Accessible Design in Detroit

Automotive. Ford, GM, Stellantis, and the hundreds of Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers that make up the Metro Detroit ecosystem need accessible supplier portals, dealer management tools, and customer-facing websites. Federal contractor requirements push Section 508 compliance for many automotive companies. OEM contractual requirements increasingly mandate accessibility for supplier digital tools. And practically speaking, dealer portals and B2B platforms used by workers across multiple contexts, including on the shop floor on mobile devices, benefit from the same keyboard navigation and clear focus management that accessibility standards require.

Healthcare. Henry Ford Health System, Detroit Medical Center, McLaren Health Care, and the network of community health centers serving Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties need accessible patient tools, scheduling systems, and health information sites. The patient populations served by these organizations include high rates of disability, making accessible digital tools a genuine care quality issue. Section 1557 of the ACA applies to any healthcare organization receiving federal financial assistance, which covers virtually every hospital and physician practice in the Detroit market.

Manufacturing. Detroit's precision manufacturing, metal fabrication, and assembly operations are building digital tools at a rapid pace, from operational dashboards to supplier management portals to quality documentation systems. Federal contractor requirements and general ADA exposure both apply. Practically, workers in manufacturing environments using shared tablets or workstation terminals benefit from accessibility features designed for keyboard navigation and high contrast.

Real Estate and Development. Detroit's downtown and neighborhood development boom is creating many new websites and platforms for properties and developments that need to be accessible to prospective tenants, buyers, and community members. The Fair Housing Act's application to digital platforms means property listing sites cannot exclude users with disabilities.

Education. Wayne State University, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Lawrence Technological University, and Detroit's K-12 system need accessible digital platforms for students, parents, and staff. Federal Section 504 requirements apply to educational institutions receiving federal funding, and the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights enforces digital accessibility standards actively.

Nonprofits and Social Services. Detroit's robust social services community, including the Detroit-Wayne Integrated Health Network, community development organizations, and neighborhood associations throughout the city, serves populations with high rates of disability and dependence on accessible digital tools. These organizations need accessible platforms to fulfill their missions effectively.

Tech Startups. Companies at TechTown and across Detroit's emerging tech scene are building the next generation of digital products. Starting with accessibility built in is the professional standard and protects against costly remediation as the product grows. Startups that demonstrate accessible products also open access to enterprise and government markets that require documented accessibility conformance.

Government. City of Detroit departments, Wayne County agencies, and regional planning organizations need compliant digital tools under both ADA and state accessibility requirements. Vendor accessibility requirements apply to any company serving government clients.

Discovery. We review your existing digital presence, design files, and technical architecture. For audit projects, we run automated scanning tools and begin documenting the scope of manual testing within the first week. For new builds, we review your brand standards, component library, and target user contexts, including any specific industrial or mobile environments where your users will interact with the product. We give you an honest assessment of where you stand before any work begins.

Strategy. We deliver a prioritized plan that separates critical accessibility barriers from moderate and minor issues. For Detroit companies with legacy systems or complex B2B platforms, we sequence the work to reduce the highest-priority legal and functional barriers first. We provide a timeline, a budget estimate, and clear milestones. For companies with federal contractor requirements, we build Section 508 documentation into the plan from the start.

Implementation. We fix accessibility at the code level. ARIA implementation, semantic HTML, keyboard navigation, focus management, and color contrast corrections are all made in the actual codebase. We do not use overlay tools, which have been shown by independent research to fail for screen reader users and provide no legal protection. We test with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver across browsers and document every change.

Validation and Handoff. After implementation, we run a comprehensive post-remediation audit to confirm all issues are resolved. We deliver an updated accessibility statement, VPAT documentation if needed for government or enterprise sales, and training materials for your content and development teams. We offer ongoing monitoring to catch regressions and quarterly check-ins for sites that evolve frequently.

This city is coming back stronger, and the digital products being built here should reflect that commitment to every person in Detroit. Running Start Digital is ready to build accessible, high-performance digital experiences for your organization. Let's talk about your project.