| Revista da Faculdade de Engenharia, Arquitetura e Tecnologia |
Vol.
4 Nº 1 Out. 2002
|
ISSN
1517 - 7432
|
Accessibility
and Usability of Telematic Equipment: a Brief Comparative Analysis of
Ergonomic Recommendations
| Anthony
Robert Joseph Nicholl 1 José Jorge Boueri Filho 2 |
Palavras-Chave: ATM, telemática, acessibilidade, normas, usabilidade, kiosk.
2 Prof. Dr. C.P.G. "Estruturas Ambientais Urbanas" Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo.
The concept of usability with which we are accustomed to working, goes beyond "facility of utilisation ..." (Jordan, 1996), being better characterised by a definition which includes the ease of use and the ease of learning together with "effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specific users can achieve specific goals in specific circumstances ... " (ISO DIS 9241-11).
In order to maximise the amplitude of the user population benefited by the investment made when supplying and installing a piece of equipment, it is necessary to take into account the widest possible range of relevant characteristics of the general public. When we consider elderly people, people with a variety of disabilities, and even people with unusual anthropometric characteristics, it becomes clear that it is not sufficient simply to guarantee adequate conditions for reaching or accessing.
The use of public information terminals and ATMs is of increasing importance in the everyday activities of members of the urban population. Many of these terminals are difficult to get to and operate for a significant portion of the public, people who whether temporarily or permanently, have some physical or sensory impairment, and principally the elderly and disabled.
For a person with poor vision, there are the problems of localisation and of reading. For the wheelchair user, the heights and angles, sometimes steps and narrow spaces, create barriers. The elderly, sometimes with arthritis, sometimes confused, difficulty in bending or seeing clearly, people who have poor motor control, each have there specific difficulties. Many of these people already suffer discrimination, many confront the consequences of an inadequate education and find additional complications on seeking employment, and as a result, many have had to come to terms with an additional and permanent economic handicap.
Fig. 1. Ease of access and use, in
the case of telematic transaction terminals, requires ergonomic treatment
in everything from the approach route to the graphic and auditory user
interface. (diagram: Nicholl.)
The terms used vary a little between countries, but for simplification, the term "ATM", (Automated Teller Machine) is used here to indicate any interactive public-use terminal, whose principal purpose is to conduct financial transactions (cash withdrawals, deposits, transfers, account information, etc.) on supply and confirmation of the users identity (PIN, etc.)..
The term "ITM", (Information / Transaction Machine) is used here to cover the class of apparatus that includes public service machines such as ATMs, ticket vending machines, computer kiosks, information kiosks, interactive electronic maps and guides, and so on.
Today, however, many firms take the position that, adequately administered, programs that meet the needs of disabled people may open new market opportunities rather than imposing economic burdens. Further, these firms are reaping market preference benefits as they are perceived to be giving preference to human needs instead of purely commercial values.
Even so, businesses suffer from the problem of communication _ there are still few market research agencies with any understanding of disability, or staff trained to use sign language, or even having a rough idea of how to communicate with disabled people.
Certain countries have invested in research and development of guidelines, recommendations and standards aimed at making the design and installation of interactive telematic transaction terminals and similar equipment, compatible with the needs of their population. Information has been obtained on recommendations relevant to this question, established or in process of discussion, arising in the following countries:
1. United States.
2. Canada.
3. Australia.
4. United Kingdom.
5. Brazil.
In Australia the standard AS 3769 - 1990 was developed, to regulate the design and installation of automatic bank transaction machines. This advanced document served as research base for the British guidelines and certainly influenced the American and Canadian standards.
In the United States, guidelines form part of an appendix to the federal legislation known as "ADA", (Americans with Disabilities Act). The "ADAAG" (Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines) include a section specifically about ATMs, Kiosks and ITMs (Information / Transaction Machines). The wide publicity surrounding this set of regulations guaranteed its influence over similar work in other countries.
The United Kingdom now has guidelines for improvement of access to ATMs and similar equipment: "Access to ATMs" published by the Centre for Accessible Environments, in London. This work has as basis a discussion document published on the Internet which invited contributions from readers and submitted to "robust research and verification" by Robert Feeney Associates.
