Braille Labels as Adaption – 14 ways in the Workplace. – Guest column by Shilpi Kapoor

Our guest columnist this week is Shilpi Kapoor, CEO of BarrierBreak and serial entrepreneur with a passion for technology and disability. She talks about the small steps companies can take to make their workplaces accessible for people who are visually impaired.

So many organisations have started focusing on hiring people with visual impairment. Though not every person with visual impairment can read braille, that doesn’t mean we should ignore it! Often adaption is small things that make it possible for a person to do something independently and braille labels are one such simple tool to explore!

So 14 ideas to get you thinking of what all can you label at the workplace to build inclusion:

• In the lifts – If you can’t change lift, at least you can make it easier to use.
• Coffee or Tea machine – Who doesn’t want their hit of caffeine in the day?
• Jars of sugar or milk – Some of us yet use jars in the pantry, let’s label them.
• Files or Folders – Now be able to identify one file from another.
• Pen drives – Wondering what data you have on a pen drive, label it for easy use.
• Cables – Too many cables to use at work, identify what is for what.
• Water Dispensers – Hot or Cold water, what do you want.
• Switches – Are you switching on the light or pressing the exit button.
• Microwave – We all need to warm our food and not burn it.
• Xerox Machine – Need copies, press the right buttons.
• Video Conferencing Phone – Now join a call on your own without waiting for a colleague.
• Pens with the colour specified – Are you signing with red or blue pen. Yes lots of visually impaired people do sign.
• Company ID Card – Distinguish it from your other cards, you don’t want to be using your debit card to enter the building.
• Keys – Have lockers or drawers at work, know one key from the other.

Want to try these small ideas, know more about Braille Labeler that can easily help you do this!

We do an event called Techshare India and the venue doesn’t have braille labels in the lifts. No problem, we add them before the event. Life isn’t about the workplace, only but where you do events, and the small things that help us to build inclusion! So give it a try!