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.
-----Original Message-----
From: McLauchlan, Kevin
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 3:49 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: WARNING! Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!
>>>
We don't do medical or aeronautical equipment.
We do do the equipment that protects/encrypts financial transactions between/among institutions to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars daily. Injuries are pretty much unheard of.
>>>
Warnings, etc., about using the product are probably something regulatory bodies don't really care about. Regulatory agencies would likely be most concerned about where any hardware devices connect to a network, phone line or power source, and that you have any required disclaimers during installation where people are doing those actions, in addition to the big ole regulatory statements that they require elsewhere in the doc (for example, notes about cord types, voltages, analog vs. digital phone jacks, etc.).
If you don't have a full-time regulatory person, one solution is to come up with "templates" based on the types of products that you deal with. Back when I was in the consumer networking products biz, we had specific templates to use that gave the regulatory notes, warnings, cautions, etc., for each type of product we made (connects to a phone jack, wired digital networking products, wireless digital networking products, wired vs. wireless internal devices, etc.). When they downsized the full-time regulatory people, those templates still gave us the basics of what we needed to have as far as regulatory info. We did have one of the former full-timers on as a contractor to review the templates periodically for any required updates or when we were going to sell into a new market/country and needed to know their regulatory requirements for consumer equipment.
If what you sell is technically "business equipment" there are usually less rules/restrictions, but the model should still work.
- V
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Create and publish documentation through multiple channels with Doc-To-Help.
Choose your authoring formats and get any output you may need. Try
Doc-To-Help, now with MS SharePoint integration, free for 30-days. http://www.doctohelp.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
