What is Wayfinding?

“Aims to help people orientate themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place”

This is an example of current signage in the hospital corridor. Signs are missing and the signage is low hanging. Poor public perception and poor patient journey experience to Foresterhill Health Campus. There is a lack of consistency of font, colour, styles and names between external and internal wayfinding signage. No control over displaying of paper signs from service users due to poor wayfinding system. As a result, ineffective wayfinding system leads to inefficient use of staff time, people are late for appointments due to poor wayfinding system. Sign clutter in most parts of the building attempting to resolve short term wayfinding problems.

Another example of current signage. The signs use different styles and sizes of fonts.

What is happening?

External signage on the Foresterhill Health Campus will be refreshed

New internal signage for Wayfinding (i.e. Green Zone) for the Emergency Care Centre – Complete

Remaining internal signage on ARI Main Buildings e.g. Phase 1, Phase 2, East End 1 (Medical Block), East End 2 (Surgical Block) and East End 3 (Special Block) will be grouped into 4 coloured zones namely:

Yellow Zone = Phase 1

Pink Zone = Phase 2 Purple Zone = East End 1 Orange Zone = East End 2 and 3

This shows how Aberdeen Royal Infirmary will be divided into the five colour zones. (E) represents the main entrances in to the building and the dotted lines represent the main corridors people will use to make their way through the building.

What is happening?

Painting of selected walls known as ‘Gateways’ for leaving a colour zone and entering another colour zone

Floor levels within main hospital building will be renamed to match the ECC. For example:

Lower Ground will be renamed as Level 1 (linking to the ECC’s Level 1 via the sloping, commuting corridor adjacent to Ward 18)

Existing Basement will be renamed as Level 0

Main Concourse entrance will be renamed as Level 2

Wards renumbering and renaming of specialties throughout Phase 1, Phase 2, East End 1, East End 2 and 3 as a result of the ARI Reconfiguration Project.

Internal Signage on ARI Main Buildings:Yellow Zone = Phase 1

Pink Zone = Phase 2

Purple Zone = East End 1 (Medical Block)

Orange Zone = East End 2 (Surgical Block)

Orange Zone = East End 3 (Special Block)

New floor levels visual walkthrough

Level 2

Level 2

Once people have entered via any entrance to the hospital, they will be met with an A to Z Directory to assist them in identifying which zone, floor level of wards, clinics or public amenities are located. This is to assist people who may have forgotten the Ward numbers but remembering the specialty they are going to.

Located next to the A to Z Directory will be the colour zone directory. This will indicate their zone, ward/specialty/clinics/public amenities and floor level.

For the Main Entrance to the hospital only, people will be guided by vinyl artwork on the glass screens to assist them in getting to your zones. Pink Zone is not featured here from the Yellow Zone as the shortest route to the Pink Zone is via another corridor.

As people make their way downstairs, they will be guided by highly visible directional chevrons to carry through the journey to find their zones.

Level 1

ECC - Level 1

ECC - Level 1

In order to be consistent with the Main Entrance of the hospital, there will be external signage situated at both the Rotunda Entrance and the East End Entrance. These will inform people that they are going to be entering into a zoning system via a particular colour zone and a particular floor level.

Level 2

Level 1

This is an example of the signage people will see when they arrive at the East End Entrance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. It shows the direction to take to head towards the other zones, but states clearly the zone people are about to enter.

Level 1

Level 1

Painting of threshold walls for leaving a colour zone and entering another zone

Lift vinyls on Lift doors for each of the colour

zones

When is it happening?

2-stage implementation

(1st Stage) Mid June 2013For internal parts of ARI main hospital buildings:

Painting of coloured ‘Gateway’ walls Lift doors vinyl sheets displaying floor numbers Lift buttons will be changed to reflect new floor numbers Existing floor numbers on stairwell directories will be replaced temporarily with new floor

numbers

For external parts of Foresterhill Health Campus: Old external signage will be removed and replaced with new external signage

(Final stage) 5th – 8th July Bank Holiday weekend Removal of old internal signage and installation of new internal signage across all zones Completion of new external signage

What can you do?

You can help us by:

Being supportive of this project

Using new terminologies such as colour zones, new ward numbers, new floor levels when communicating to patients, staff and visitors in finding their way around ARI.

What does this mean for you?

Your ward numbering will change e.g. Ward 31 to Ward 501

You will be working in a colour zone e.g. Phase 1 = Yellow Zone

Some staff will be regularly moving between zones

You will need to adopt this new way of working in conversation when giving directions to patients, staff and visitors to find their way around ARI

Questions?