- 23, 01, 2023
Installation of Self Adhesive PU Tactile Tiles for ACCESSIBLE PATHWAY AT BLIND PEOPLE’S ASSOCIATION, AHMEDABAD A CSR Initiative By Eminent Overseas (Eminent Tactiles®)
We often forget to be grateful for a lot of things, taking them for granted. To be able to throw a ball, to be able to walk on the grass, to be able to see a colourful flying kite, and to be able to hear the sweet chirping of birds. These are some things that are normal for a lot of us. It is only when we see people with disabilities do we feel slightly blessed. But have you considered how difficult a life these people might live? And if yes, have you tried to make their lives easier in any way?
When we started Eminent Tactiles, our main mission was to make this country more accessible to specially-abled people. We began working on tactile for the same mission, to help differently-abled people in every way we can. We design and manufacture a variety of tactile indicators, including warning and directional tactile, anti-skate deterrents, stair noising, civic edge protectors, and many more. These products indicate visually impaired people and help them navigate their path, just like road signs. We provided our services to many corporate buildings, shopping malls and public places. Slowly but surely, we built a community which supported our work and appreciated our goal. And it was from this community only that the universe made us stumble upon one of the largest organisations in Asia working with and for all categories of disabilities, an organisation that might be highly benefitted from tactile indicators.
When we visited the BPA or Blind People Association (India) in Vastrapur Ahmedabad, we felt a strong connection to the place. It was like we started our tactile services for such places only. Any companies that we had worked with or places that we offered our services to had the idea of making their place more accessible because of government guidelines. But, this was a place that had the only motif – to provide all specially-abled people with access to individual need-based services. BPA believes, and we agree, that any disability is not a barrier, but it is our job to make their lives easier in every way we can.
And for this reason only, we felt it our responsibility to offer our tactile pathway services to BPA free of charge to do our part for society. Even though people with visual impairment have become more sufficient, every step in a new place is difficult for them because they can’t navigate. To help with this difficulty, our Eminent Tactiles team decided to donate our Polyurathine Tactile Tiles: PU Warning Tile and PU Directional Tile to this organisation. PU Warning tile is made of 36 small rounds, which indicate people of a change of path or a stop. Similarly, PU Directional tile is made of 4 bars with curved ends that indicate to visually impaired people that the path is okay for them to walk ahead. These tiles are highly durable, and they provide an accessible pathway so that blind people are assured of the utmost safety.
Apart from this, we also installed stair nosing on the steps made of anti-skid material, which greatly benefits people with visual impairment. Now, let us walk you through our process.
Our Process
When we first visited the BPA campus, the senior manager of the place, Ms Kinnari Desai suggested us to have a look at building no. 8, which is one of the most visited buildings of the organisation. We decided to install our tiles on the ground floor of this building, which includes three classrooms, one physiotherapy centre and a lift to go upstairs. Many visually-impaired students attend different classes on the ground floor of this building and that is why we decided to make this pathway more accessible to them with the tactile indicators.
After finalising the place, we measured the whole place and calculated how many tiles the place would need to indicate different rooms located on the ground floor. On our next visit to the organisation, we came with bags full of our Polyurathine Tactile Tiles and hearts full of enthusiasm. We cleaned the whole place and made it ready for the installation of the tiles. The best thing about our tactile tiles is that they come with a release paper, which can be easily removed, and you can stick the tile directly on the floor with much ease. This way, you won’t need to follow any messy process with cement or a hammer to install these tiles. Quite hassle-free, right?
We also installed stair nosings on the beginning steps of the building that help blind people just when they are about to enter the premises. Our years of experience, research and services for visually-impaired people had already made us aware of luminance contrast and how any partially blind person can witness highly contrasting colours in some percentage. That is why we made sure to offer these tiles in bright yellow colour, which provided luminance contrast against the black steps and dark grey floor of the building.
Our Experience
We took a team of six people, it required us more than 15 hours of continuous work to finish this project, and the experience was totally worth it. After the completion of the project, we asked many students of the organisation to walk on the accessible pathway and see if they felt any difference. It was greatly satisfying to see many visually impaired people reach directly to the lift or to the classroom without any outside help from workers because of the tactile pathway. Dr Bhusan Punani, the general secretary of BPA, wrapped a cloth around his eyes and walked on this tactile pathway with a stick to find how these tiles will benefit visually-impaired people. Additionally, Ms Kinnari Desai, the general manager of the organisation, who is partially blind, could slightly see the highly contrasting yellow colour that we used for the tiles. There are moments when you sincerely feel proud of yourself and the work you do, and we felt the same pride in our work at this exact moment.
There are many things that we do in our lives for money, but the satisfaction and happiness we gain while performing corporate social responsibility cannot be compared with any profit-based work. We live in a world which is rapidly traversing towards mechanism, and it is our job to keep warmth and compassion alive. It is our responsibility to make the world more accessible to people who might have some difficulty performing normal things. We genuinely request everyone to have a compassionate heart and help everyone in need, especially to differently-abled people. And right now, we sit in our office, miles away from BPA, thinking about every visually-impaired people who might enter the BPA building and have a much more accessible pathway. We are truly grateful for the blessings we have gained from this selfless service.
We did our part for society by providing our service to Blind People’s Association, have you done yours?
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