Accessibility and Inclusive Design

Compliance

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines requirements for designers and developers to improve the accessibility of software and web-based products for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. Rockwell Automation partially adheres to WCAG 2.2 Level A and AA. “Partially conformant” means that some parts of the content do not fully meet the accessibility standard.

Rockwell Automation aims to be compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA, Section508, and EN 301 549 standards in all new software and to remediate the other software offerings using its best efforts.

Rockwell Automation will provide the Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) to customers and distributors who request the document for the company’s products. These ACR requests will be fulfilled by completing a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) and an accessibility audit for the requested product, in the newest version of the software.

Measures to support accessibility

Rockwell Automation strives to take the following measures starting in the next few years to ensure the accessibility of our products and services:

• Include accessibility throughout the internal policies.
• Integrate accessibility into the procurement practices.
• Appoint an accessibility officer.
• Provide continual accessibility training for the company’s staff.
• Assign clear accessibility goals and responsibilities.
• Employ formal accessibility quality assurance methods.

Traditional Rockwell Automation Windows-based applications use Microsoft technology stack (Win32), which includes some built-in accessibility features. However, additional work is required for desktop-based products to achieve full accessibility.

Rockwell Automation is increasingly creating web-based content, products, and communication, all of which need to be conformant with WCAG 2.2 AA.

Keyboard support

Users of Rockwell Automation products show a strong preference for keyboard navigation and interaction with applications. In addition, users with motion disability have difficulty in performing with a mouse. Thus, Rockwell Automation prioritizes keyboard support for desktop applications. This approach meets user expectations and preferences, empowering them to work more effectively and efficiently while also providing necessary support for users with motion disabilities.

Primary references consulted:

Microsoft accessibility

WCAG 2.1 Keyboard Accessible

Adequate contrast

Digital Eye Strain (DES) is increasingly prevalent, affecting over 60 percent of Americans. Workers who use Rockwell Automation applications frequently spend over eight hours per work shift viewing digital screens, often in environments with poor lighting. This specifically affects our software that produces HMI screens, where Rockwell Automation follows the industry standard for color usage and contrast in ISA 101.

Additionally, about 8 percent of global males suffer from red-green color blindness, which is significantly exacerbated when viewing low-contrast content.

Thus, Rockwell Automation’s internal design system focuses on adequate contrast of an application’s styles and components, including differences in intensity between background and foreground colors, and the scale of user interface element.

Following the internal design system, applications such as FactoryTalk Design Studio reached a WCAG 2.1 Level AA rating, meeting a contrast ratio of 4.5:1. Rockwell Automation's long-term goal is to implement a high-contrast mode, including the dark theme, to help more applications meet the WCAG 2.1 Level AAA rating.

Primary references consulted:

WCAG 2.1 Contrast Minimum

WebAIM

Next versions and beyond

Rockwell Automation is committed to delivering applications that are accessible for users with a wide range of disabilities, including visual, hearing, physical, speech, and cognitive disabilities.

The company is committed to achieving full support for the WCAG 2.2 AA standard, which defines accessibility guidelines to ensure that its products meet the needs of users. The guidelines cover the following principles.

Training and other resources

• CPACC
• Accessibility Fundamentals