# Vending Machines



## Rick18071 (Sep 12, 2018)

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These are brand new. The third photo is a touchscreen where you pay for food on shelves and refrigerators. Our state adopted IBC Appendix E which requires vending machines to be accessible. The controls are all too high. I have to fail the final inspection for the building because of it. Usually they install them after the C. O. has been issued and I never see them. I had a few business that took the non accessible vending machines and ATM's out, because I failed the final. They put the same ones in after the C. O. was issued.

After 50 years of the ADA why do they still make vending machines that are not accessible?

Has a vending company ever been sued for ADA?


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## ADAguy (Sep 12, 2018)

Point well taken, but similar to a frig. or freezer they are FF&E items. The ADA has not yet chosen to require them to be accessible. If built-in then it becomes an issue, controls, reach range, etc.
They could and should be seen as a T3 compliance responsibility for public accommodations.


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## RLGA (Sep 12, 2018)

Are all the operable parts within the 48-inch reach? The The ADA Standards does have requirements for reach range for vending machines in the the scoping requirements of Chapter 2, but only requires one of each type. The touch screen could be considered an "operable part," since it "activates" the "element" (i.e., vending machine).

ANSI A117.1 does not address vending machines because it uses other documents for scoping requirements, such as IBC Chapter 11. So, for building code application purposes, these machines could not prevent a CofO from being issued, unless your jurisdiction adopts other accessibility requirements that encompasses vending machines.


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## Rick18071 (Sep 12, 2018)

I did not know vending machines or refrigerators are not in the ADA like they are in the IBC. Our state adopted IBC Appendix E which requires vending machines to be accessible (E105.3)..


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## mark handler (Sep 12, 2018)

Rick18071 said:


> I did not know vending machines or refrigerators are not in the ADA like they are in the IBC. Our state adopted IBC Appendix E which requires vending machines to be accessible (E105.3)..


*2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design *
https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm#pgfId-1011051
228 Depositories, *Vending Machines,* Change Machines, Mail Boxes, and Fuel Dispensers
228.1 General. Where provided, at least one of each type of depository, vending machine, change machine, and fuel dispenser shall comply with 309.


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## RLGA (Sep 12, 2018)

Rick18071 said:


> I did not know vending machines or refrigerators are not in the ADA like they are in the IBC. Our state adopted IBC Appendix E which requires vending machines to be accessible (E105.3)..


If your jurisdiction adopted Appendix E, then vending machines are subject to building code enforcement.


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## Yikes (Sep 12, 2018)

CBC copied the wording from ADA that Mark quoted above.  For a building official, the key words are "where provided".
If the machine itself is not part of the scope of your plan check or permit (and a change machine or candy machine might not be), it would not be up to the building official to verify compliance.  It would be the owner's responsibility.


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## ICE (Sep 12, 2018)

Hopefully people in wheelchairs are smart enough to avoid vending machines.  I am skeptical about the premise that I am responsible for accessibility of a Coke machine.


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## Francis Vineyard (Sep 13, 2018)

*E101.2 Design.* Technical requirements for items herein shall comply with this code and ICC A117.1.

*SECTION 707
AUTOMATIC TELLER MACHINES (ATMS) AND FARE MACHINES*

*707.1 General.* Automatic teller machines and fare machines shall comply with Section 707.

*707.2 Clear floor space.* A clear floor space shall be provided in front of the machine.

*Exception:* Clear floor space is not required at drive up only automatic teller machines and fare machines.

*707.3 Operable parts.* Operable parts shall comply with Section 309. Unless a clear or correct key is provided, each operable part shall be able to be differentiated by sound or touch, without activation.

*Exception:* Drive up only automatic teller machines and fare machines shall not be required to comply with Section 309.2 or 309.3.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=blind+sues+touch+screen&atb=v114-3_h&ia=web


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## JCraver (Sep 13, 2018)

I'd suggest maybe making a note on the final inspection report that they have to be removed (per your Appendix), but I sure wouldn't fail an inspection for a vending machine that's plugged in to the wall.  Hang out for 5 minutes and let the maintenance guys drag them out of there, and be done with it.


