The Presentation of Safety Information in Product Manuals  

Technical communicators may be asked to design and develop safety information for a product manual. During this process, technical communicators can add value to the presentation of safety information. In addition to adhering to a manufacturer’s internal guideline for the content and formatting of safety information, other factors can be considered as well. This paper presents the following factors: (1) an overview of common failure-to-warn allegations, (2) an analysis of current practices in automotive owner’s manuals for presenting safety information, and (3) an update on a new ANSI Z535 consensus standard for the presentation of safety information in product manuals.

Wisniewski, Elaine. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Documentation>Risk Communication>Technical Writing