Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Brad McCannell Of Rick Hansen Foundation On How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Have a Disability
An Interview With Eric Pines
Forgive them for they know not what they do. Shooting the messenger is a long-standing tradition in our culture. Learn to spend your time on those interested in listening, not on the doubters.
As we all know, over the past several years there has been a great deal of discussion about inclusion and diversity in the workplace. One aspect of inclusion that is not discussed enough, is how businesses can be inclusive of people with disabilities. We know that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. What exactly does this look like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experience about the “How Businesses Make Accommodations For Customers and Employees Who Are Disabled “.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Brad McCannell, Vice President, Access and Inclusion, Rick Hansen Foundation.
Brad’s expertise in the area of disability comes from both personal experience and practical knowledge. In 1992, he formed Canadian Barrier Free Design Inc. to fill the gap between the building code requirements and the real needs of people with disabilities.
As a leader in the field of accessibility for the past 25 years, Brad has extensive experience in the application of universal design across the built environment, providing accessibility consultations for buildings and organizations including Rogers Arena, Richmond Olympic Oval, Vancouver International Airport, University of British Columbia, and various Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you ended up where you are?
I’m 69 years old — I have had two complete and separate callings in my working career: the first spanned 25 years in the television industry doing everything from camera operator to writer producer, including being the co-owner of the largest production company west of Toronto between 1977 and 1987 — Western Video.
In the Fall of 1980 after a motor vehicle accident, I became a quadriplegic and full-time wheelchair user. At that time, I chose to have nothing to do with the community or the organizations of and for people with disabilities and instead successfully continued my television career. I shifted from cameraman /Director to writer/producer from my wheelchair. My credits include directing over 300 hours of live television; writing/ producing hundreds of television commercials, and training and promotional videos, as well as being the Production Manager for 25 location episodes of General Hospital for ABC.
In 1990, I became the Project Manager/Producer of Independence ’92 — the largest conference and exposition on disability ever held [at least to that point]. There, I was exposed to virtually all the movers and shakers in the disability movement including Justin Dart — one of the founders of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Henry Enns from Disabled Peoples International and Lori Beacham from the Independent Living movement — among many others. This experience revealed an opportunity to combine my background as a communicator with my newfound knowledge of the real need to create meaningful access in the built environment. To drive change as part of a cultural shift in the design industry itself.
And so in 1992, I had my second calling: I formed Canadian Barrier Free Design Inc., a consulting firm developed to fill the gap between the building code and the real needs of people with disabilities in the built environment, both as consumers and employees. As a result I developed:
- General and job specific disability awareness training programs;
- A system to provide detailed analysis of existing facilities to identify barriers to people with disabilities and make recommendations for improvements;
- Templates to effectively review construction drawings to identify access issues at the design stage;
- A monthly Op/Ed column on disability issues that ran for 4 years in a major Vancouver newspaper — Canada’s third largest market.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I can inspire
Drawing on lived experience and the practical application of universal design in the field, I can teach old dogs, new tricks. I can help management understand that access is not a cost issue and that creating real access is mostly a matter of identifying the low hanging fruit once you are inspired and know enough to look for it. I can put a face to disability that is full of opportunity and which is not just a regulatory headache.
I am patient
I understand the reality that change comes slowly in this industry. Actually, change comes at a glacial pace. In 1992, I set out to change the corporate culture of Vancouver International Airport and to help it embrace meaningful access. And over the past 20 or so years a cultural shift has taken place, resulting in it being fully embedded and now, YVR is recognized internationally as a leader in accessible terminals in public building design. For the last nine years YVR has been voted as the ‘Best Airport in North America’ largely based on a customer service model that includes the practical application of universal design and the integration of the needs of people with disabilities into the normal design and operating procedures of the facilities.
I am a ‘starter’
In my television career I specialized in being part of ‘start-up crews’ for new television stations:
- The original CityTV in 1971.
- The original Global TV station in 1974.
- CITV in Edmonton in 1975.
- CKVU in Vancouver in 1976.
- Western Video in 1977.
That ‘starter’ mentality continued as my career shifted to developing meaningful access in the built environment:
- The first global conference on disability in 1992.
- The first professional access consulting firm in 1992.
- The first LEED style rating system for accessibility in 2015.
Creating meaningful access in the built environment requires selling new concepts to an industry that HATES change. They fear that change — any change — costs money. The industry needs to literally start seeing the built environment in a new way. Creating meaningful access offers a real, measurable, tangible return on investment. But it is a new way of approaching an old problem — a new start as it were.
Can you share a story about one of your greatest work related struggles? Can you share what you did to overcome it?
Probably the greatest struggle is with the community itself. Traditionally it has been advocates and the organizations of and for people with disabilities that advised architects, planners and politicians on accessibility. But they are not professionals working in the field and if asked to actually resolve a problem they can only bring anecdotal information to the table. If you are not trained to common language in common methodology to identify and resolve issues then tangible results are not produced.
