Accessibility applies not only to the physical barriers that the disabled must deal with every day, but increasingly it also concerns less obvious barriers, many of which have arisen through the use of modern technologies, and make it difficult or even impossible for people to use these technologies. Examples include Internet portals, software, self-service systems, entertainment electronics, household appliances and, of course, all kinds of communications equipment and services. Often all it takes is to incorporate a few simple, low-cost elements into a product’s design to make it accessible to everyone. Where everyday products are concerned, this is known as “Design for All”.

Accessibility is defined on three levels: First, there is Design for All. The use of a product must be equitable for as many people as possible. This is especially true in the case of publicly accessible products like automatic teller machines, ticket vending machines, buildings, public transportation and information services such as TV, the Internet, etc. The second level is adaptability. It must be possible to adapt the product to meet user requirements. You may be familiar with this from your mobile phone, which you can customize to meet your own specific preferences. Thirdly, the product must be accessible through assistive technology. Products must be designed in such a way that they can be used with what we call assistive technology. For example, the programming of websites must allow them to be read out loud or converted to Braille by screen reader software.

The economic and social importance of accessible design is increasing simply due to demographic change, that is, rising life expectancies as well as the indisputable fact that motor, sensory and cognitive abilities gradually deteriorate as we age. Unless we find ways to maintain our independence and self-determination far into old age, society will suffer enormous financial burdens. In addition, the retirement age will increase in the near future, making accessibility at work a growing concern. Let’s not forget the people with disabilities in training and the workplace, who are especially dependent on accessible products in order to get and maintain a job. In many countries, including Germany, accessibility is regulated by laws in certain areas.

The goal of our initiative is to help our products and those of our customers meet accessibility requirements under the law. Another objective is to increase the usefulness of Siemens products and therefore also customer satisfaction. By doing this, we hope to reach new user groups. Siemens has identified our ageing society as a “megatrend”, one to which we need to respond in order to open up new market potential.

In addition to advising our colleagues in the various Siemens sectors and divisions as well as Siemens customers on specific topics, my team also evaluates the accessibility of specific products. We know what we are talking about, for several members of the team have different disabilities.

We find it very important to maintain direct contact with the elderly and people with disabilities as well as the organizations and associations that represent them. We seek out and maintain this contact at trade shows and conferences, among other things. By participating in various European research projects, we can try out the latest technical developments in the field of accessibility and determine their practicability.

We also pursue strategic goals. Since people with disabilities all over the world have largely the same requirements, and because we work for a global market, everyone involved has a particularly strong interest in seeing the requirements governed by internationally harmonized standards and in harmonizing relevant regulations. This is the only way to avoid market fragmentation, and the solutions will become easier to achieve and more efficient for the people who use them.

We are therefore actively involved in the international accessibility standardization. I am the chairman of a standards committee within DIN, which mirrors many of these standardization activities. I'm also a member of an expert team of CEN, a European Committee for Standardization, which develops proposals for the implementation of the EU Mandate 376. According to this mandate, accessibility will become a criterion for public procurement in Europe, according to the U.S. model.

By working together with industry associations such as EICTA and BITKOM and cooperating with their corporate members, we are working toward establishing internationally harmonized regulations in order to avoid single-state solutions. At the same time, we are trying to protect manufacturers against excessive regulation. Our concern is to find a balance between what is practical from a technical and economic point of view and what is truly helpful for people with disabilities.

Of course, I have found that it is much easier for me to offer practical recommendations for the design of products and services. The ideas of a person who is himself disabled carry more weight with customers, partners and politicians, while also building trust more easily among other people with disabilities.

However, you could say that, as a representative of industry, a disabled person, a representative of the interests of disabled people and a socio-politically active person, I do not fall easily into any particular category. My goal is simply to get things done pragmatically and for the benefit of everyone involved.

The interview was conducted by Karin Hofmann.