March 4, 2024 – Rockwell Automation, a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation, is spearheading a transformative initiative to embed inclusive design principles deeply into its hardware, software, and communication strategies. This multi-faceted approach, detailed in the second installment of an ongoing series, signifies a pivotal shift within the industrial sector towards creating more accessible, intuitive, and universally usable automation solutions for a rapidly diversifying global workforce. The company’s commitment extends beyond mere compliance, aiming to enhance safety, productivity, and user experience across complex industrial environments.
The Imperative of Inclusive Design in Modern Industry
The industrial landscape is undergoing profound demographic and technological shifts, making inclusive design not merely a moral imperative but a strategic business necessity. The global workforce is increasingly diverse, with varying physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 15% of the world’s population lives with some form of disability, a figure that underscores the vast user base often overlooked in traditional design paradigms. Furthermore, an aging industrial workforce means a growing segment of operators may experience age-related sensory or mobility changes, necessitating systems that are adaptable and forgiving.
In Part 1 of this series, Rockwell Automation outlined the foundational definition of inclusive design and acknowledged its escalating impact, particularly within the demanding realm of industrial automation. The unique challenges of this sector—characterized by rugged environments, unpredictable conditions, and the critical demand for systems to operate "anywhere, anytime, and all the time"—were highlighted. Inaccessible designs can lead to increased errors, reduced efficiency, heightened safety risks, and a limited talent pool. By proactively addressing these challenges, Rockwell Automation aims to cultivate an environment where every operator, regardless of ability, can interact effectively and safely with industrial equipment and software. This comprehensive effort not only aligns with evolving societal expectations but also positions the company at the forefront of innovation, driving tangible benefits in operational resilience and human capital utilization.
Engineering Hardware for Every Operator: A Deep Dive into Human Factors
At the core of industrial automation lies robust hardware, designed to withstand rigorous use. Ensuring these physical components are accessible to a diverse range of users is a complex but crucial undertaking. Alex Mummert, a Senior Industrial Designer at Rockwell Automation, elaborated on the meticulous process of integrating diverse human factors into hardware design, emphasizing a user-centric approach from conception to deployment.
Beyond the Blueprint: Ergonomics and Environmental Adaptability
Mummert highlighted the critical consideration of product placement, categorizing it primarily into "on-machine" and "in-cabinet" configurations. "We must often standardize how we display information in related configurations to our end users, even though the product use cases may vary," Mummert explained. This standardization is vital to prevent scenarios where a seemingly ideal solution in one context could prove detrimental in another. To maximize accessibility, Rockwell’s hardware design team focuses on minimizing interface obstructions, optimizing viewing angles (both vertical and horizontal) for legibility, and ensuring physical products are as ergonomic as possible. This includes accounting for different heights, reaches, and visual perspectives that operators may have in varied industrial settings.
Ergonomics stands as a cornerstone of this design philosophy. Mummert stressed the importance of "designing for the 99th percentile," a principle that ensures products are usable by nearly the entire population, including individuals at the extremes of physical dimensions or capabilities. This involves standardizing critical interaction points such as grip, pull force, and spatial affordance to minimize "major impediments." These factors are rigorously tested through low-fidelity ergonomic validations, confirming that designs are appropriate for their intended use cases. An illustrative example of this rigorous testing is an ergonomics study led by Mummert and his team to evaluate the door-opening feature of an I/O module, specifically assessing its positioning relative to nearby cables to ensure ease of access and operation (Figure 1). This proactive testing mitigates potential issues before large-scale production, saving significant resources and enhancing user satisfaction.
Further acknowledging the realities of industrial environments, Mummert described how products are designed for "cramped, poorly lit, and dirty environments with other pieces of cabling and equipment near or on top of them." This understanding drives design modifications such as adjusting cabling direction and maximizing interface legibility. A clear hierarchy for both static and dynamic information, such as LED indicators, is paramount, ensuring critical data is easily discernible even under challenging conditions.
Enhancing Visibility and Feedback for Critical Operations
Indicators and lights on industrial devices serve as critical communication tools, conveying module status and operational information. Mummert detailed Rockwell’s efforts to optimize these visual cues for maximum inclusivity. A key advancement involves updated wavelength guidance for LEDs to ensure users with color vision impairments can more readily distinguish between different states. Previously, overlapping color specifications for green and yellow LEDs could cause confusion; the new guidance ensures distinct visual signals, preventing misinterpretation of automation device statuses.
