IT project opens access to all areas
The biannual School of Computer and Information Science (CIS) Project
Fair Day is always an impressive showcase of the results of students and
industry "clients" coming together in the search for a solution to a
knotty IT problem.
But there was one project at this month's event that combined innovation
with diversity and equality.
Third-year Bachelor of Computer and Information Science student Darryl
Sellwood demonstrated MAAMIS, the Mobile Access Auditing Management
Information System he developed for Harrison Consultants, a small
business owned and operated by Trevor Harrison.
MAAMIS is software that allows Harrison to compile and manage data about
access for people with disabilities, as he conducts access audits of the
built environment for the general public, businesses and all levels of
government.
Harrison and Sellwood know all too well the importance of having good
access to buildings and facilities, as they are both wheelchair users.
But as their work in developing MAAMIS shows, not even physical barriers
seem to get in the way of Harrison and Sellwood working to improve the
quality of life of others.
"We want to try to improve the service we offer, and we've been looking
for something that's going to give us an edge," Harrison said.
"What Darryl has come up with is going to do that by enabling us to
speed up the process of the work involved in doing an access audit.
"At the moment it is a very physical process. You've got to go out to
the site, get the data, get back to the office, put the data back in to
the computer, and then correct it. With MAAMIS, we'll eventually be able
to transfer the information onsite. In the office all we have to do is
prepare the finished report."
Sellwood said the software is also able to integrate digital voice
files, has "auto-complete" to eliminate unnecessary typing and a report
formatting function.
Harrison's associate, Jill Fowler, said MAAMIS will allow him to do more
work than he's been able to do, and in a much more timely fashion.
"This is Trevor's business and it was the first business of its kind in
South Australia, but often because of his level of disability, he has
needed other people to help him do the work," she said.