The global industrial automation sector, a cornerstone of modern manufacturing and infrastructure, is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the imperative of inclusive design. On March 4, 2024, Rockwell Automation, a leading multinational industrial automation and digital transformation company, reinforced its commitment to this paradigm shift by detailing its multi-faceted approach to fostering accessibility and inclusivity across its product ecosystem. This comprehensive strategy, building upon earlier discussions regarding the foundational principles and inherent challenges of inclusive design within industrial contexts, outlines tangible solutions in hardware engineering, linguistic modernization, and software development, setting a benchmark for the industry.
The Strategic Imperative of Inclusive Design in Industrial Automation
The push for inclusive design in industrial automation is not merely a matter of corporate social responsibility; it is a strategic imperative dictated by evolving workforce demographics, global regulatory frameworks, and the pursuit of operational excellence. The industrial workforce is increasingly diverse, encompassing a wider range of physical abilities, cognitive styles, and cultural backgrounds. Moreover, the aging demographic in many industrialized nations necessitates equipment and systems that are intuitive and accessible to operators of varying ages and experience levels. Estimates suggest that by 2030, a significant portion of the global workforce will be over 55, underscoring the urgency for designs that prioritize ease of use and adaptability. This demographic reality, coupled with a growing awareness of the economic benefits of accessibility—where accessible products often boast a wider market reach and improved user satisfaction, with some studies indicating a potential market value of over $13 trillion for accessible products—has propelled inclusive design to the forefront of industry innovation. Rockwell Automation’s initiatives align with broader industry trends towards human-centered design, recognizing that enhanced accessibility directly translates to improved safety, reduced operational errors, and increased productivity in high-stakes industrial environments where downtime can cost thousands of dollars per minute.
Innovating Hardware for Diverse Human Factors in Rugged Environments
The unique demands of industrial hardware—which must endure rigorous use in often unpredictable, rugged, and sometimes hazardous environments—present distinct challenges for inclusive design. Industrial equipment is expected to perform flawlessly “anywhere, anytime, and all the time,” meaning hardware solutions must accommodate the needs of a diverse user base, including individuals with disabilities, without compromising reliability or performance. Rockwell Automation’s Senior Industrial Designer, Alex Mummert, provided insights into the company’s meticulous approach to hardware design, emphasizing a deep consideration of human factors.
Mummert highlighted the critical role of location in hardware design. Industrial devices are typically placed either on-machine or within cabinets, each presenting unique visibility and interaction challenges. The standardization of information display across varied product use cases is paramount to prevent confusion and ensure consistent user experience. “Having unique options that could create an ideal solution in one scenario may wreak havoc in another scenario for the same type of product,” Mummert explained, underscoring the need for universal design principles. Rockwell prioritizes maximizing access by minimizing interface obstructions, ensuring legibility from multiple vertical and horizontal angles, and focusing on ergonomic design principles to facilitate intuitive interaction regardless of placement.
Ergonomics stands as a cornerstone of Rockwell’s hardware development. Mummert detailed the commitment to designing for the “99th percentile,” a statistical approach that ensures products are usable by nearly all potential users, accounting for a broad spectrum of physical characteristics. This involves standardizing critical interaction points such as grip, pull force, and spatial affordance. "We can test these factors in the same ways software designers test their digital solutions," Mummert noted, emphasizing the rigorous validation processes, including low-fidelity ergonomic studies. An illustrative example involved evaluating an I/O module’s door-opening feature in relation to nearby cabling, a practical application of inclusive design to prevent operational impediments. Such detailed testing ensures that even seemingly minor design elements contribute to overall usability and safety, reducing the likelihood of strain or injury for operators.
The physical characteristics of industrial environments further complicate design. Mummert described these settings as often "cramped, poorly lit, and dirty, with other pieces of cabling and equipment near or on top of them." Designing products with these variables in mind is crucial to minimize their negative impact on user interaction. Modifications like adjusting cabling direction and maximizing interface legibility can significantly enhance daily user interactions. The creation of a clear hierarchy for information, whether static or dynamic—such as through a series of light indicators—is essential for quick comprehension in high-pressure situations, where critical information must be processed rapidly to avert potential hazards.