I am not an advocate. I am a professional working in the field. I bring broad experience in the practical application of universal design along with an understanding of the limitations owners, operators and architects are working within. I bring standardized training and common language with common methodology to resolve issues identified by the advocates. The advocate’s job is to identify barriers and issues affecting people with disabilities — not to resolve them. As a professional I bring international standards and practices that architects and owners can rely on.
As I’m certain you can well imagine there is resistance in a community that has come to believe that they know more about accessibility than anyone else — a resistance to giving up the role of advisor. But as we reach out and engage the organizations of and for people with disabilities, as we have more and more success working directly with industry, and having major players adopt our programs and our approach, the advocates are understanding that we are not trying to replace them, we are just trying to professionalized the delivery of accessible design so that the industry can more quickly adopt solutions to the barriers that the community has identified.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
With a background of being the access consultant for mega projects like the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, and a 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver, 30 years with YVR, and the Access Working Group for the International Paralympic Committee, my latest project — the Rick Hansen Foundation’s Accessibility Certification program (RHFAC), has the real potential to change the world. To change design culture. To create real and meaningful employment for people with disability. To support and maintain communities by keeping people in their homes longer.
The RHFAC provides a reference standard that crosses all codes and site standards. It provides a disability lens that simplifies the issues while guiding industry professionals to ensure all barriers are identified on a cross disability basis. RHFAC delivers needed training to the planning, design and construction industries as part of their normal professional development. It is an avenue to create in-house knowledge of the practical application of universal design via the RHFAC lens, while allowing projects to measure themselves against a national scale. It creates consistency. It makes access measurable.
To date more than 1,600 sites have been rated under our program with 350+ Industry professionals having taken our training. This is real cultural change.
Can you tell our readers a bit about your experience working with initiative to promote Diversity and Inclusion? Can you share a story with us?
Frankly one of the biggest challenges is simply having accessibility included within the concept of diversity and inclusion. A recent review of the Valuable 500 companies revealed a huge gap as only 4% of them included disability and access issues as part of their inclusion programs. Somehow, ‘inclusion’ didn’t include us. This gap was largely generated by a misunderstanding of who people with disabilities really are. An example of this is how — as a community — we have been siloed.
Policy makers tend to address issues in silos, looking for solutions for:
- poverty reduction.
- ways of supporting the indigenous communities.
- ways of resolving BIPOC issues.
- And ways of supporting people with disabilities.
The great flaw in this is, of course, that is it doesn’t recognize that people with disabilities are part of all those other groups. We aren’t something separate. We are not a homogenous group that you address apart from the other groups within the overall culture. We are not just wheelchair users. We are people who are blind, people with vision loss, people who are deaf, and so forth. We are a Neurodiverse community and we are older adults and seniors with disabilities.
You cannot achieve inclusion and diversity without understanding who people disabilities actually are.
Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have an inclusive work culture?
Because a barrier to a person with disabilities is a barrier to making a profit. Today 50% of the Canadian population reports that it benefits from an accessible built environment. Businesses that are not accessible cannot engage people with disabilities and their families as customers. Who among business sector would say no to 50% of the population as customers? Meanwhile, business people are wringing their hands because they can’t find people to hire. All the while the Conference Board of Canada reports that 57% of people with disabilities are either underemployed or unemployed and that the cost of that to the Canadian economy is $16.8 billion annually on the GDP. Code minimum access strategies hold back the entire nation. Recent Angus Reid polling shows that 30% of Canadians are already choosing which businesses they frequent based on the level of access provided. That will only increase.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. For the benefit of our readers, can you help explain what this looks like in practice? What exactly are reasonable accommodations? Can you please share a few examples?
Reasonable accommodation means different things to different businesses. Typically, providing reasonable access is not required if making the accommodation creates “undue hardship” to a business — either financially or to their business model. For example, there may well be a good reason for not installing an elevator to allow people with mobility impairments to access the entire building: it could be a building scheduled for demolition; it could be a building that the business plans to vacate shortly, or it could be a myriad of other factors that make it “unreasonable” to make that accommodation. But just because you can’t provide elevator access does it mean nothing can be done? There’s probably a lot you could do to make the stairs safer; improve acoustics and wayfinding, or develop an egress plan that supports people with disabilities. Remember that building codes work very hard to get people with disabilities into building but fall short in plans for getting us out in an emergency. There is no requirement for emergency access to be accessible. So the next time you’re standing in front of an elevator and you see the little wall sign that says “In Case Of Fire Take Stairs“ ask yourself — where is the little placard that tells wheelchair users what to do?
Aside from what is legally required, what are some best practices that can make a business place feel more welcoming and inclusive of people with disabilities? If you can, please share a few examples.
