Social responsibility also means taking action to help the disadvantaged and recognizing and catering for the needs of the disabled. When designing products, we ensure that they are both functional and suitably equipped for use by the disabled. In the area of banking, for example, disabled people using our technology are able to manage their banking tasks on their own thanks to ergonomically designed keys and controls, precise voice-driven menus for self-service systems (Glossary) , large numeric keys with special embossed characters and ATMs that can be operated from a wheelchair.
Furthermore, Wincor Nixdorf sees the provision of support for the disabled as part of its commitment to wider society. We are involved in a number of international projects together with charitable organizations to help train physically and mentally disabled people, facilitate their access to the labor market and support them in the exchange of information. In France, for instance, we continued our involvement in a project on behalf of a charitable organization that provides kiosk terminals equipped with specific functions.
In Germany, we work closely with a number of charitable organizations including the German Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBSV). The aim of this project is to standardize all our ATMs in such a way that visually impaired customers can easily perform their own cash transactions using self-service systems. All of these systems naturally comply with international standards on ergonomic design.
For example, we further participated in a joint project with Caritas at our site in Paderborn that enables disabled people to perform simple tasks on our production line. While some of these people are employed within the Company, most are based at the local workshop for disabled people in Paderborn. Wincor Nixdorf has set up other projects that allow disabled persons to carry out tasks in an extremely wide range of work situations.
In support of its long-term commitment to the region, the Company once again made funding available for charitable purposes in the year under review. The money raised together with our employees on “Families’ Day” in Paderborn was donated to selected social projects as a way of providing effective and unbureaucratic help.