In Canada a guidelines proposal was prepared by the Centre for Studies in Ageing, at the request of the Canadian Bankers Association: "Draft guidelines for accessibility of automated banking machines for persons with disabilities and seniors" Toronto, August, 1996.
Other relevant documents include the "European Concept for Accessibility" published in March 1996 in response to a request, in 1987, from the European Commission. This document is aimed at the provision of environments that should be convenient, safe and agreeable for all to use, including disabled people.
The preliminary proposal of the TRACE Center "An Example of a Design which Meets Performance Specifications" of July 1999, emerged in reply to requests from designers working in or with the ATM industry, so as to provide concrete examples of ways of complying with the specifications of standards and guidelines and the demands of pressure groups in the United States.
Table 1. Accessibility and usability
of ATMs, an international comparison of Standards and Guidelines.
According to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, of the United Nations, (1995) the creation of an accessible environment by means of this legislative process is being facilitated by the formation of regional Access Commissions. Between the two approaches of Inclusion of the disabled person and Special Design (separate) to meet his needs, the DDA promotes the policy of Inclusion through an approach based on Universal Design, or equitable design for all. This is in contrast with the numerous special services previously supplied in Australia to attend these people in a separatist manner. Today the continuation of this combination of the two approaches still seems advantageous to better attend the diverse needs of the population.
The Australian Standard, AS 3769, published at the beginning of 1990, is a brief and compact document. Its nucleus deals with:
Installation guidelines,
General design requirements,
Specific design and performance requirements considering disabled people.
The preface explains the appearance of the standard in a country which at that time did not even have an ATM manufacturer, as "ATMs used in Australia are designed and manufactured in other countries." (p.4).
The standard was developed as a result of a government report which discussed the difficulty encountered by many people, principally disabled and elderly, in using the ATMs.
The standard covers installation of ATMs and includes some design and performance recommendations. Accessibility, illumination and free space on approaching the machine are emphasised as is the provision of elements of the user interface which facilitate reach and operability by the greatest possible number of user categories, in conditions of privacy and safety.
Definitions are offered for only five concepts. The ATM is restricted by the definition to automated machines emitting cash values, being activated by user operations involving bankcard.
Also defined are the concepts of continuous accessible route, personal identification number, user interface, and data visualisation unit, or screen.
The text then explains the various aspects considered necessary for an adequate installation, the general design recommendations, and the specific design requirements to meet the needs of disabled persons.
The installation recommendations include: the choice of location, circulation space, access route, and the illumination of this circulation space. Contrast and luminosity features are discussed, but the emphasis is on user safety.
Recommendations also appear on the relative heights of machine elements after installation.
Under the title of General Design Requirements, the Standard also discusses principally privacy and illumination.
The specific design and performance requirements to attend disabled people starts with recommendations on the legibility of texts and screen displayed messages. The size and shape of the keys and the clarity of their markings, are topic of various recommendations, to facilitate their localisation and reading.
The requirements for components used for cash withdrawal and emission of receipts, are detailed in terms of protuberance, spacing and resistance.
Finally, the Standard recommends certain interventions for auditory communication.
Thus the terrain was prepared for well organised pressure groups, interested in the area of disability, to persuade the president, George Bush of the need for comprehensive civil rights legislation to effect the inclusion of disabled people in the community.
The federal legislation known as "ADA", (Americans with Disabilities Act) is composed of a series of legislative measures designed to eliminate discrimination against disabled people. This Act was passed by Congress, with the support of the Bush administration, in 1990.
