Development of a Universal Design Support Tool for Malaysian Built Environment

This research aims to develop and determine the usability of a developed Universal Design Support Tool for Malaysian office buildings. To achieve that aim, the objectives are to: (1) develop a Universal Design Support Tool with universal design guidelines and (2) test the tool’s usability with construction professionals. Questionnaire survey data were collected from developers, consultants, and contractors. Valid survey answers were analyzed using a mean score ranking technique, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and System Usability Score. The developed tool consists of three sections. Thirty-two basic provisions outline friendly user access, circulation, way-finding, hearing and visually impaired support, and sanitary facilities. Thirty-three specific provisions include universal design for social and recreational, residential, apartment, and hotel features. Three design process provisions specify universal design development and innovation features. Each feature's compliance will be awarded a score. At the end of the assessment, a total score with a grade is automatically generated to indicate the level of universal design conformance Compared to other existing tools, this tool is comprehensive yet simple and friendly to the user.. This study's findings revealed the marginal acceptance of the Universal Design Tool’s usability by the developers, consultants, and contractors. Although the average SUS score of the tool is marginally accepted, the normalized value of the positive usability criteria indicating the tool’s usability is significant. The comprehensive guidelines in a user-friendly tool enable developers to adopt universal design in their brief requirements, consultants in their design developments, and contractors during the construction process.