Awareness of universal design among facility managers in Japan and the United States

Abstract

This comparative study is based on two surveys conducted in Japan and the United States to understand how facility managers recognize and practice universal design in their workplaces, and to identify what factors are likely to facilitate or obstruct their practice. The results showed that, although many facility managers recognized the advantages of applying universal design, most organizations currently provided accessible workplaces merely within the scope of legal requirements, while few organizations achieved consistency between corporate mission and strategies, knowledge of facility managers, and the degree of workplace accessibility practices. US organizations and Japanese organizations showed different perceptions of the issue in terms of advantages of universal design based on differences in management style. The findings also suggest that an understanding of the issues by top management is key to promoting universal design practice.