Inclusive Innovation: Ed Marwood's journey at Ocado Technology

Ocado Technology Engineering Team Leader Ed Marwood shares with us his experience of working within our sector whilst being sight impaired, demonstrating the importance of supporting those with disabilities within the workplace.?

What would you like to share about the disability you live with??

I am registered Severely Sight Impaired (Blind) in the UK. I have less than 5% “normal” vision due to a condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP).? RP has a number of variations, hence my later change in diagnosis (FAM-161A Gene).? This has restricted my field of vision to below 5 degrees. I also have other symptoms, for example cataracts (removed in my 30s), spots or floaters in my vision, light sensitivity, no night vision etc. and I am astigmatic.?

I have had the luxury of growing up with my condition, late diagnosis meant I got to take part fully in school including sports (I even threw Javelin, badly, for a year or two).? As a result I tend to “find my own way”.?

Disability is very personal and people with the same condition will face different challenges and adapt differently for a wide variety of reasons. ?

Tell us about your career journey and how you came to work at Ocado Technology.

I didn’t start my career working in technology. I spent a few years working as a Filing Clerk and working on preparation of documents for legal proceedings. Whilst doing that role, I was involved as the user tester for a digitisation programme and ended up being asked if I had thought about working in technology.?

From there I moved to working on a Service Desk as well as a variety of junior engineering roles in the days of waterfall and monoliths.? I also became involved with process roles like Incident Management and Problem Management from ITIL.?

This has been my career path for the last 15 years working for a number of different companies in the public and private sector specifically focusing on Problem Management.? For those non-ITIL this is roughly analogous to some of the SRE practice roles minus the hands on engineering.?

I joined Ocado around 6 years ago continuing in the same type of role.? I am now the Lead for Ocado Technology and regularly discuss topics with senior engineers.?

What barriers or challenges have you faced in the workplace as somebody who is sight impaired? ?

There are quite a few challenges that I’ve had to overcome in the workplace, including:?

• Difficulty with new places or changes to existing spaces

• Challenges with crowds or large groups of people

• I find most staff restaurants challenging

• I cannot use many of the improvements to office equipment like larger screens or laptops

• I am more prone to issues related to screen usage

• If I travel for work, I have to ask where the toilets or kitchen are and I will need help doing basics like making a drink

• Signage does not help me at all

• My disability is often not immediately apparent with remote meetings

• My disability is often assumed to affect me differently

How has Ocado supported you with your disability??

The support to help with these challenges has been great.? My teammates and colleagues ask me what help I need and consider what I may find difficult when making arrangements.? The People Team at Ocado offer specific tailored support and are happy to work with you on official arrangements, for example I have a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.?Ocado has issued me with a specialist laptop that is suitable for me to work on.?

There are general adjustments in the office that benefit me as well like disabled toilets, accessible doors, wide entry gates for secure areas and step free access (via lift) to most locations.? Our sites also have reception desks who are great and happy to help if I ever ask. On another note, Ocado provides services that enable and enhance online grocery shopping.? For some people this is not just a convenience but a massive benefit IF they can access and use it where they are located.?

I have for a number of years preferred using an online shop for groceries, clearly Ocado, rather than competing with the other busy people in a store whilst trying to navigate and find the products I want.? Shopping can be immensely stressful for some people, with or without disabilities, and by sharing our workplace and understanding others' needs we can deliver a potentially life-changing tool for others.?

How has your disability influenced your professional path? ?

My disability very much influenced my professional career including a change of diagnosis around 7 years ago.?

My diagnosis meant that I could have been faced with a shortened or disrupted career and a lot of adjustments to make both personally and professionally anytime in my 40s or 50s if not before.? This heavily influenced my choice of employer.?

I was fortunate enough to have a change of diagnosis which meant I was far less likely to experience the issues expected.? This coupled with hitting a ceiling in the public sector encouraged me to look elsewhere.?

I think that without the change of diagnosis I probably would still be doing a job I would no longer enjoy.?

Thank you to Ed for sharing his story and experience at Ocado!?