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I'd check with them to clarify what they are thinking about, especially
their worst case scenario.
In every situation I've worked where there was a real risk (here in the
states), the company had engineers, a safety committee, and/or lawyers who
vetted the content. In my experience, tech writers look for areas where
people should be warned, help word the warnings and make sure descriptions
are complete, but I've never heard of a tech writer being responsible for
the legal aspect. Perhaps some are, though, especially if they started from
the tech side.
I'm not a safety specialist and don't have UL certification or training. I
wonder how many tech writers do, especially independents. Sounds like it
would be a highly specialized field, and the liability insurance would be
incredibly expensive.
Kathleen
2009/4/21 Milan Davidovic <milan -dot- lists -at- gmail -dot- com>
> 2009/4/21 GÃrald Bourguignon <gbourguignon -at- abrahamcomm -dot- ca>:
> > I've just received a question from a potential client and I'm not quite
> sure how to respond. They need their safety manuals rewritten/revised and
> they've asked me if I have the credentials that would stand up in court
> should they ever be challenged on the manuals. I've been doing tech writing
> for over 12 years but am new to contracting.
>
> Perhaps they don't have someone of their own who's certified (e.g. UL)
> to sign off on the manuals?
>
> --
> Milan Davidovic
>http://altmilan.blogspot.com
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--
Kathleen MacDowell
www.writefortheuser.com
kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help 2009 is your all-in-one authoring and publishing
solution. Author in Doc-To-Help's XML-based editor, Microsoft Word or
HTML and publish to the Web, Help systems or printed manuals. http://www.doctohelp.com
Help & Manual 5: The complete help authoring tool for individual
authors and teams. Professional power, intuitive interface. Write
once, publish to 8 formats. Multi-user authoring and version control! http://www.helpandmanual.com/
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