The definition of Danger, Warning, Caution is defined by several organizations. I typically follow the ANSI Z535 standard. ANSI 35 and 53 are referenced by OSHA. However, OSHA hasn't updated their references to reflect the fact that ANSI combined these 2 standards into Z535 many years ago.
Mathieu has the Danger and Warning definitions correct. They currently discourage the use of Caution for equipment damage although it is still acceptable. There's a new version being published next month that I suspect will eliminate Caution as an acceptable term for equipment damage. David also mentioned a mil spec that defines the terms and I know that ISO also has standards possible injury, although they don't reference the different levels of injury. With the attempted harmonization between ISO and ANSI, this may be additional changes in the forthcoming update. So you need to know the standards that your industry (and country) reference and apply those standards to your documents. It is also good practice (required?) that you state those definitions in your document. Brian David Spreadbury <[email protected]> Sent by: [email protected] 08/01/2011 08:28 AM To [email protected], [email protected], mathieu jacquet <[email protected]> cc Subject RE: warnings, cautions, notes in sw documentation The use of Warnings, Cautions, and Notes, specifically Warnings and Cautions, are used differently in different technologies. Here are some links that may hep you to decide which use best fits your needs: http://www.techcommunicators.com/dkmanual/chap5015.html http://www.techcommunicators.com/emanuals/wrm/chap06/06-13_notes.htm http://www.stc-soc.org/quill/2004-05/warnings.html http://www.tpub.com/content/tentsshelters/TB-9-2320-360-13-P-2/TB-9-2320-360-13-P-20234.htm http://www.techwr-l.com/archives/0403/techwhirl-0403-00541.html http://goodtools.net/pages/SUNstyle/constr8.htm http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/op990/en/SM/SFF/GUID-EA258A9C-D5EA-43BE-9A44-E8B52A0E594F.html And MIL-STD-38784C states: WARNINGS : Highlights an essential operating or maintenance procedure, practice, condition, statement, etc, which, if not strictly observed, could result in injury to, or death of, personnel or long term health hazards. CAUTIONS: Highlights an essential operating or maintenance procedure, practice, condition, statement, etc, which, if not strictly observed, could result in damage to, or destruction of, equipment or loss of mission effectiveness. NOTE: Highlights an essential operating or maintenance procedure, condition, or statement. Another thing that most people don't adhere to is that WARNINGS should come before CAUTIONS, which should come before NOTES, when any two, or all three, may apply to the following paragraph or section. --- On Mon, 8/1/11, mathieu jacquet <[email protected]> wrote: From: mathieu jacquet <[email protected]> Subject: RE: warnings, cautions, notes in sw documentation To: [email protected], [email protected] Date: Monday, August 1, 2011, 5:33 AM Hi hessiansx4, Here is how we define them in our doc: . Warning mention (+ pictogram): WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, can result in death or serious injury. . Caution mention (+ picto): CAUTION indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, can result in minor or moderate injury. . Caution mention (without picto): CAUTION, used without the safety alert symbol, indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, can result in equipment damage. We talk about "equipment damage" because our soft is used for remote equipment control. Mathieu. > Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:42:37 -0700 > From: [email protected] > Subject: warnings, cautions, notes in sw documentation > To: [email protected] > > Hello all! I've noticed that the legacy docs I'm currently working on use notes and warnings (no cautions) for a software product. I asked why a warning was used instead of a caution and was told: that's the way we do it here. I've only used warnings when bodily harm could result from some action. How are those of y'all in the sw world doing it? _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to framers as [email protected]. Send list messages to [email protected]. To unsubscribe send a blank email to [email protected] or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/bemrich%40phoenixcon.com Send administrative questions to [email protected]. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
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