‘Making information more accessible’

Company background• We exist to generate income

for Vision Support - a charity established since 1876, supporting people with sight loss.

• All profits are transferred to the voluntary sector side of the organisation.

• End user focus - driven by needs of people with sight loss, not just corporate customers or of the need for compliance.

• Company Established in 2001• Employs over 30 people

providing alternative format solutions to over 50 regular Clients.

• High quality tailored services.

• User friendly products – end user driven.

• 24/48 Hour turnaround.

• Client branding of customer information items appear to come direct from Client.

• Flexibility to meet business requirements.

• Cost effective complete solutions to assist in meeting compliance.

• Leading-edge technology and production development.

• Socially responsible environment.

Our Core Philosophies

StatisticsThe Market

In the U.K. 2 million people have a serious sight problem 300,000 of which are registered as blind

About 4,000 employed Britons lose their sight every year

82% of blind and partially sighted people are over 65 years

There is to be a marked future increase in the number of people over 65, increasing the importance of the ‘grey market’

The number of Braille users is estimated to be about 3% of the visually impaired population nationally, an estimate of 19,000 people (Bruce et al, 1991)

The proportion of Moon users is much lower, no more than 500-600 nationally

The majority of visually impaired people can listened to audio as an accessible format

Alternative formats at VST

Audio tape/CDBraille Modified large print

Electronic text format, ETF

Corporate Social Responsibility

• The provision of alternative formats to those people with a visual impairment is about good customer service to all.

• This discrimination against people with a visual impairment impacts on the brand of a company amongst those excluded and their friends and family.

• “Doing the right thing” is at best a way of distinguishing yourself from competitors but also prevents competitors from taking the advantage in this area.

Commercial Sense

• With over 2 million people in the UK having a visual impairment and the millions more friends and family that they have by not meeting the needs of this Group over 5 million potential customers may look to a competitor.

• Good customer service keep customers especially if you are the only one meeting their requirements. This improved customer loyalty represents increased lifetime spend.

• By communicating not just bills but all marketing literature individual spend can be increased amongst a loyal customer segment.

The Legal Requirement

• Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The provision of goods and services obliges all customers to make reasonable adjustments in order to provide customers with all materials in the format of the customer’s choice.

• The Disability Equality Duty 2006 legally requires all public sector companies to become pro-active in their approach to equality rather than reactive. A plan must be researched and in place that anticipates the needs of disabled customers rather than responds to individual requests.

• Although legally this currently applies to the public sector it will become the benchmark for good practice and increasingly public sector bodies will be required to deal only with suppliers that have a plan in place.

Braille

• Braille is a method of reading by touch, using sets of 6 raised dots, displayed in different combinations to indicate different letters of the alphabet, numbers and punctuation.

• Braille at VST is A4 and double sided, so is less wieldy.

• It is printed onto A4 braille paper, more user friendly than larger sizes

• Thicker braille paper is used to enable more prominent embossing

• We use grade II braille which is easier to read than grade I as it uses combinations of letters to represent some words, enabling faster reading and making the transcribed text less bulky.

• Our braillists are highly recognised in the industry and have considerable knowledge regarding best practice and industry standards.

Braille

(Percentages of alternative formats requested)

Modified Large Print

A4 paper Fits through letter boxes and easier to store than A3, and it removes the need to fold in half to fit envelopes.

Font Size Modification uses an increased number of points, therefore larger font sizes are far clearer. We recommend 20pt minimum .

Type Face Modified to a sans serif font is much easier to read than the likes of Times Roman, using a combination of standard

and bold

Contrast Modified format uses tables which are far more user-friendly

Colour Modification removes overlays and difficult colours

AudioTape

• Clear, easy to understand alternative to print, and to braille

• Tone index, beeps, pauses

• Boxed, with corporate branding

Compact Disc

• Digitised audio recording

• Digital editing of master templates

• Labelled with corporate branding

• Digital Recording of Masters• Digital Editing/Changes• Held on Library for Call-off• Multiple Duplication• Fulfilled Direct to Customer/Branch

Audio Mastering

Communications

• Statements• Letters• Card Carriers• Signature Packs• PIN Mailers• Terms & Conditions• Insurance Packs• Contracts• Marketing Info & Mail Stuffers

• Approved to ISO27001– Physical Security– Staff Checks– Secure Areas– Server and Network Security– Further Controls & Procedures

– Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Security & Risk

Users are becoming more aware of their rights under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Service providers are proactively marketing their efforts to become DDA compliant and achieve best practice.

In-house facilities may not be adequate to meet the requirements of the customer base.

It provides a valuable element in a coherent CSR strategy.

A fully integrated solution can take away the fear of legal action or serious customer complaint resulting in negative publicity.

Why the need for alternative formats?

Adopting good practice in this area has commercial benefits through customer retention and acquisition.

Users - Focus groups to provide product feedback

UKAAF - United Kingdom Association of Alternative

formats

DRC - Disability Rights Commission

DDA - Disability Discrimination Act

ISO - 9001, 27001

Standards

Working with VST

Management Information

Text to Speech

Digital Audio formats

Scanning

Electronic data transfer

Making Life more accessible through excellent customer service