Section 508 Compliance

The Harrington Team has performed numerous past activities with requirements relative to 508 mandates which support the needs of the disabled and their ability to access IT equipment. Our experience in this arena enables us to readily comply with all the prerequisites associated with this regulation. In those instances when it is required, we provide written verification for each applicable line item in the contract schedule concerning whether each product or service is compliant or non-compliant with accessibility standards.

The following definitions apply to Harrington Group implementation of Section 508 requirements:

• Alternate formats. Alternate formats usable by people with disabilities may include, but are not limited to, Braille, ASCII text, large print, recorded audio, and electronic formats that comply with this part.
• Alternate methods. Different means of providing information, including product documentation, to people with disabilities. Alternate methods may include, but are not limited to, voice, fax, relay service, TTY, Internet posting, captioning, text-to-speech synthesis, and audio description.
• Assistive technology. Any item, piece of equipment, or system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is commonly used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.
• Electronic and information technology. Includes information technology and any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information. The term electronic and information technology includes, but is not limited to, telecommunications products (such as telephones), information kiosks and transaction machines, World Wide Web sites, multimedia, and office equipment such as copiers and fax machines. The term does not include any equipment that contains embedded information technology that is used as an integral part of the product, but the principal function of which is not the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information.
• Information technology. Any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information. The term information technology includes computers, ancillary equipment, software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources. Operable controls. A component of a product that requires physical contact for normal operation. Operable controls include, but are not limited to, mechanically operated controls, input and output trays, card slots, keyboards, or keypads.
• Self Contained, Closed Products. Products that generally have embedded software and are commonly designed in such a fashion that a user cannot easily attach or install assistive technology. These products include, but are not limited to, information kiosks and information transaction machines, copiers, printers, calculators, fax machines, and other similar types of products. Telecommunications. The transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.
• TTY. An abbreviation for teletypewriter. Machinery or equipment that employs interactive text based communications through the transmission of coded signals across the telephone network. TTYs may include, for example, devices known as TDDs (telecommunication display devices or telecommunication devices for deaf persons) or computers with special modems. TTYs are also called text telephones.
  
  

The following guidance pertains to the implementation of Section 508 compliant software applications and operating systems:

• When software is designed to run on a system that has a keyboard, product functions shall be executable from a keyboard where the function itself or the result of performing a function can be discerned textually.
• Applications shall not disrupt or disable activated features of other products that are identified as accessibility features, where those features are developed and documented according to industry standards. Applications also shall not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product developer.
• A well-defined on-screen indication of the current focus shall be provided that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that assistive technology can track focus and focus changes.
• Sufficient information about a user interface element including the identity, operation and state of the element shall be available for assistive technology. When an image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text.
• When bitmap images are used to identify controls, status indicators, or other programmatic elements, the meaning assigned to those images shall be consistent throughout an application's performance.
• Textual information shall be provided through operating system functions for displaying text. The minimum information that shall be made available is text content, text input caret location, and text attributes.
• Applications shall not override user selected contrast and color selections and other individual display attributes.
• When animation is displayed, the information shall be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user.
• Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element.
• When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided.
• Software shall not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
• When electronic forms are used, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.
  
  

The following guidance pertains to the implementation of Section 508 compliant Web-based intranet and internet information and applications:

• A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content).
• Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
• Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.
• Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
• Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.
• Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
• Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.
• Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.
• Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.
• Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
• A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the 508 requirements, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
• When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
• When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that meets 508 requirements.
• When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.
• A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
• When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
  
  

The Harrington Group is committed to Section 508 compliance and we welcome any ideas or comments that may help our team further improve upon the accessibility of our products and services.

If there are any questions, please contract us at 407-382-7005 or e-mail: webmaster@harrington-group.com