The guidelines "ADAAG" (Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines), include a section specifically about ATMs, Kiosks and ITMs (Information / Transaction Machines), where the following concepts are found:
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4.34 Automated Teller Machines. 4.34.1 General. Each machine required to be accessible by 4.1.3 shall be on an accessible route and shall comply with 4.34. (4.1.3 supplies details on Accessible Buildings and describes the route that the user takes to reach the ITM. It is important to determine whether the user may arrive at the ITM by means of an accessible route, thus avoiding the exclusion of wheelchair users and others. Thus it would be important for the ITM manufacturer to supply guidelines on the installation of its products, for the ITM deployer to follow those instructions, for the installer to have training to follow the guidelines, and that an assessment post-installation should be performed to check the route, free space, heights, etc.) "4.34.2 Clear Floor Space. The automated teller machine shall be located so that clear floor space complying with 4.2.4 is provided to allow a person using a wheelchair to make a forward approach, a parallel approach, or both, to the machine." (Section 4.2.4 states that the minimum floor space needed to fit a single stationary wheelchair with user, is 760 mm x 1220 mm.) 4.34.3 Reach Ranges. (1) Forward Approach Only. If only a forward approach is possible, operable parts of all controls shall be placed within the forward reach range specified in 4.2.5. (Section 4.2.5 specifies that the maximum permitted high front reach is 1220 mm. The minimum low front reach is 380 mm except when over some obstruction. Other researchers -CAE (1994), L.P.A. (1998) have criticized the guidelines on Reach Range in that the use of static and bi-dimensional anthropometry ignores comfort, fatigue, in the dynamic use of an ITM. The approach in diagonal, preferred by many wheelchair users, as being the most comfortable, functional and secure, was not considered in these guidelines.) (2) Parallel Approach Only. If only a parallel approach is possible, operable parts of controls shall be placed as follows: (a) Reach Depth Not More Than 10 In (255 Mm). Where the reach depth to the operable parts of all controls as measured from the vertical plane perpendicular to the edge of the unobstructed clear floor space at the farthest protrusion of the automated teller machine or surround is not more than 10 in (255 mm), the maximum height above the finished floor or grade shall be 54 in (1370 mm). (b) Reach Depth More Than 10 in. (255 Mm). Where the reach depth to the operable parts of any control as measured from the vertical plane perpendicular to the edge of the unobstructed clear floor space at the farthest protrusion of the automated teller machine or surround is more than 10 in. (255 mm), the maximum height above the finished floor or grade shall be"..... in conformity with a table which inversely relates the Reach Depth, between the values of 255mm and 610mm, with the Maximum Height, between the values of 1375mm and 1170mm.): (3) Forward and Parallel Approach. If both a forward and parallel approach are possible, operable parts of controls shall be placed within at least one of the reach ranges in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this section. (4) Bins. Where bins are provided for envelopes, waste paper, or other purposes, at least one of each type provided shall comply with the applicable reach ranges in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this section. EXCEPTION: Where a function can be performed in a substantially equivalent manner by using an alternate control, only one of the controls needed to perform that function is required to comply with this section. If the controls are identified by tactile markings, such markings shall be provided on both controls. 4.34.4 Controls. Controls for user activation shall comply with 4.27.4." ( As well as dealing with necessary height and free space, 4.27.4 also specifies that controls and operating mechanisms will be operable with one hand and without force for gripping or twisting. The force needed to activate the controls shall be not greater than 22.2 N) "4.34.5 Equipment for Persons with Vision Impairments. Instructions and all information for use shall be made accessible to and independently usable by persons with vision impairments. " |
This clause is considered by many to be the hardest to comply with successfully. Many manufacturers state that their products comply with the requirements of ADA, without in fact having complied with this clause. The Recommendations for a New ADAAG, 1996 go into much more detail, placing the proposals in separate clauses.
Legislation against discrimination requires egalitarian treatment in the supply of goods and services, seeing that discriminatory policies, procedures and practice, are banned since October 1999, while physical barriers should be removed by the year 2004.
The guidelines are presented principally in ergonomic terms, and it is recognised that it is difficult to attend even to 90% of a population that includes disabled people. The proposal is to attend the largest possible number with non-discriminatory equipment, without denying the necessity of supplying alternatives, as a service of personalised treatment, in certain cases.
The drawings that accompany the text, although visually clear, require attention, as for statistical reasons, (data from the population of disabled people do not fit readily into the Gaussian pattern) mix (and in the figure 10, confuse) percentages with percentiles.
After some explanations about disability, the guidelines start with advice about access, location and localisation. "Location" for safety and accessibility and "localisation" by adequate visual communication and illumination. The layout of operational elements is then considered in terms of ease of comprehension and use, principally reach, lines of sight and visual distance. The text continues with recommendations about the heights and angles necessary to fairly attend a tall man and a wheelchair user, also considering knee space and parallax problems. After this, recommendations are made about the operation, the instructions, the input and output of information in various formats. There are recommendations about the visual programming of screen images, and keys. The format of the magnetic card reader, and the methods for introduction of data, the emission of balances, receipts, and cash, are also itemised.