This focus extends to indicators and lights, vital for conveying module status. Mummert stressed the importance of a user progressively understanding the module status with prolonged interaction, with critical information prioritized. To address color vision impairments, which affect approximately 8% of males and 0.5% of females globally, Rockwell has developed updated wavelength guidance for LEDs. "Previously, green and yellow LEDs had overlapping color specifications, potentially leading to confusion," Mummert revealed, explaining how blue-green and yellow-green indicators on the same product line could alter users’ understanding of device statuses. By refining color specifications and increasing spacing between LEDs, Rockwell ensures legibility even in poor visibility conditions, accounting for both environmental factors and human vision impairments. Intentional physical spacing helps users distinguish individual indicators, preventing them from blurring into a continuous color. Furthermore, LED placement strategically considers surrounding cables and devices to maximize visibility, ensuring that in stressful situations, users can readily identify products needing attention, thereby mitigating frustration and potential hazards.
User-interface responsiveness is another critical aspect. Mummert highlighted the necessity of features that provide "distinct and consistent feedback," whether visual or physical, to confirm task completion. For instance, the action of turning a locking feature on a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) must clearly communicate successful locking or unlocking, even when operators wear protective gear like gloves. Gloves reduce tactile feedback and add bulk, posing ergonomic challenges in compact footprints. Testing solutions with such gear in simulated environments is vital for validation, ensuring that designs remain functional and accessible under real-world conditions, preventing errors that could lead to equipment damage or production halts.
Beyond these specifics, Mummert acknowledged the immense scale of Rockwell’s product portfolio, comprising over 400,000 individual stock-keeping units (SKUs), all of which must convey a cohesive brand identity and work together seamlessly. The design process must be flexible enough to solve a multitude of problems, including those related to diverse users and impairments, without deviating from product briefs. Brand perception, product lifecycle (from unpacking to replacement), and long-term performance are all integral considerations, underscoring the holistic nature of Rockwell’s hardware design philosophy. Further discussions on integrating inclusive design into hardware specifications are available on the ROK Talk podcast by Rockwell Automation, featuring Mummert and Amber.
Modernizing Terminology for an Inclusive Global Workforce
The evolution of language plays a pivotal role in fostering an inclusive environment, and the technology industry, particularly industrial automation, has historically perpetuated non-inclusive terms that can alienate users and employees. Recognizing this, Rockwell Automation has undertaken a multi-year initiative to modernize its terminology, ensuring that all internal and external communications—from hardware labels to software interfaces and web content—reflect an inclusive linguistic strategy. Elena Dunne, Senior Manager of Industry Insights and a former terminologist, has spearheaded this critical effort.
The challenge in the automation industry is particularly acute due to the longevity of hardware and software solutions, and customer reluctance to alter anything that might disrupt productivity. However, Rockwell’s commitment stems from the understanding that terminology is a key aspect of any user interface and a fundamental medium for communication. As workforces and user bases become increasingly diverse globally, inclusive language becomes not just preferable, but essential for clarity, respect, and effective collaboration. Research consistently shows that inclusive language improves comprehension and fosters a sense of belonging, directly impacting employee engagement and customer loyalty.
Dunne outlined the external software and communications strategy. The initiative benefited from early collaboration with "TerminOrgs," a consortium of terminologists from large organizations, which had already identified potential alternatives to non-inclusive terms. Rockwell actively engaged with external parties, including standards organizations, partners, and customers, many of whom shared similar concerns and a desire for change. To disseminate its progress and findings, Rockwell published a blog and a dedicated page on its website, which continuously evolves to include preferred alternatives across various subdomains like cybersecurity, motion control, and software programming. The company has also brought these discussions to broader platforms, including its annual Automation Fair® tradeshow, where inclusive terminology has been a recurring theme in "Bold Conversations" roundtable talks for two consecutive years, highlighting its significance to the wider industry and encouraging broader adoption of modernized language.
Internally, a proactive and transparent communication strategy has been vital. Dunne emphasized that when the Terminology Review Board was convened, various tactics were employed to keep employees informed. These include maintaining a dedicated internal site, leveraging Microsoft Teams channels for ongoing discussions, providing regular updates, and conducting training sessions. This sustained internal engagement ensures that the new terminology is understood and adopted throughout the organization, embedding inclusive language into the corporate culture and reflecting Rockwell’s broader commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The effort is supported by a cross-functional working group that leads five distinct workstreams: communication, compliance, tools, training, and governance. This structured approach ensures that the initiative is comprehensive, addressing not only the identification of problematic terms but also their systematic replacement, the development of tools to facilitate adoption, and the establishment of long-term governance to sustain the effort. This robust framework helps overcome the inertia often associated with large-scale linguistic changes in complex technical environments.
