Government Technology

Whether you are an employee or a visitor to a library offering computer access, a standard PC, screen and mouse set-up seems to be de rigueur. This formulaic approach to equipment assumes that each individual interacts with the same set-up in the same way resulting in the same levels of comfort and efficiency. In the sophisticated world of IT, this attitude seems rather anachronistic. Whilst we may apply great personal choice and discretion to other essential business items (pens, cars and even chairs), our basic tool – the PC – is selected, in the majority of cases, with absolutely no regard to the user whatsoever.
    
Despite the legal, moral and commercial arguments for doing so, many workplace professionals are unaware of the simple and inexpensive adjustments available to get round mouse and keyboard difficulties, as well as vision problems and other conditions such as dyslexia and ‘RSI’.
    
DDA legislation has been in place for over a decade now and whilst we are well aware of its requirements as far as physical access to buildings is concerned, we may be less alert to its applications in other areas of the workplace.
 
Disability Equality Duty
More recently, since 2006, the Disability Equality Duty (DED) has been framed specifically to cover public sector organisations including hospitals, local and central government, schools and colleges. This amplifies the original wording of the Act to actively promote disability equality as employers as well as service providers.
    
The architects of the DED hoped that it would bring about a shift from a legal framework in which change relies on individual disabled people (whether customers or employees) complaining about discrimination, to one in which the public sector itself becomes an agent of change.
    
There are over 9.8 million disabled people in the UK and a growing representation of older employees in the workforce, for whom associated conditions such as failing eyesight and dexterity problems like arthritis may occur. 40 per cent of the English population is now over 45 – the age at which the incidence of disability begins to increase.
    
A Health and Safety Executive report suggests that Upper Limb Disorder or ‘rsi’ is the most common cause of workplace health problems, totalling in excess of 4.2 million working days lost a year and affecting over half a million employees. A further survey reveals that one in five PC users report some degree of pain or discomfort related to an input device – i.e. a mouse. And this figure rises steeply depending on the level and intensity of PC-based work in which the individual engages. In fact, a recent study estimates that over half of us could benefit from adjusting our computer in some way to improve our comfort and/or efficiency.  

Non standard requirements
Seemingly ‘invisible’ issues such as dyslexia, eye strain, backache, headaches or hand/arm discomfort are very common. If left unresolved, these can have a huge impact on morale and performance and lead to absence from work. In many cases they can escalate and result in prolonged sick leave and early retirement.
    
For employers, identifying the right solutions for staff with ‘non-standard’ requirements and providing them with the training they require to operate their new equipment often requires outsourced expertise.
    
Specialists like AbilityNet deliver hundreds of face-to-face, in-depth, workplace-based assessments a year enabling staff to increase productivity and comfort, stay in work, return to work or even to get a job for the first time. As a result, employers have been able to fully comply with their legislative obligations.
    
The very nature of this service means that it can be a lengthy, expensive and tiring process for the individual concerned. The relevant member of staff will be unavailable for several hours during which the assessor will try out various combinations of hardware and software with the employee to find the optimum solution. If the staff member in question has a problem which is exacerbated by tiredness such as ‘RSI’, a vision impairment or a degenerative disease like MS, such a protracted period of concentration is also likely to be extremely arduous.

Remote consultancy
Bearing these issues in mind in tandem with decreasing budgets especially in a recessionary climate, AbilityNet has developed a range of innovative approaches to providing the same levels of expert consultancy at a fraction of the cost.
    
The ‘remote’ model depends on a combination of:

• Telephone or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
• Online Remote Assistance (where the consultant accesses the end-user’s computer remotely through a broadband internet connection, to make adjustments to settings as required)
• Use of a webcam to see the workstation and observe any mouse or keyboard difficulties
• Loan equipment – so the end-user can experiment with a variety of adaptations to check suitability before purchasing
• Training using the above technologies