Air Force Materiel Command’s Computer Accommodations Program makes equipment available to military and government workers who are physically impaired. Located in the basement of Bldg. 262, Area A, CAP strives to improve productivity through the use of assistive technology.

Under the direction of Scott Clausen, the CAP has a demonstration room equipped with a variety of chairs, lifts, screen magnifiers, keyboards and other devices available for people to try out for two weeks or more at a time before buying. Renee Albright, CAP’s client services manager, said the equipment is available for purchase for military or government civilians who have disabilities or injuries. A company, agency or individual can purchase the equipment.

One of the more common devices is an ergonomic keyboard, which “splits” the computer keyboard to allow more natural placement of the wrists, elbows and shoulders during operation.

The CAP has keyboards with wrist and arm rests as well as shaped surfaces for people with limited arm movement. Also for those with limited arm movement, CAP has a computer mouse that is stationary and operated by a thumb.

For amputees or those who have a disabled arm, CAP has one-handed keyboards, some with all the keys for people with good manual dexterity and some with fewer keys for those with limited movements.

For people who have vision problems, CAP has computer magnification screens and a device that magnifies pages on a tray. It also has flat monitors and fold-up devices especially handy for traveling.

For those who are hearing-impaired, CAP has teletypewriters, both desktop and portable. There also are voice-amplification devices and phones with treble and bass adjustments.

According to Renee Albright, CAP’s client services manager the equipment is inexpensive compared to medical costs.

“We did a survey two years ago and the estimated savings in time off was $40,000 per customer, from Senior Executive Service to GS-3 employees,” she said.

“We’re helping people in pain, and there is an increasing demand,” she added. “More of the workforce is tied to the desktop. People are spending more and more time as knowledge workers. Also, the workforce is aging. But we’ve seen that even young employees who have a background of personal computer use are becoming our customers.”

CAP people can do workstation visits to analyze and evaluate the ergonomic concerns.

They also participate in several base committees and showed some of their equipment at Infotech in Dayton and a disabilities fair at Wright State University.

For more information about CAP, call 257-1505, or visit its Web site at http://cap.public.msg.wpafb.af.mil.

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