The objective of the project is to develop approaches for communicating information about quality, health, safety, environment, and production in an easy and user-friendly manner that makes this information accessible to all. "All" in this context includes employees with limited communicative skills, that do not master the language, and otherwise fail to make use of text-based instruction.

Based on a successful project under the TEFT system of the Norwegian Research Council, where production plans were made more accessible to employees of the company Prima, which employs many mentally challenged people, the AQUAS project aims to continue those efforts. Funding has been secured through the FUNN arrangement, and cooperating companies have been included in the project (PROMI in Spain and Samhall in Sweden).

Quality systems, internal control instructions, as well as production plans and orders are in most cases written, text-based entities that many employees have problems understanding or simply not time to read. Prima has already successfully worked to reduce the need for assistance required by people with mental challenges, while at the same time reducing the levels of absenteeism and increasing productivity. The reason is that the required information has been adapted to the needs of the recipients instead of being printed in thick folders unavailable to most employees.

Together with PROMI, Samhall, and SINTEF, Prima aims to develop a methodology which will enable a company to adapt its quality and internal control systems as well as production plans and orders to a more available and user-friendly version. The benefits will come in the form of reduced frequency of injuries, improved quality, and increased productivity. Not to mention improved quality of work life for those involved - as experiences from Prima clearly demonstrate.