Accessibility guidelines

About accessibility

Our accessibility statement

At Atlas Copco Group we strongly believe in diversity and inclusion. We, therefore, strive to provide all our visitors an equal experience on our digital communication channels, an experience that is both welcoming and accessible.

We are actively working towards creating an accessibility culture within our design, content, and development community. Our objective is to provide experiences that adheres to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1 Level AA. While we are at the start of this important journey and this is an ongoing process, we commit to creating inclusive content and design that address the various needs of our users.

Visual formula showing that code, design and content combine to provide digital accessibility

What is accessibility?

Overall, accessibility is about fostering equal participation, promoting diversity, and preventing discrimination by eliminating barriers that might exclude individuals with disabilities from fully engaging in society. It's a crucial aspect of modern design and technology.

Here are some key aspects of accessibility:

Perceivability: Means the user can identify content and interface elements by means of the senses. For many users, this means perceiving a system primarily visually, while for others, perceivability may be a matter of sound or touch.

Understandability: Designing content and user interfaces in a way that's easy to understand and use regardless of a user's cognitive abilities. This involves clear and simple language, logical navigation structures, and consistent design patterns.

Operability: Means that a user can successfully use controls, buttons, navigation, and other interactive elements. For many users this means using assistive technology like voice recognition, keyboards, screen readers, etc.

Robustness: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of users, allowing them to choose the technology they use to interact with websites, online documents and multimedia.

Common disabilities/impairments

Visual impairment

A visual impairment is any kind of vision difference. Low vision, color blindness, completely blind, age & health-related. Users need text descriptions for images and keyboard navigation to engage with interactive elements.

Hearing impairment

A hearing impairment can range from being completely deaf to having some degree of hearing loss. Deafness or hearing loss affects people differently and to different extents. Users need captioning for video presentations and visual indicators in place of audio cues.

Motor impairment

A motor impairment can be the partial or total loss of function of a body part. Up to 10% of people are also affected by differences in gross and fine motor coordination. Users need alternative keyboards, eye control, or other adaptive hardware & software to ease navigation and use of devices.

Cognitive differences

Cognitive differences present in a wide range, from cognitive impairment through to mostly positive neurological differences (at least 20% of people!). Users need an uncluttered screen, consistent navigation, and the use of plain language and fonts that ease differentiation or illustrations instead of words.

How can you contribute

Accessibility is a collective effort that involves various stakeholders beyond designers, developers, and content creators. All of us can contribute to improving accessibility and making our digital communication channels more inclusive.

This is what you can do:

Managers and decision makers: Managers and decision-makers within organizations play a vital role in prioritizing accessibility in projects. You can allocate resources, set policies, and ensure that accessibility is integrated into the project's goals and timelines. By advocating for accessibility and making it a priority, you can create an environment where accessibility is considered from the beginning.
Marketing and communications teams: These teams can promote the importance of accessibility through their campaigns and communications. By raising awareness about accessibility issues and showcasing the organization's commitment to inclusivity, you can encourage a culture of accessibility.
Legal and compliance teams: There are existing and upcoming legal requirements related to web accessibility. Legal and compliance teams can ensure that the organization is following these regulations and taking appropriate actions to avoid legal issues.
Web hosting and platform providers: These teams can offer accessibility-friendly features, templates, and tools to help users create accessible websites and platforms more easily.
Developers, designers and content editors: These teams play an important role when creating online content. For them it's crucial to follow the guidelines to enable all users to interact and engage with the provided information and features.

Ultimately, creating accessible content and applications requires collaboration and a shared commitment from various stakeholders.