessibility Guidelines Federal Advisory Committee. Our direct involvement in the regulatory development (ADAAG) review process provides our clients with unique insights for understanding the intent of accessibility standards and enables us to provide the widest possible range of compliance recommendations.
Accessibility Consulting Services
We will help you understand the Americans with Disabilities Act and other accessibility regulations and develop effective value-added compliance strategies. Our insights into the intent of the ADA and its regulations, our associations with the agencies who have created those regulations, and our experience with both the public and private sectors make us the premier architectural accessibility consulting firm on the ADA. UD&C provides a wide range of ADA and accessibility consulting services and products, including
- Facility surveys of existing properties.
- Reviewing and assisting in the development of design documents.
- Developing corporate accessibility management programs, including
- Providing training to facility design personnel.
- Developing survey forms for specialized building types.
- Developing automated or manual survey analysis systems.
- Developing design guidelines for new construction and alterations.
- Identification of products that minimize costly building alterations.
- Training in ADA requirements and Universal Design alternatives.
- Expert witness assistance and/or testimony.
- Telephone consultation on technical issues.
- Conceptual, schematic, and design development services for all facility types.
- Strategic planning in developing and tailoring accessibility compliance strategies.
- Accessibility publications, software, and videos.
Plan Review Services
UD&C provides accessibility and ADA compliance plan review services for designs created by architects, interior designers, landscape architects, contractors, and other building design and construction professionals. Our in-depth knowledge of the intent of accessibility regulations enables us to help develop alternative equivalent facilitation solutions when literal compliance is not reasonable or practical. Because of our location in the Washington, DC area, our participation on the national accessibility committees, our identity as the publishers of Universal Design Newsletter, and our reputation as the nation's most knowledgeable firm in the field of Universal Design, we are keenly aware of the status and future directions of accessibility regulations and research. The largest and most renowned design firms in the country cannot match our depth and breadth of knowledge in accessibility issues and are increasingly realizing that our high quality services are the most reasonable and cost effective way for them to provide competent ADA and other accessibility design services to their clients.
Publications, Videos, & Telephone Consultation
Because some people need accessibility information and assistance on an immediate basis, UD&C provides printed and video material, as well as telephone and on-site consultation. UD&C has developed a wide variety of publications and videos on the ADA, Universal Design, and accessibility. These include books, articles for periodicals, pamphlets, chapters of books, our own Universal Design Newsletter quarterly, The 1995 Accessible Building Product Guide published by John Wiley & Sons, and The Accessible Place of Business video.