Bad Designs on Campus - Submission
A Bad De“Sign” - Getting Rescued, Good Luck
Problem description: In the bottom one of the HH Dow stairwells, about 2 years ago someone put up this sign explaining the emergency evacuation route for this section of the building. The sign has a couple of major problems with it, the biggest being that it suggests using a cell phone, but good luck getting reception in this location. I have included a picture of the sign and a couple of comments about it:
Picture 1
#1 – Refer to the posted route doesn’t really help since in picture 2 you’ll notice that there is no route posted near the sign and secondly, there is only one way out and that is up.
Picture 2
#3 – This instruction on the sign is the main problem. There are two major problems; 1) There is no phone anywhere near the sign, closest one is down a hall way that is connected to the stairwell. 2) If there is no phone, then it suggests using your cell phone. Obviously, whoever posted this hasn’t tried to use a cell phone here. This sign is 2 ˝ floors below ground, in a building that gets no cell phone reception inside of it. So pretty much no phone is going to work no matter how good your signal is.
Picture 3
So pretty much, if you follow this sign you are in trouble.
Proposed solution: To fix the problem, I would either add a picture next to it explaining the evacuation routes or not have this area designated as a rescue assistance location. Then if you want it to be a rescue location, I would add a phone to the area, since anyone that waits here is going to be without contact with anyone else.