The CSA is finalising the development of a Standard based on this document, which should be published during the current year, with the reference: CAN/CSA B651.1.
The documents are extensive, totalling more than a hundred sheets. A summary provides information about the methodology and emphases of the work.
The commission, composed of representatives of Canada's principal banks, the three ABM manufacturers (Automatic Banking Machines) acting in the country, and of organisations representing disabled people, contracted the work of a team of researchers at Sunnybrook Hospital. They also consulted focus groups of various disabilities.
The project concentrated on the models of ABM presently in use, which offer multiple services, considering aspects such as: approaching the machine, inserting the bankcard, manipulating the controls, operating deposits, and the process of retrieving the items emitted by the machine, such as cash, balances and statements. A performance-based approach was used from the viewpoint of the users' needs, rather than detailed engineering instructions, in order to establish targets for each activity or functional element, and appropriate recommendations were developed.
Among the most interesting recommendations were the guidelines for voice-activated auditory instructions, for users with vision impairments. It is proposed that the new standard should require that auditory instructions should be initiated on insertion of an earphone plug, into a socket in the machine.
The instructions would guide the user through all the menus and the steps provided on the screen, for normal sighted users, being heard only by the user in question.
Financial Institutions should supply the headphones and an up-to-date list of the machines in the region having this function.
Still without resolution is the question of accessibility for clients who use wheelchairs or similar. The commission received firm but contradictory opinions about this. They vary between those who believe that all ATMs should allow wheelchair users to approach and use the machines from the front, and those who prefer a diagonal approach.
It became clear that complete data are not available, neither in Canada, nor from other countries, about the vast range of reach and space needs for people in wheelchairs using equipment such as ITMs.Dramatic differences exist in the requirements for reach range, and knee and foot space, depending on the type of disability, size of wheelchair and body position.
The cost of redesigning the ITMs is substantial, in function of the weight of the safes which hold the cash values. Any attempt to reconfigure the equipment to bring the controls into range, in combination with an adequate space for the knees and feet, should be based on precise research and rigorous testing of prototypes, to guarantee configurations that are effective and viable in the long term. The commission recommends that CSA should await the results of the research at present being effected in England, before determining the way to proceed in the respect.
The general absence of research results worries the commission members and is among the principal findings of the report. Much of the work on No-barrier Standards carried out until now in Canada and the United States has been based on anecdotal evidence or inadequate samples and not on scientific research capable of providing detailed, trustworthy and useful data. With the accelerated increase in the economic and social participation of disabled people in the activities of the country, better research will be necessary covering a wide range of activities and services, to ensure the development of viable, effective and durable mechanisms for accessibility.
The movements for the rights of the disabled person in Brazil, grew and strengthened during the 80's, undoubtedly influenced by similar movements in other countries, and by the stimulus provided by the International Year of the Disabled Person, in 1981. The establishment of a new national Constitution, in 1988, with a strong emphasis on the elimination of discrimination on whatever basis, and instituting positive discrimination in favour of socially disadvantaged groups, in certain cases, also made clear the need for adequate guidelines for the elimination of architectural and environmental barriers.
The revision, in September of 1994, of the NBR 9050, was stimulated by the installation, in February 1993, by the ABNT, of a Study Commission, as an initiative of the Programa Estadual de Atenção à Pessoa Portadora de Deficiência, of the São Paulo State "Fundo Social de Solidariedade".
The Standard which resulted from this work, up-dated and amplified, deals with the accessibility of people with disabilities to buildings, space, urban street furniture and facilities.
The Standard "establishes the standards and criteria that aim at providing adequate and secure conditions of autonomous accessibility to buildings, space, urban furniture and equipment" (1.1).
On defining its objective, the Standard proposes to comply with "the precepts of universal design" (1.2), however it subsequently limits its concept of universal design to "That which aims to attend the greatest possible range of anthropometric and sensory characteristics of the population" (3.5). This is a pragmatic and condensed definition, which for these reasons ignores the equitative aspects of a concept generally couched in more idealistic terms.
