Estimation of Handicapped Accessible Convenience Store for DOJ

The Situation

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) was investigating a claim that the layout and set-up of a national convenience store chain presented a number of accessibility problems for wheelchair-bound customers.

NERA's Role

In order for the DOJ to cost effectively and efficiently investigate the claim, NERA was hired to design a sample of the 2,000 stores. NERA selected a sample of 67 stores; the DOJ hired an architect to visit the stores and assess the layout for accessibility violations. The architect found that there was an average of approximately 18 violations in each sampled store.

The Result

By selecting the sample, NERA saved the DOJ the time and expense of traveling the entire United States to evaluate each store. NERA used the architect's evaluations of the sampled stores to conclude that the average number of violations for all 2,000 stores nationwide was between 16 and 19 violations per store.