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## Francis Vineyard (Sep 13, 2018)

Mixed batch of info, hope it helps!

ADA requirements for the vending industry, designating "reach ranges" only, went into effect on March 15, 2012. Ranges can be no higher than 48" and no lower than 15"; side-reach and other accessibility requirements were also revised. 

Barbara Elkin, attorney-advisor at the U.S. Department of Justice, explained the new requirements during the government affairs symposium at the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) OneShow in Chicago.
The regulations establish side reach regulations requiring that all operable parts be no higher than 48 inches and no lower than 15 inches. This differs from the 1991 standards which have controls at 54 inches high and nine inches low.
Elkin noted that it is the vending operators, not the equipment manufacturers, who are responsible for meeting the requirements.
The length of the reach is the main change under the new rules, Elkin noted. "An awful lot of this has not changed" since 1991, she said.
The machine must be easily accessible for persons in wheelchairs.
Operators do not have to replace existing machines with compliant machines at a location unless the location undergoes an alteration. If the location is not upgraded, changed or renovated, there is no need to install new equipment.
In addition, a machine will have to be made compliant if it is altered. A machine is considered altered if the payment mechanism is changed. Normal maintenance to mechanical or electrical systems are not considered alterations, Elkin said.
If an operator has a bank of equipment selling the same products, only one machine in the bank must comply with the rules, Elkin said. If each of the machines are selling different products, then all must comply.
For buildings with machines on different floors, Elkin said the requirements will apply for any machine that serves a different group of consumers in the building.
Elkin said it has not been determined if the accessibility requirements will apply to communication elements on vending machines such as videoscreens. "That may be coming," she said. "Increasingly, we're seeing machines that can do everything."
NAMA has argued that the rules should not apply to vending machines that are not fixed into building since the ADA requirements state they apply only to fixed equipment.
NAMA has submitted comments to the Department of Justice (DOJ) arguing that the ADA requirements do not apply to moveable and non-fixed vending machines. However, until a specific exemption is allowed for vending, NAMA urges operators to meet the requirements.
According to the material Elkin provided at the symposium, if a machine is freestanding, it must still be accessible to persons with disabilities. "Freestanding machines should be made accessible to the maximum extent feasible," the material notes. "DOJ recommends that the ADA Standards be used as a guide for these machines as well."
Elkin said freestanding equipment must nonetheless meet the requirements.

The Supreme Court recently asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to weigh in on whether vending machines are places of public accommodation covered by Title III of the ADA.  The Court’s request related to a pending a Petition for Certiorari filed by a blind plaintiff who unsuccessfully sued Coca-Cola for allegedly owning and/or operating vending machines that are not independently usable by the blind.  Both the District Court and the Fifth Circuit had concluded that such machines are not public accommodations under the ADA.


The DOJ’s amicus brief unequivocally stated its position that vending machines are not public accommodations.  The DOJ advanced a number of arguments in support of its position that a vending machine does not fall within any of the 12 categories of businesses that are considered public accommodations under the statute.  Among other things, the DOJ stated that a vending machine is not a “sales establishment” covered by the law but rather a piece of equipment typically found within public accommodations facilities.


The most significant commentary from the DOJ’s brief concerns a public accommodation’s obligations with regard to self-service equipment provided for public use.  The DOJ stated:


the operator of a public accommodation in which the vending machines is located is better suited to determine whether such changes [(i.e. making the vending machines independently accessible by blind users)] are the most efficient means of complying with the ADA.  When buying or leasing vending machines, some business owners may insist upon the inclusion of accessible features.  Others, however, might choose instead to install the machines at locations within their establishments where their employees will be available to assist customers with disabilities.  The business owner is better positioned than the seller or lessor of the machines to determine what method of ensuring accessibility will be most effective at a particular location.


In other words, it is the DOJ’s position that providing assistance to customers with disabilities is a lawful way to provide access in lieu of procuring accessible vending machines.  Presumably this position would extend to all self-service equipment provided for customer use — at least when there are no privacy concerns.  (In 2014, the DOJ had filed a Statement of Interest in a different case involving allegedly inaccessible point-of-sale devices where it took the position that a public accommodation must provide individuals with disabilities independent access to point-of-sale devices which require the entry of Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).)


