In 2018, the Municipality of Rotterdam (+/- 12.000 employees) contacted Babbage due to the ongoign challenges to get all workplaces (digitally) accessible for its visually impaired employees. Together we assessed and analyzed what was needed to improve the worklaces’ accessibility.
Technical challenges
In particular, the ICT department of the Municipality of Rotterdam indicated that there were technical challenges regarding the use of accessibility software for its visually impaired employees. At that time, every workplace adaptation received its own customized solution. This was very time consuming and inefficient process for both the Municipality and the software distributor. Moreover, the users also experienced many technical problems, which made them unable to properly perform their work. Hence, its employees’ productivity was decreased drastically.
It was a great challenge for Babbage to ensure that all workplaces could be used optimally again. As with every project, a thorough accessibility audit was performed, analyzing its workplaces, the organization and their ICT environment. Having a concrete image of the Municipality, Babbage advised the Municipality which accessibility software was needed and which packages could be offered. For the Rotterdam Municipality, Babbage decided to set up 2 employee profiles: a (low) vision) profile and a blind profile. Babbage has implemented the ACCESS4U package Ultimate Screen Access in combination with Unicorn.
11,700 employees
The Municipality of Rotterdam has around 11,700 employees working in a Citrix and iVanti environment. Due to the implementation of the accessibility software, the workplaces can become fully accessible by automation using iVanti without the intervention of the ICT department.
Babbage has provided all employees with the required training to properly use Ultimate Screen Access. Of course, other supportive technological solutions are also used at the municipality, such as Braille Displays. A tailored training program has been made for the Municipality’s new employees to have every new workplace accessible immediately.
The result
Rotterdam Municipality’s visually impaired employees who can perform tasks optimally and efficiently. A stable magnification, speech, and braille solution is now readily available for every workplace. As a result, all workplaces can be made accessible automatically throughout the organization.
At the moment, Babbage and the Municipality of Rotterdam are still working closely together to further improve the municipality’s overall accessibility.
The Municipality of Rotterdam now has become an inclusive employer.