TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
David--
We have an entire compliance engineering department. As in Rahel's case,
they run the tests, see that the fees are paid, report information to the
group (they maintain an extensive intranet web site), and review the manual
for appropriate compliance statements. In the past, the company had hired a
consultant to do most of those tasks, but we as a company found that we
could standardize more easily with our own engineers steering the ship. As a
result of this general standardization effort, we technical writers have
started (just barely!) to create standard wording for some of the more
typical statements. We have just recently published a first this wording in
our manual template (the update of which one of us technical writers "owns"
as a task), which is done in Framemaker 5.5. (We use Windows NT 4.0.) So
far, I have found that sometimes the standard wording works and sometimes I
have to customize it for a manual (to mention specific metrics, for
instance), but at least in the latter case, I have a base to start with.
Hope this makes sense.
--Debra Kahn, Senior Technical Writer
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
Colorado, USA
debrak -at- ftc1 -dot- aei -dot- com
Our compliance engineer works with product management to figure out
where the product will be sold, runs the appropriate compliance tests,
then tells me which statements need to be included.
We're not producing consumer electronics, so the regulations under which
we operate my be different. I'm fortunate enough to have access to a
list of standard statements, and I simply cut and paste into my
document.
-------------------------------------------------
Rahel A. Bailie, Senior Technical Writer
Castleton Network Systems Corporation
Burnaby, BC, Canada
Tel 604-293-0039 (5432) / Fax 604-293-0047 http://www.castleton.com
-----Original Message-----
From: David Lawrence [mailto:dlawrence -at- CELERITY -dot- COM]
Sent: Monday, July 27, 1998 8:34 AM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Safety compliance statements
I am producing user doc for a consumer electronics product that will be
sold internationally. How do I determine what safety compliance
statements
must be included in the documentation?
Also, are there any general guidelines for Safety Precautions lists?
I've asked the engineering department to tell me what standards they are
manufacturing the product to, and which of these standards includes
safety
requirements.
Thanks,
Dave
David Lawrence Phone: 423.539.3617
Senior Documentation Specialist Fax: 423.539.5390
Celerity Systems, Inc. email: dlawrence -at- celerity -dot- com
1400 Centerpoint Boulevard Web: www.celerity.com
Knoxville, Tennessee 37932 NSADAQ: CLRT
