The importance of accessibility in facility management (FM) is constantly growing, as companies and public institutions are increasingly focussing on more inclusive working environments. Accessibility, at least in the public sector, is not only a legal obligation, but also a decisive factor for social responsibility and the well-being of all employees. Accordingly, a modern computer-aided facility management (CAFM) system must also be able to display its content without barriers.
Numerous aspects important
A CAFM system must take various aspects into account for this. These are particularly important:
- Compatibility with screen readers,
- the possibility of using alternative texts,
- the use of user-specific setting options for the text size in the browser,
- a clear highlighting of active elements on the start and navigation page
- and navigation in the system via the keyboard.
Screen reader optimisation: navigation, start page and command bars
Compatibility with screen readers is a particularly important aspect. This software reads the screen content to visually impaired people so that they can operate the CAFM system safely.
For developers, this means adapting the navigation elements so that they can be interpreted correctly by screen readers. Only then will users receive precise information about when and where input is required. The eye symbol, which is often overlooked by screen readers, must be provided with an alternative text so that it is now also read aloud.
If other important images, i.e. graphics, photos, drawings and symbols, are used, the alt attribute of the images must also be filled with a text so that screen readers can read out to the user what information is provided here.
User-defined font sizes and highlighting
Accessible CAFM applications offer user-specific browser settings for users who require larger font sizes. These make it possible to adjust the text size individually so that the respective person can adapt the readability to their needs. A minimum font size of 8 points is generally recommended as the standard font size.
Another point concerns the topic of colors. On the one hand, color contrasts should be increased so that all content is easy to read. In this context, color vision deficiencies and color blindness should also be taken into account so that people with red, green and blue vision deficiencies, as well as people who cannot perceive colors at all, can work safely with the application.
Clear visual highlighting also helps on home and navigation pages and in the command bars. They make it clear which area or tile is currently active or which button the mouse pointer is hovering over. This significantly increases the focus on the active elements. It goes without saying that areas or tiles should be separated from each other by intense contrasts.
Customizable labeling of mandatory fields
Another important point concerns the labeling of mandatory fields. One common option is to highlight these fields in red. However, this is problematic for people with red-green deficiency. This obstacle can be overcome by introducing a user-definable marking option that allows users to determine how mandatory fields should be marked – for example with an asterisk or other marking.
Optimized use through special adaptations
For visually impaired users, it is also important that elements such as a search engine and the command bar are optimized so that unnecessary elements are hidden. Such a measure makes it much easier to navigate using only the keyboard via tab keys, so that people with visual impairments can also process helpdesk messages efficiently, for example. And can do much more with their CAFM software.
Image : barokahselalu777/Freepik.com
