Adopt systems suitable for disabled, firm told

[Guest guest]

Its about time!

Adopt systems suitable for disabled, firms told

NAIROBI, Sunday

A passionate plea for employers to make their most important internal electronic communication tool - the Intranet - accessible to people with disabilities was made in Nairobi at the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Africa 2006 conference hosted by the Nepad Council.

Cor Scheepers, head of ABSA Bank's group information technology team, told conference delegates at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre company Intranets has become vital for internal information distribution and publishing, corporate communication, corporate management and corporate application sharing. He said many organisations have Intranets with vast amounts of information. It has become the mechanism to apply for leave, see your pay slip and tax forms, view company policy, procedures and manuals. " If a company Intranet is inaccessible to employees due to their age or a disability the company could be transgressing anti-discrimination laws and will have a serious impact on the productivity and morale of employees with disabilities. "

Scheepers, who is completing a doctorate with the Department of Business Management at the University of Johannesburg on the importance of Intranet accessibility, warned that most company Intranets are designed and maintained without taking into account the importance of accessibility of Intranet content to employees with disabilities. Although this is not done intentionally, it is time to highlight the importance of making these systems available to everybody.

He said there are many obstacles to employees with disabilities. These could include employees with visual impairments, learning disabilities, hearing impairments, colour blindness, little or no hand functions and cognitive impairments. He asked delegates to switch off their computer screens, unplug their speakers and computer mouse and see if they could still work their computers.

" Whereas en employee without a disability could have access to alternatives methods and techniques to bypass any of the above obstacles, the disabled employee will be hindered or prevented from accessing the Intranet, " he said.

Yes,

[Guest guest]

Its about time!

Adopt systems suitable for disabled, firms told

NAIROBI, Sunday

A passionate plea for employers to make their most important internal electronic communication tool - the Intranet - accessible to people with disabilities was made in Nairobi at the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Africa 2006 conference hosted by the Nepad Council.

Cor Scheepers, head of ABSA Bank's group information technology team, told conference delegates at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre company Intranets has become vital for internal information distribution and publishing, corporate communication, corporate management and corporate application sharing. He said many organisations have Intranets with vast amounts of information. It has become the mechanism to apply for leave, see your pay slip and tax forms, view company policy, procedures and manuals. " If a company Intranet is inaccessible to employees due to their age or a disability the company could be transgressing anti-discrimination laws and will have a serious impact on the productivity and morale of employees with disabilities. "

Scheepers, who is completing a doctorate with the Department of Business Management at the University of Johannesburg on the importance of Intranet accessibility, warned that most company Intranets are designed and maintained without taking into account the importance of accessibility of Intranet content to employees with disabilities. Although this is not done intentionally, it is time to highlight the importance of making these systems available to everybody.

He said there are many obstacles to employees with disabilities. These could include employees with visual impairments, learning disabilities, hearing impairments, colour blindness, little or no hand functions and cognitive impairments. He asked delegates to switch off their computer screens, unplug their speakers and computer mouse and see if they could still work their computers.

" Whereas en employee without a disability could have access to alternatives methods and techniques to bypass any of the above obstacles, the disabled employee will be hindered or prevented from accessing the Intranet, " he said.

Yes,