Crucially, Rockwell is striving to build these practices into its productization pipeline. UX and product development representatives are actively involved in implementing identified changes. With the formation of a new Inclusive Design and Accessibility function, led by Amber, the focus is shifting towards proactive measures. This means embedding checks and guidelines into the development process itself, aiming to prevent inclusive design and accessibility issues from arising in the first place, rather than addressing them retroactively. This forward-looking approach is critical for ensuring that future products are inherently inclusive by design, reducing the need for costly post-release modifications.
Integrating Accessibility into the Common Design System
Retrofitting accessibility into decades-old industrial software solutions is notoriously difficult and resource-intensive. Therefore, a core strategy for Rockwell Automation is to ensure that all newly released software undergoes rigorous implementation and testing of accessibility best practices and policies, many of which are continuously being developed and refined. A key enabler of this strategy is the company’s internal Flourish Design System, a comprehensive repository of reusable components, guidelines, and patterns for building consistent and accessible user interfaces. Jonathon Gulbrandsen, Design System Leader at Rockwell, elucidated how Flourish is leveraged to drive the adoption of accessible and inclusive design practices.
Gulbrandsen explained that building accessibility into a design system requires careful prioritization. "Our initial focus has been to ensure a proper contrast ratio [within] all our common componentry, [then] followed [up with] keyboard accessibility," he stated. Keyboard accessibility, in particular, proved to be an "easy sell" to business leaders because its benefits extend beyond users with motor impairments. In industrial automation, many software applications are immersive, integrated design environments (IDEs) like Rockwell’s FactoryTalk® Design Studio, used by "power users" such as system designers and automation engineers. These power users often prefer the speed and efficiency of keyboard navigation to perform tasks without repeatedly reaching for a mouse, which can impose physical and cognitive strain over long workdays. Leaders quickly recognized the win-win scenario of supporting both power users and users with impairments through robust keyboard accessibility, enhancing overall productivity and reducing fatigue.
For contrast ratio, Rockwell chose to anchor its strategy in compliance, a factor that resonates strongly with leadership and product managers who prioritize development efforts. Gulbrandsen highlighted that the Design System team first ensured their components were compliant before they reached development teams. "For contrast ratio, we 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," he detailed. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 are internationally recognized standards for web accessibility, and adherence to them signals a strong commitment to inclusive design, mitigating legal risks and enhancing user experience for individuals with visual impairments.
Compliance with modern web standards like WCAG is viewed by product leaders as a means to build customer and user confidence. It demonstrates a commitment to meeting the needs of a diverse customer base and their increasingly varied workforces. This ongoing effort is systematically integrated into the design system’s documentation. "Every component has an accessibility section within our documentation site that is ready for expansion as we continue to add capabilities that all of our products can use," Gulbrandsen affirmed. Looking ahead, Rockwell is also working on making its design system "themeable," allowing products to offer various visual presentations, such as dark or high-contrast themes, further broadening accessibility for diverse audiences and environmental conditions, thereby expanding market reach and user satisfaction.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
Rockwell Automation’s comprehensive and sustained commitment to inclusive design represents a forward-thinking approach to the challenges and opportunities within the industrial automation sector. By meticulously integrating inclusive principles into hardware engineering, proactively modernizing its terminology, and systematically embedding accessibility into its common design system, the company is laying robust foundations for a more equitable and efficient future. This multifaceted effort not only addresses the immediate needs of a diverse global workforce but also positions Rockwell Automation as a leader in responsible innovation, fostering a culture where technology serves all.
The momentum of inclusive design at Rockwell is strong and continues on multiple fronts, including enhancing its external web presence for accessibility, refining localization efforts to cater to diverse linguistic and cultural contexts, and developing other software standards. These additional initiatives, poised to further enrich the company’s inclusive design framework, are slated for detailed discussion in the forthcoming Part 3 of this series. As industrial automation continues to evolve, Rockwell Automation’s strategic investment in inclusive design underscores a commitment to not only technological advancement but also human empowerment, ensuring that its solutions are accessible and beneficial to all who interact with them, fostering a truly inclusive industrial future and contributing to global economic resilience through enhanced operational efficiency and workforce participation.
