US Access Consultants, Inc. provides accessibility plan review services for new construction, barrier removal and tenant improvement projects. Our standard approach is to review schematic design, design development, and the various stages of construction documents. Our plan reviews can be integrated into the consulting process in the initial concept study or as late as construction documents. The benefit of a plan review is that it helps to identify the most expensive barriers to fix, including door maneuvering clearances, electrical and plumbing rough in locations, stair and ramp layouts, site work, and toilet rooms, before they are constructed.

USAC performs our plan reviews using Bluebeam Revu software. Any elements that are noncompliant as designed or are potential areas of concern are identified through the plan review process. The applicable code reference for each notation is included in the comments during the plan review phases. USAC also review submittals, shop drawings, product specifications, cut sheets, RFI’s, and ASI’s as applicable to each project.

From our experience, plan reviews ultimately based on 95% – 100% complete construction documents will typically find 50% – 60% of the potentially non-compliant conditions that would be built into a facility when it is complete. Some barriers, which cannot be determined from the documents, will not become evident until the shop drawing or submittal stage. Other barriers are questions of construction quality and product detail that will not become obvious until field observations commence. The design and construction of an accessible building is very much a team effort on behalf of the owner, the architect, and the contractor, and must be diligently pursued from the design phase through the completion of construction. In addition to the plan review services that we provide we typically stay involved throughout the course of construction to ensure that all elements are identified and properly addressed.