I have two questions for the group to consider, concerning the languages which
are to be provided in manuals.
My understanding of IEC 950 paragraph 1.7.14 of the languages required in
manuals is as follows:
A - Safety Instructions
Whenever the information provided deals with safety, the information must
always be provided in the language of the country where the equipment will be
used.
B - Servicing Instructions
Information dealing with servicing the equipment by service personnel can
always be provided in English. The requirements assume that service personnel
consist of trained and authorized persons.
C - User Instructions
Germany demands that user instructions be provided in German. Their reasoning
is that the user instructions inform the user how the equipment is to be
operated properly, therefore they are necessary to prevent improper operation.
Mexico requires that user instructions be provided in Spanish.
At the present time, all other countries accept user instructions in English,
however some are considering following Germanys lead. The recommendations from
test labs is that user manuals for consumer products be provided in at least
English, French, German, and Spanish.
My questions are:
1) What are the group's comments on the above.
2) I have a manual intended for a serviceman. Using "B" above, it can be in
English only.
In the manual there are several safety cautionary statements. They will all be
extracted from various sections of the manual and will be placed in a single
separate section located at the front of the manual, and each will be
translated into the language of the country where the equipment is destined.
This will provide compliance with "A".
We would also like to include the safety cautionary statements in the body of
the manual, at the appropriate locations, to provide continuity when the
serviceman is reading/following the manual. We feel that there is no need to
also provide a translation in the body of the manual since there is already one
provided at the beginning of the manual. The reasoning is twofold: (1) since
English is accepted as the language for the serviceman ("B" above), the
serviceman is presumed to know how to read English, and (2) the safety
cautionary statement appears in his native language in the separate section at
the beginning of the manual.
Comments will be appreciated.
Gabriel Roy
Hughes Network Systems
MD
The opinions expressed are mine and do not necessarily reflect corporate.