Beyond color, physical spacing and placement are crucial. "Over time, we’ve also increased the spacing between each color LED to maximize legibility in poor-visibility conditions, considering environmental factors as well as human vision impairments," Mummert noted. Intentional spacing allows users to clearly identify individual indicators, preventing them from blending into a single, continuous color. Furthermore, LED placement considers the actual environment, taking into account potential obstructions from cables, other devices, and modules to maximize visibility in stressful, time-sensitive situations.
User-interface responsiveness is another vital aspect. Mummert emphasized the need for features that provide "distinct and consistent feedback," whether visual or physical, confirming that a task has been successfully completed. For example, the tactile and audible feedback of turning a locking feature on a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) for a quarter-turn must unequivocally communicate a locked or unlocked state. Critically, these designs also account for operators wearing protective gear like gloves, which can reduce dexterity and tactile feedback. Testing solutions with such gear in simulated environments helps validate their efficacy, ensuring that safety equipment does not inadvertently create ergonomic challenges.
A Holistic Approach to Product Lifecycle and Brand Cohesion
Rockwell Automation produces over 400,000 individual stock-keeping units (SKUs), each requiring a cohesive design language that conveys a sense of unity and shared purpose. Mummert acknowledged the immense challenge of maintaining flexibility to solve a multitude of problems, including accommodating diverse users and impairments, without compromising brand perception or product integrity. The design team also considers the entire product lifecycle—from unpacking and commissioning to daily use, maintenance, and eventual replacement—to ensure long-term usability and satisfaction. This comprehensive view ensures that inclusive design is not an afterthought but an intrinsic part of the product’s journey, reinforcing Rockwell’s commitment to reliability and user-centric innovation.
Further amplifying these efforts, Alex Mummert and Amber (whose full name and role are to be detailed in Part 3) recently discussed how to imbue inclusive design into hardware specifications and other accessibility-related activities at Rockwell Automation on the "ROK Talk" podcast, demonstrating the company’s commitment to sharing its insights and fostering broader industry dialogue.
Redefining Communication: Rockwell’s Inclusive Terminology Initiative
Beyond physical hardware, the language used to describe and interact with industrial systems holds immense power. The technology industry, including automation, has historically perpetuated outdated and non-inclusive terms, alienating users and employees. Rockwell Automation has embarked on a proactive mission to modernize its terminology, spearheaded by Elena Dunne, Senior Manager of Industry Insights and a former terminologist. This initiative, rolled out over the past few years, recognizes that a user interface’s terms are a fundamental aspect of communication, becoming increasingly critical with an ever-diversifying global user base and employee population.
Strategic Outreach and Industry Collaboration
Dunne explained that the initiative gained momentum through collaboration with external parties. As a member of "TerminOrgs," a consortium of terminologists from large organizations, she had already participated in discussions about alternatives to non-inclusive terms. Rockwell Automation actively engaged with standards organizations, partners, and customers who shared similar concerns and a desire for change. This collaborative approach ensured that terminology updates were not isolated but aligned with broader industry efforts.
To disseminate its strategy and foster wider adoption, Rockwell Automation launched a dedicated blog and a comprehensive page on its website (Figure 2), which provides an evolving list of preferred alternatives for non-inclusive terms. This publicly accessible resource covers various subdomains within the industry, including cybersecurity, motion control, and software programming. For instance, common problematic terms like "master/slave" are replaced with "primary/secondary" or "host/client," and "whitelist/blacklist" become "allowlist/denylist," promoting clarity and respect. This transparency encourages other industry players to adopt similar practices.
Rockwell has also taken its message on the road, incorporating inclusive terminology discussions into its annual Automation Fair® tradeshow event. For two consecutive years, the "Bold Conversations" roundtable talks have featured inclusive terminology, most recently expanding to encompass inclusive design and accessibility in Boston, demonstrating a sustained commitment to advocacy and education within the industry.
Cultivating Internal Alignment and Sustained Change
Internal communication has been paramount to the success of Rockwell’s terminology initiative. Dunne emphasized the "proactive and transparent" nature of their internal strategy, which involved convening a Terminology Review Board and leveraging multiple channels to inform and engage employees. These tactics include dedicated internal sites, regular updates via corporate social platforms like Yammer and Teams, company newsletters, and specialized training programs. This multi-pronged approach ensures that all employees, from engineers to marketing professionals, understand the rationale behind the changes and are equipped to implement the new terminology consistently across all internal and external communications.
