RE: International standards for caveats

[Mary Ellen Schutz <me -dot- schutz -at- juno -dot- com>]

Ronald Schwarz" <RSchwarz -at- cosmocom -dot- com> writes in part:
 
Can someone please remind me of the international standards governing
the use of caveats in user documentation? I need both the standards and
the content. The standards can include engineering standards. For
example, when can we use Note, Information, Warning, or Caution? The
type of warning and the icon that accompanies it are what I need.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The European Union/European Nations standards have been adopted pretty
much worldwide for notices in manuals and on safety labels. The
particular standard number depends on the country you're trying to clear
regs for and the type of device.  But check with your engineers for the
CE mark (EN) or ANSI standards they're designing to...The US standard for
labeling is ANSI Z535. That said, here are the definitions for the flag
words that are now standard for goods shipping to Europe, USA, Korea,
Japan, China (PRC and Taiwan), Canada...

Note
Notes contain helpful supplementary information.

Notice (replaces Important, Information, or whatever else you were using
if you're planning on getting a CE mark)
Follow instructions labeled ?Notice? to avoid damaging the system
hardware or losing data.

Caution
Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, may result in
minor or moderate injury. It may also be used to alert against unsafe
practices.

Warning
Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in
death or serious injury.

Danger
Indicates a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will result in
death or serious injury.

Caution, warning, and danger (the flag words that indicate personal
injury is possible) are preceded by a triangle with an exclamation point
inside.  In color, yellow triangle, black exclamation point.  For
labeling, color comes into play as well, with the flag word and icon
required in color field at the top of the label...Caution, black text in
yellow field, Warning black text in an orange field, and Danger, black
text in a red field. Cautionary text must include a description of the
hazard and the steps necessary to avoid injury or death. That panel must
be white with black text. There must also be a panel with either the
international warning symbol for the hazard or a pictograph that makes
clear what the hazard is.

Gee...you suppose 20+ years of documenting computers and scientific
instruments intended for CE mark left its mark?

Mary Ellen Schutz, your Gentle Editor
Gentle Editing, LLC
www.GentleEditing.net
608.695.8254
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken
men...Frederick Douglass
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