Technical Standards, of Escondido, California, recently announced the winning entry in its fourth annual Worst Manual Contest. This year’s $100.00 prize went to Rhonda Bracey of Western Australia for her submission of the safety section from her friend’s air conditioner.
With entries solicited from the 25,000+ membership of the Society for Technical Communication, Technical Standards’ Worst Manual Contest is designed to underscore the importance of clear technical writing for everything from consumer products to employee handbooks.
“The frustration caused by a poorly written manual is almost a universal experience,” said Michelle Wier of Technical Standards. “Poor documentation can cause more confusion than comprehension and could lead to liability issues and hidden costs for companies. On the other hand, good documentation results in satisfied repeat customers, reduced costs, and limited liability for companies.”
“For many end users, bad documentation amounts to nothing more than an inconvenience and possibly a poor impression of the company,” said Wier. “But for companies, the results can affect the bottom line in terms of overloaded help lines, reduced revenues from dissatisfied customers, and increased liability.”
Often, poorly written manuals for consumer products can be attributed to translation problems. Clear, accurate translations are extremely important when communicating health and safety warnings associated with operating or assembling a product.
The safety section for the air conditioner that won the contest was only two pages long, but that was enough! As Rhonda Bracey puts it, “translator beware!” If the phrase, “…to have the observance without fail to prevent the damage to harm and the property beforehand to the person who use this product and other persons” doesn’t scare you, then some of the other text will!
Consider the following excerpts:
“Please do not put the one embarrassed because it gets wet under the air conditioner.”
“To apply the cold wind to the body for a longtime and so as to not exist about cooling too much.”
“Do not blow the wind to animals and plants directly. It occasionally causes a bad influence for animals and plants to be exerted.”
The symbol key alone provided much material for the staff at Technical Standards to question. For example, the symbol key contained a symbol (twice) that wasn’t referenced in the text, but didn’t contain a symbol that was referenced. In another instance, the same symbol was used for both Warning and Caution, but each represented very different consequences. The difference between possible death compared to minor injury or material damage seems worth having its own distinction. There were also some amusing symbol descriptions such as, “Attention rousing,” “Prohibition,” and “Compulsion.”
To view the top entries and more information about Technical Standards’ fourth annual Worst Manual Contest, go to their Web site at http://www.tecstandards.com.