The initiative is supported by a cross-functional working group that oversees five distinct workstreams, focusing on research, implementation, communication, training, and governance. This robust organizational structure ensures that the terminology strategy is not merely a directive but a deeply integrated process. Furthermore, the newly formed Inclusive Design and Accessibility function, now led by Amber (whose full name and role will be detailed in Part 3), plays a crucial role in building "proactive checks" into the development process. This forward-looking approach aims to prevent inclusive-design and accessibility issues from developing in the first place, rather than attempting costly retroactive fixes.
Future-Proofing Software: Accessibility in the Flourish Design System
The challenge of retroactively updating decades-old industrial software solutions that were not originally designed with accessibility in mind is substantial. Recognizing this, Rockwell Automation is focusing its efforts on ensuring that all future software releases undergo rigorous implementation and testing of accessibility best practices. A key strategy involves weaving these principles into its internal "Flourish Design System," a centralized repository of design guidelines, components, and patterns. Jonathon Gulbrandsen, Design System Leader at Rockwell Automation, elaborated on how Flourish is driving the adoption of accessible and inclusive design.
Prioritizing Key Accessibility Standards
Gulbrandsen explained that the team had to prioritize carefully, with an initial focus on ensuring a proper contrast ratio across all common components, followed by keyboard accessibility. "Keyboard accessibility in particular was an easy sell to our business leaders because we were able to paint a clear picture of how it benefits all users when we consider those impairment cases," Gulbrandsen stated. This strategic framing highlighted the dual benefit: supporting users with motor impairments while also significantly enhancing the efficiency of "power users"—system designers and automation engineers who frequently operate in immersive, integrated design environments (IDEs) like Rockwell’s FactoryTalk® Design Studio. For these users, navigating and performing tasks solely with a keyboard offers speed and efficiency, reducing the physical and cognitive load associated with continuous mouse use over long workdays. This tangible business advantage secured leadership buy-in for accessibility initiatives.
Compliance with modern web standards, specifically the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, is a critical driver. Gulbrandsen noted that product leaders view WCAG compliance as a means to build customer and user confidence, demonstrating responsiveness to the needs of diverse workforces. For contrast ratio, Rockwell has "built into our component-design process a requirement to test and ensure that the ratio meets at least AA WCAG 2.1 standards for graphics and UI components, and we strive for AAA standards for text." This proactive integration into the design workflow ensures that accessibility is a fundamental requirement, not an optional add-on.
Embedding Accessibility into the Development Lifecycle
The Flourish Design System (Figure 3) serves as the central hub for these efforts. Every component within the system includes a dedicated accessibility section in its documentation, ready for expansion as new capabilities are added. This ensures that accessibility guidance is readily available to development teams, promoting consistent implementation across all products utilizing Flourish.
Looking ahead, Gulbrandsen revealed that Rockwell is actively working on making its design system "themeable." This will allow products to offer various visual presentations, such as dark or high-contrast themes, significantly broadening their appeal and usability for individuals with different visual needs or preferences. This ongoing evolution of the Flourish Design System underscores Rockwell’s commitment to embedding accessibility deep within its product development lifecycle, ensuring that new software solutions are inherently inclusive from their inception.
Broader Implications and The Road Ahead
Rockwell Automation’s concerted efforts in fostering inclusive design—from meticulously engineered hardware and thoughtfully evolved terminology to future-proofed software design systems—represent a pioneering stance in the industrial automation sector. By establishing robust foundations across these critical domains, the company is not only enhancing its own product ecosystem but also setting new benchmarks for the industry at large.
The implications of these initiatives are far-reaching. They promise safer, more efficient, and more intuitive workplaces for a diverse global workforce, driving productivity gains and reducing operational errors. By actively embracing inclusivity, Rockwell Automation strengthens its competitive edge, attracting top talent and aligning with the growing demand from customers who prioritize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles. This strategic commitment positions the company as a thought leader, fostering a ripple effect that encourages partners, customers, and competitors to adopt similar practices.
The journey towards a truly inclusive industrial future is continuous. Rockwell Automation’s sustained momentum in inclusive design will continue to engage on many fronts, with forthcoming developments on its external web presence, localization efforts for global markets, and the integration of other software standards to be covered in Part 3 of this illuminating series. These ongoing efforts underscore Rockwell Automation’s unwavering vision for an industrial world where technology empowers everyone.