- Ensure your staff receives disability awareness training. Language and etiquette are critically important along with simulation training to help staff understand the real needs of the community.
- Ensure websites and other communications are accessible to people with vision impairment or cognitive issues. Wherever possible use plain language written communication.
- Provide ASL interpretation at all public meetings and on websites where detailed information — including press releases and public facing documents are displayed.
- Routinely use large print (14pt) with sans serif fonts on all internal documents.
Can you share a few examples of ideas that were implemented at your workplace to help promote disability inclusion? Can you share with us how the work culture was impacted as a result?
- Variable height desks.
- Upgraded washroom facilities that go beyond code to provide real access.
- Power operated doors in hallways, not just entrances.
- High contrast colouring to make navigating hallways easier.
- Upgraded wayfinding using colour contrast and tactile surfaces.
All of these things work for everyone. You don’t need to be ‘disabled’ to benefit. This is just good practice. The work culture benefit by having features work for them without being labelled disabled.
This is our signature question that we ask in many of our interviews. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started My Career”?
- There’s no single solution.
Barriers to people with disabilities have to be approached with an understanding of the use of the building and the probable users. Sometimes, removing a barrier for one group creates a barrier for another. For example, you might want to add carpet to a glass and tile building to reduce the sound levels for people who are hard of hearing, however, doing that creates a barrier for people using wheeled mobility devices. So, did you eliminate a barrier or did you create one?
2. It takes more than logic and reason to create change.
It also takes patience, understanding and the ability to approach problems from different angles. It’s logical to create meaningful access at the design phase rather than retrofit after the fact. Unfortunately, logic is not enough.
3. Don’t take it personally.
Forgive them for they know not what they do. Shooting the messenger is a long-standing tradition in our culture. Learn to spend your time on those interested in listening, not on the doubters.
4. Don’t be intimidated by ‘educated fools’.
A degree in architecture or planning doesn’t mean that person is more knowledgeable than I am. I know for example that architects do not take the application of universal design as part of the training. To me that is akin to a doctor not learning about nutrition.
5. There’s no such thing as ‘fully accessible’.
No structure or facility is accessible to all people, with all disabilities, in all occupancies and all site conditions, at all times. Target levels of accessibility are a necessity of the business. By nature that means some people will be excluded. Choose carefully.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story about how that was relevant in your own life? Whatever you can do, or think you can do, just do it. Boldness has a genius, power and magic to it.
Laying in a hospital bed, paralyzed from the neck down. I was 27 years old and scared. Unsure of the future, knowing that the comforts of the past were now out of reach. The only way forward, is forward. Take that first step toward next. Whatever that is. I did. I didn’t look back.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Understanding that ‘disability’ is not about somebody else. Disability affects all of us and it’s more about your Mom than anybody else. There are two kinds of people in the world: people with disabilities and those who haven’t found theirs yet. Most people are what we call temporarily able-bodied or TAB’s (see, we’ve got names for you too ☺). Because it doesn’t matter if you do a face plant when you’re a teenager and end up in a wheelchair, or if you’re 65 and need a walker and a hearing aid; sooner or later everyone will experience disability in their lifetime.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Eric L. Pines is a nationally recognized federal employment lawyer, mediator, and attorney business coach. He represents federal employees and acts as in-house counsel for over fifty thousand federal employees through his work as a federal employee labor union representative. A formal federal employee himself, Mr. Pines began his federal employment law career as in-house counsel for AFGE Local 1923 which is in Social Security Administration’s headquarters and is the largest federal union local in the world. He presently serves as AFGE 1923’s Chief Counsel as well as in-house counsel for all FEMA bargaining unit employees and numerous Department of Defense and Veteran Affairs unions.
While he and his firm specialize in representing federal employees from all federal agencies and in reference to virtually all federal employee matters, his firm has placed special attention on representing Veteran Affairs doctors and nurses hired under the authority of Title. He and his firm have a particular passion in representing disabled federal employees with their requests for medical and religious reasonable accommodations when those accommodations are warranted under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (ADA). He also represents them with their requests for Federal Employee Disability Retirement (OPM) when an accommodation would not be possible.
Mr. Pines has also served as a mediator for numerous federal agencies including serving a year as the Library of Congress’ in-house EEO Mediator. He has also served as an expert witness in federal court for federal employee matters. He has also worked as an EEO technical writer drafting hundreds of Final Agency Decisions for the federal sector.
Mr. Pines’ firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Atlanta, Georgia. His first passion is his wife and five children. He plays classical and rock guitar and enjoys playing ice hockey, running, and biking. Please visit his websites at www.pinesfederal.com and www.toughinjurylawyers.com. He can also be reached at eric@pinesfederal.com.
Disability Inclusion In The Workplace: Brad McCannell Of Rick Hansen Foundation On How Businesses… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.