– I think it’s great. It makes our everyday life easier when we don’t have to dismantle and lift the wheelchair in and out of a car every time we go on a trip, Jøran Fjærvoll (41) tells TV 2.
Declaration of trust
He and his colleague Per Fladvad (43) are construction managers in the National Roads Administration’s operation and maintenance Midt, and both are in wheelchairs after being involved in accidents that resulted in them becoming disabled.
– It is important to show the newly injured and other disabled people who are not in work that there are opportunities. Employers just have to see that it doesn’t necessarily require that much facilitation, says Fjærvoll.
CONTROLS THE LEVER: Per Fladvad controls both gas and brake from this lever by the steering wheel. Photo: Kristian Haug Hansen / TV 2
The brand new company car is based in Molde and is equipped with all the necessary equipment that makes it far easier for the two colleagues to get out to work in the field. A rear-mounted lift, swiveling driver’s seat and a separate lever for gas and brake now make driving a pleasure.
– It is a declaration of confidence that we are seen on an equal footing with everyone else who has company cars, and that we can be visible when we are out to follow up the projects we lead. Life is not over because you are in a wheelchair, says Per Fladvad.
He and Fjærvoll are proud to have the Norwegian Public Roads Administration as an employer who takes its employees and their needs seriously.
– Having an employer who sees me and Jøran. This means that we can be part of a professional environment and feel that we are treated equally with others. Now we collaborate and work with other people in the road service, and the wheelchair is not what people see. We are construction managers like the other construction managers, says Fladvad.
MORE MOBILE: Previously, Per Fladvad had to dismantle the wheelchair and lift it into the car. Now he drives straight in via a specially fitted lift. Photo: Arne Rovick / TV 2
He is soon to start a large slope protection project on the E6 at Langnesberga in Snåsa. The new uniformed service car will make the job much easier.
All natural
– It is absolutely essential for us to get out into the field to follow up the work that the contractors are doing, what is happening at the workplace and to have an ongoing dialogue about decisions to be made. Then you must have physically seen the facility and now it will be much more flexible to take the trip out, says Fladvad.
Section manager Jan Arild Johansen for operation and maintenance Midt is proud of what is probably the Norwegian Road Administration’s very first tailor-made special car for wheelchair users.
– We are so lucky that we have two construction managers who are a great resource for us. It was then very natural to provide arrangements so that they have the same opportunity to carry out their job as everyone else in the road service.
For Johansen and his colleagues in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, it has never been an issue that construction managers are in wheelchairs.
PROUD CHIEF: The only thing missing would be that we didn’t make arrangements for our employees who are also in wheelchairs, says Jan Arild Johansen, who is section manager of Statens Vegvesen Midt. Photo: Kristian Haug Hansen / TV 2
– These two guys here are employed in spite of and not because of. We see that they have a practical challenge, but as an employer we manage to take that away.
The Joint Organization of the Disabled (FFO) pays tribute to the National Road Administration.
FFO LEADER: Lilly Ann Elvestad is general secretary of the Functionally Disabled Joint Organization Photo: Magnus Nøkland / TV 2
– I think this is very good and should be a matter of course for all employers in both the private and public sector. We have had wheelchair-accessible cars for a long time and are an obvious aid. But far too many are outside the working world due to attitudes and a lack of will to see good solutions. It shouldn’t be like that, says general secretary Lilly Ann Elvestad in FFO.
The construction managers on two wheels hope that the Norwegian Road Administration’s provision of a special vehicle will be an inspiration to others.
– It is quite common for wheelchair users to drive a specially adapted car. But it is important that employers in both the private and public sector see the value of people in wheelchairs also contributing to society and having a job to go to, say Per Fladvad and Jøran Fjærvoll.