STORY, 1997, for example, on describing Universal Design, emphasises the "equitative use", which stresses identical or equivalent ways of use for all users, thus avoiding segregation or stigmatisation; the flexibility of use, (allowing choices for the means of use) and other aspects of egalitarian usability.
The recommendation repeated in various parts of the NBR 9050, for supplying special solutions for disabled people, instead of seeking flexible alternatives, adequate for all, tends to run contrary to its own claim to comply with the precepts of universal design, even within this restricted definition, and constitutes another step against the current of equitative design for an inclusive society. It is clear that special solutions are sometimes inevitable, but if the telephone and bank booths (9.1.3) were really designed to "attend the greatest possible range of anthropometric and sensory characteristics of the population" (3.5). then it would not be necessary to insist (9.6.2) that a minimum of 5% of the terminals have special accessibility characteristics.
Two factors that stand out are the recent perception by governments and businesses, of the astonishing acceleration in the ageing of the world population, that is taking the proportion of elderly from the level of 1 in every 14 persons, to 1 in every 4 persons world-wide, in a question of a few generations - and the impulse provided by recent legislation in various countries, which aims at eliminating the discrimination against disabled people.
Product usability evaluations, a growing focus of interest for businesses, who have perceived their importance in ensuring customer loyalty by means of total satisfaction, are gaining ground at a time when for market reasons, the concept of Equitative Design is winning wide acceptance.
At the same time, a plethora of technological possibilities is arising from the sectors of electronics, information technology, communications and telematics, which, added to the resources more and more widely available of new and more efficient methods and materials together awaiting only the decision of the large manufacturers on the selection of the principal paths to be followed.
Within this scenario, Brazil stands among the five countries best equipped with ATMs; its principal manufacturer, Procomp, (now property of Diebold) proved the competence of its technology in the deployment of telematic electoral voting terminals, months before the troubled manual presidential elections in the United States, recently followed by a less than successful attempt at touch-screen automation of local elections in Florida. Even so, apart from the generic recommendations of NBR-9050, Brazil still has not taken a position in terms of accessibility and usability of telematic equipment.
BESSON, R. (ed.) Trends in technologies for disabled and elderly people. COST 219. Comissão da C.E.E., Bruxelas, 1995
CENTRE FOR ACCESSIBLE ENVIRONMENTS and ROBERT FEENEY ASSOCIATES. Access to ATMs. UK design guidelines. Centre for Accessible Environments, London, 1999.
GOLDSMITH, S. Designing for the Disabled: The New Paradigm. Architectural Press, Oxford, 1997
INDUSTRY / GOVERNMENT COMPUTER ACCESSIBILITY TASK FORCE. Considerations in the Design of Computers to Increase their Accessibility by Persons with Disabilities, Version 4.2 TRACE CENTER. Madison, 1988.
LAW, C. and VANDERHEIDEN, G. (Eds.) Recommendations for a New ADAAG. in ADAAG Review Federal Advisory Committee, Final Report. 30/09/1996.
MEADOWS, K.J. (Ed.) Proposal for UK Design Guidelines for Improving Access to ATMs and Similar Equipment. CAE Good Design Guide - Access to ATMs - Working Draft. Versão 3.1, (31/07/95)
NICHOLL A.R.J. and BOUERI FILHO J.J. Desenho Eqüitativo e a Acessibilidade na Empresa,. Anais ABERGO Rio de Janeiro, 2000.
STANDARDS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA. AS 3769 - 1990 Automatic Teller Machines - User Access. Adelaide, 1990.
STORY M. F. Is it Universal? / 7 defining criteria. Innovation, 16(1): 29-32. IDSA , Arlington, 1997
UNITED NATIONS. Integration of Disabled Persons into Community Life. United Nations Publications. New York, 1981.
U.S.A. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). section 4.34 - Automated Teller Machines. Federal Register, 26/07/1991
VANDERHEIDEN G.C. Accessible Design of Consumer Products: Working Draft 1.6 Trace Research and Development Center, Madison, Wisconsin, 1991.
Internet:
US government recommendations - accessed on September 28, 2002: http://www.access-board.gov/adaag /adaag.zip
