General

Accessibility Plan for Household Movers and Shippers Ltd.

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. is committed to preventing, identifying and removing barriers that impede the ability of people with disabilities to access services. This Plan is in compliance with the Accessible Canada Act. The ACA is a new law that will help make all of Canada more accessible for people with
disabilities.

You can tell us what you think of the Plan by contacting:

Program Manager of Accessibility Plan

ar@hhmovers.ca
Household Movers and Shippers Ltd.
19 Clyde Ave
Mount Pearl, NL
A1N 4R8
(709) 747-4222

Areas Described Under Section 5 of the ACA

Employment

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. has approximately 75 employees in the province of Newfoundland & Labrador.

Built Environment

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. has office/warehouse spaces across the province. Members of the public rarely visit these office spaces. The office spaces have some accessibility features, including step-free entry and parking in front of the entrance door.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Household Movers & Shippers Limited uses many different technologies including a public website, social media platforms, and programs that only our employees use. We plan to conduct a website accessibility audit that includes user testing by persons with disabilities. We will remove the minor website barriers found through our consultations and others that are discovered. These include:

  • Changes to text contrast and size;
  • Improvements to structure and formatting; and
  • Improving navigation of the website for people who are using a screen reader.

Communication other than ICT

Our office is able to answer questions from the general public via email and phone.

Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

Household Movers and Shippers LTD. buys products and services that support our activities.

Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. provides the services of packing and moving household goods and effects. Most of the ways that our customers interact with us are noted in the Communication section.

Transportation

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. operates vehicles that provide transportation of customers household good and effects. We do not run transportation services for the general public.

Accessibility Plan Framework

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. is committed to listening to and learning from people with disabilities and being able to accommodate them. For this plan, we consulted a local member institution for advice and guidance.

  1. Introduction

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd., our commitment to accessibility is rooted in our belief that our employees, customers, and persons with disabilities all deserve equal access to our services and the ability to work at Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. This framework outlines our strategies for removing barriers and promoting inclusivity. This is a continuously updated document to incorporate new accessibility act regulations, growing accessibility needs and improved accessibility system/methodology.

2. Company Profile

About Household Movers and Shippers Ltd.
As one of the largest agents for North American Van Lines Canada, we command the use of an additional fleet of more than 300 moving vans/trailers. Globally, we are affiliated with North American International. North American Van Lines’ parent company SIRVA provides relocation and moving solutions to consumers, corporations and governments, moving more than 1000 families every day in more than 175 countries around the world.

Location

Our office/warehouses are located in:

St. John’s, Newfoundland

19 Clyde Ave. Mount Pearl, NL A1N 4R8

Goose Bay, Labrador

5 Lundrigan Drive Corner Brook, NL A2H6G7

Gander, Newfoundland

14 McCurdy Drive Gander, NL A1V 1A2

Corner Brook, Newfoundland

5 Lundrigan Drive Corner Brook, NL A2H6G7

3. About this Framework

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) is a federal law to find, eliminate and prevent barriers challenging people with disabilities. Adopted in 2019, the Act’s primary goal is to create a Canada that is free of barriers by 2040. As a strong self-regulated corporate citizen and enthusiastic community player, Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. is fully committed to tightly follow and excel in all ACA requirements. This Framework document has the following key points focused on:

  • Employment: inclusivity and disability welcomed
  • Work Environment: barrier identification and elimination
  • Education: staff awareness and training
  • Resources: taskforce assignment and owner engagement
  • Maintenance: monitoring, review and improvement

4. Employment

Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. is an Equal Opportunity Employer which welcomes all qualifying candidates with any race, culture, religious background and physical disabilities. This principle is emphasized with our direct hiring, outsourced staffing providers and internal referrals. We are a firm believer that people with disabilities will equally contribute to our business success and even bring in a wider perspective and unique innovative ideas. Onboarding staff with disabilities will be carefully consulted first to understand all their accessibility needs, which constitutes positive input to our disabilities planning process.

5. Work Enviroment

Barrier Identification

  • Onboarding staff with special accessibility needs will be provided with a tour of the facility before the work start date to survey the actual working environment for any additional accessibility adjustment advice.
  • We are fully involved in the accessibility identification process to further assist.

