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“What is the point of one source of the truth if not everyone is able to see it?”

Press release 28/01/2025 14:48 CET

Colour vision deficiency (CVD), its impacts on digital solutions – and the work we’re doing to make data accessible to all.

CVD before and after

Skanska Maps is our web-based portal that gives project teams instant access to key information. Using location-based visual data helps make better decisions, reduces risks and safety hazards, and ensures projects are delivered on time and within budget.

These maps with digital overlays are incredibly helpful for simplifying and explaining data. Add in colour and particular information can be identified with just a glance. 

However, what if someone is colour blind and cannot see a particular colour? One in 12 men and one in 200 women could be at risk of not seeing health and safety risk zones on a map or able to view environmental boundaries in project design information. These are real risks when colour blindness, also known as colour vision deficiency (CVD), isn’t considered.

It is estimated that three million people in Britain are colour blind, roughly 4.5% of the current population. Delving deeper, 8% of men and 0.5% of women suffer from CVD. Considering that the construction industry is 87% men, the impact of colour vision deficiency becomes even more significant.

In his previous role as a Graduate GIS Data Technician, Ed Hixson first noticed that his colour vision deficiency was impacting his GIS work: “I shared with my team that I struggle with CVD, but it first impacted me when I was creating custom widget icons for our new web application and was given a list of colours to follow. Having completed the task and handing it back, I was informed that more than 50% of the listed colours were not present in the new icons I had created! This was when CVD was first truly recognised and considered within our Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team, starting the ball rolling on our new accessibility guidance and tools.”

Ed currently works on the @one Alliance project, delivering water schemes for Anglian Water. The Alliance employs over 1200 people, with 400 using the GIS platform.

The GIS team has improved the quality and visualisation of maps to support over 700 projects in the region. To enhance accessibility, they have launched a project to improve the main mapping solution and future solutions. So far they have changed 25% of the colours in their layers, and adjusted the Geospatial Web Apps to ensure that individuals with CVD can accurately analyse and assess data across the 10,600 square miles operational region. Ed’s work has now been adopted and implemented across our Skanska Infrastructure projects.

Ed explains some misconceptions around the term colour blindness: “Although commonly used, the term colour blind isn’t correct. Struggling with Colour Vision Deficiency doesn’t mean you are blind to any single colour, but rather less sensitive to specific colours or shades, causing them to merge and blend more easily. Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) is a common variation in humans that can lead to difficulties in distinguishing colours.”

There are three types of Colour Vision Deficiency – protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia – each acting slightly differently. The most common is deuteranopia, affecting the perception of red and green. Ed has researched the topic extensively and recently presented his findings at GeoBusiness 2024 and for the Institute of Water: “Why does CVD impact men more often than women? This is due to the gene causing CVD being part of the X chromosome. Men inherit one X chromosome, so if the CVD gene is present, they will likely have CVD. For women, inheriting two X chromosomes means the CVD gene would need to be present on both, making it much less likely.”

Understanding and adapting our work, particularly for digital solutions, to improve accessibility for all is crucial. Visualisation is key within all geospatial solutions, and our our GIS team is constantly deciding how our maps, data, and outputs should look to best communicate data to our project teams, end users and stakeholders. This is where the GIS team’s CVD tools comes into play, ensuring data is clear, concise, and effectively communicated to everyone.

The team are also looking at accessibility for neurodiverse individuals and those with visual impairments and have been sharing their best practices within professional communities to help make geospatial data and digital solutions more accessible for everyone.