cc: [email protected]
From: Craig M Britland <[email protected]>
CR>What is the consensus opinion from the group with regards to user manual
CR>safety warnings for consumer consumption. The question is should warnings
CR>be listed in a "Before You Begin" type section at the front of the manual
CR>and referred back to or should they be covered in each subsequent section,
CR>repeated many times and killing many trees! What meets "Duty to warn"
CR>legal position?
CR>I have two questions for the group to consider, concerning the languages
CR>which
CR>are to be provided in manuals.
CR>My understanding of IEC 950 paragraph 1.7.14 of the languages required in
CR>manuals is as follows:
CR>A - Safety Instructions
CR>Whenever the information provided deals with safety, the information must
CR>always be provided in the language of the country where the equipment will b
CR>used.
CR>B - Servicing Instructions
CR>Information dealing with servicing the equipment by service personnel can
CR>always be provided in English. The requirements assume that service personne
CR>consist of trained and authorized persons.
CR>C - User Instructions
CR>Germany demands that user instructions be provided in German. Their reasonin
CR>is that the user instructions inform the user how the equipment is to be
CR>operated properly, therefore they are necessary to prevent improper operatio
CR>Mexico requires that user instructions be provided in Spanish.
CR>At the present time, all other countries accept user instructions in English
CR>however some are considering following Germanys lead. The recommendations fr
CR>test labs is that user manuals for consumer products be provided in at least
CR>English, French, German, and Spanish.
CR>My questions are:
CR>1) What are the group's comments on the above.
CR>2) I have a manual intended for a serviceman. Using "B" above, it can be in
CR>English only.
CR>In the manual there are several safety cautionary statements. They will all
CR>extracted from various sections of the manual and will be placed in a single
CR>separate section located at the front of the manual, and each will be
CR>translated into the language of the country where the equipment is destined.
CR>This will provide compliance with "A".
CR>We would also like to include the safety cautionary statements in the body o
CR>the manual, at the appropriate locations, to provide continuity when the
CR>serviceman is reading/following the manual. We feel that there is no need to
CR>also provide a translation in the body of the manual since there is
CR>already one
CR>provided at the beginning of the manual. The reasoning is twofold: (1) since
CR>English is accepted as the language for the serviceman ("B" above), the
CR>serviceman is presumed to know how to read English, and (2) the safety
CR>cautionary statement appears in his native language in the separate section
CR>the beginning of the manual.
CR>Comments will be appreciated.
My feeling is that it is acceptible [and should be required] to provide
a "loose leaf" flyer in the manual that covers the *exact* language of
the country it is sold into.
I am now so used to getting French, English, Spanish, and German in a
users manual that I now expect it.
- Robert -
[email protected]
PS As a matter of fact, if I don't see multiple languages in the users
manuals I think the company is very small and new to the international
markets.
---
~ OLX 2.1 TD ~ Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money.