In McGee v. Coca Cola Refreshments USA, Inc., 2015 WL 6620959 (E.D. La. 2015) the court held definitively that a Coca Cola vending machine is not, by itself, a place of public accommodation covered by the ADA. It noted, however, that the bus station in which the machine was located was a place of public accommodation and might well be obligated to provide accessible vending machines. The case was decided early, so there is no guidance as to what accessible means.


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## ADAguy (Sep 13, 2018)

"Thank you" for this, now do you have the DOJ cite for this revised requirement?


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## Rick18071 (Sep 14, 2018)

This is all interesting about the ADA but I still need to inspect to the adopted code. PA has auditors to check that we are inspecting accessibility right and I can get in trouble if a grab bar is 1/4 to high. They can take the vending machines out and I will take photos of the empty space to cover my ass in case they bring back the same ones or they can bring different ones in that comply, I don't care which way.

I just wonder why they make two different kinds of vending machines, ones that are accessible and ones that don't.. I would think it would be easier to make them all the same..


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## ADAguy (Sep 14, 2018)

agreed


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## Francis Vineyard (Sep 14, 2018)

Rick18071 said:


> I just wonder why they make two different kinds of vending machines, ones that are accessible and ones that don't.. I would think it would be easier to make them all the same..



Generally vending machines are purchased and owned by franchisers. They profit with the property owner who select the machines on the premises. Until the owner responsible decides to provide accessible machines, the vendor will continue to provide the machines in stock.


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## ADAguy (Sep 14, 2018)

So then who is liabel when sued for noncompliance?


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## Francis Vineyard (Sep 14, 2018)

ADAguy said:


> So then who is liabel when sued for noncompliance?


Tenant


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## Rick18071 (Sep 26, 2018)

Just curious.

The third photo is a machine with a touch screen where the area that you need to click is higher than 48". This machine is to be used to pay for food that you can take off of shelves and refrigerators next to it. This is in an office vending room. I don't think you could call it a vending machine. It's more like a self service check out like you see in supermarkets. Would this be required to be accessible under ADA?

Under ADA would ATM's and change machines be required to be accessible for both built-in and stand alone?


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## ADAguy (Sep 26, 2018)

Grey area, "It" depends


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## mark handler (Sep 26, 2018)

ADAguy said:


> So then who is liabel when sued for noncompliance?


Everyone, called a shotgun lawsuit. Tenant, Vending Machine owner, if leased, Vending Machine manufacturer and the building owner, if not the same as tenant.


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## VillageInspector (Oct 3, 2018)

Rick18071 said:


> Just curious.
> 
> The third photo is a machine with a touch screen where the area that you need to click is higher than 48". This machine is to be used to pay for food that you can take off of shelves and refrigerators next to it. This is in an office vending room. I don't think you could call it a vending machine. It's more like a self service check out like you see in supermarkets. Would this be required to be accessible under ADA?
> 
> Under ADA would ATM's and change machines be required to be accessible for both built-in and stand alone?


Under ADA I'm not sure but under Appendix E they seem to be exempt.


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## mark handler (Oct 3, 2018)

VillageInspector said:


> Under ADA I'm not sure but under Appendix E they seem to be exempt.



ADA Appendix E?


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## Rick18071 (Oct 3, 2018)

2009 IBC Appendix E E105.3 Depositories, vending machines, change machines and similar equipment shall be accessible.

It looks like similar equipment to me.


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## mark handler (Oct 3, 2018)

Rick18071 said:


> 2009 IBC Appendix E E105.3 Depositories, vending machines, change machines and similar equipment shall be accessible.
> 
> It looks like similar equipment to me.


So not ADA


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## VillageInspector (Oct 4, 2018)

mark handler said:


> ADA Appendix E?


No IBC Appendix E


mark handler said:


> ADA Appendix E?



No IBC Appendix E


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