Barrier Elimination

  • Accessible Parking: 2 ample Accessible Parking lots at the closest spot to the office entrance per code with large, reflective painted logoed signage.
  • Man and Woman washrooms on the ground floor with minimal travel distance.
  • The ground floor has a full audio/video conferencing system equipped large meeting room and privacy-centric huddle room matching the implementation of the second-floor office area to enable all business functions to be executed at the ground floor level to eliminate any potential hurdle to staff/visitors with a disability.
  • The ground floor features the staff and crew lunchrooms, enabling full inclusivity of physical accessibility on all corporate events with large groups hosted.
  • Spacious semi-open concept cubicle and hot-desking layout for a barrier-free and frustration-free wheelchair and mobility device accessibility.

6. Education

  • All staff have completed “Respect in the Workplace” training (powered by Respect Group Inc.) and this is one of the new hire onboarding tasks.
  • Hiring process (either directly by our HR specialist or via staffing providers) include declaration and explanation of our “Inclusivity” policy to welcome all candidates.
  • Owners and leadership teams discuss all accessibility and inclusivity matters during recurring off-site leadership meetings and leadership training.

7. Resources

  • Our facility manager and staff are working together tightly as a Duo Taskforce to address any accessibility needs/issues.
  • Leadership Team, with regular meetings and trainings, are fully communicative with their team members to catch first-handed information regarding accessibility.
  • Owner Group is committed to any approved accessibility betterment financially.
  • Our staff is well educated in this matter and ready to assist at any way.

8. Maintenance

  • Our Open-door policy encourages our staff to raise questions and suggestions to their managers or higher administrative parties (including owners) for all aspects of business operations and the working environment, including any accessibility advice.
  • The current accessibility arrangement and this framework are regularly reviewed by the Leadership Team at a leadership meeting.
  • Changes to accessibility measures and the program itself are promptly discussed at the management level and then submitted to the owners if further approval is required.
  • The feedback Process is documented in detail in a separate document. 
  • Our “Accessibility Feedback Process” is also published on our website, along with this Framework. The below section lists the highlights of the Feedback Process.

9. Feedback Process

  • Designated Feedback Handler – Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. Accessibility Administrator: Steven Young
  • Household Movers and Shippers Ltd. Accessibility Feedback email address – ar@hhmovers.ca
  • Anonymous feedback submission –
  • Accessibility Framework/Plan updates logging, barrier removal logging, collection of feedback and their responses are all managed/saved by the Accessibility Administrator.

Accessibility Plan Execution

1. Accessibility Framework/Plan Follow-up

Our Accessibility Framework/Plan is executed and updated based on the feedback collection, discussion from recurring leadership meetings and strong owner involvement. Our Accessibility Administrator is organizing all the change implementation (e.g. barrier removal) with the support from leadership and owners, compiling/answering the feedback, documenting the change history and revising the Framework/Plan accordingly.

2. Barrier Removal

Identify and confirm the Barrier

  • Barrier, once reported via the Feedback system or any other channel, will be identified and confirmed for removal process by the Accessibility Administrator along with the Facility Manager and/or Warehouse Manager and any other relevant parties.

Plan, Allocate Resource, Execute for the Barrier Removal

  • Once the barrier has been identified/confirmed, a plan will be initiated to detail the removal process including resource allocation and timeline. Leadership meetings and/or owners’ approval could be engaged if considerable resources will be utilized and/or significant changes, especially side effects, are anticipated. With the approved removal plan, the Accessibility Administrator will act as Project Owner to execute the plan to its full completion and report back to the leadership team and/or owners, as well as following up with the original feedback which presented this finding, if applicable.

Log/Record the Barrier Removal

  • Aside from reporting back the removal completion and feedback follow-up, the Accessibility Administrator will log/record the entire removal process including a summary of actions taken, resources costing, and contracted services, all of which serve as good references for future removal projects and audits and meet the proper record keeping requirement.

3. Feedback Process

Designated Personnel Responsible for Feedback Handling Accessibility Administrator: Steven Young, Manager, Accounting / Payroll Administrator.

Receiving Feedback

  • Via Email: ar@hhmovers.ca
  • Via Phone: 709 748 4505
  • Via Mail:
    • Attn: Accessibility Administrator
      Household Movers and Shippers Limited
      19 Clyde Ave, Mount Pearl, NL, A1N 4R8

Acknowledging Receipt of Feedback

  • Accessibility Administrator will confirm the receipt of accessibility feedback with the submitter if the feedback was provided non-anonymously.