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Preparing Your Knowledge Base for the Future of Intelligent Systems with STE

The landscape of information is rapidly transforming. Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI are no longer concepts of tomorrow but powerful tools reshaping how we create, process, and consume knowledge today. Yet, the true potential of these AI systems hinges on one critical factor: the quality of the data they are fed. As the adage goes, “Garbage In, Garbage Out” applies more strongly than ever to Artificial Intelligence.

What Makes Documentation “AI-Ready”?

For AI models to perform optimally – whether generating content, answering complex queries, or translating vast amounts of text – they demand specific characteristics from their input documentation:

• Unambiguity: AI struggles with interpretation. A single word or phrase with multiple meanings can lead to incorrect inferences or “hallucinations”.
• Consistency: Predictable sentence structures, consistent terminology, and uniform phrasing enable AI to learn patterns more effectively and retrieve information accurately.
• Structured Language: While LLMs can handle unstructured text, highly structured, logical content allows for more precise analysis and generation.
• Controlled Vocabulary: A limited and defined set of words reduces synonymy (multiple words for the same thing) and homography (one word with multiple meanings), which are common challenges for AI.

This is where the principles of clear human communication unexpectedly converge with the demands of artificial intelligence.

Simplified Technical English: The Original AI-Friendly Language

Long before the current AI revolution, Simplified Technical English (STE), formalised as ASD-STE100, was meticulously developed to enhance clarity and reduce ambiguity for human readers, particularly non-native English speakers. It achieves this through a carefully selected controlled vocabulary and a set of precise writing rules (e.g., short sentences, active voice, avoiding jargon).

What’s fascinating is that the very characteristics that make STE easy for humans to understand also make it remarkably machine-readable. By enforcing consistency, limiting vocabulary, and simplifying sentence structures, STE inadvertently created a language that is inherently optimised for computational processing. It removes the linguistic “noise” and uncertainty that often befuddle AI systems.

Specific Benefits of STE for AI-Driven Workflows

Adopting Simplified Technical English is no longer just about human comprehension and compliance; it’s a strategic move to future-proof your documentation for an AI-powered world:

• Enhanced Machine Translation (MT) Quality:
  • STE significantly improves the quality of machine translation output by eliminating ambiguity and linguistic complexity. This leads to cleaner initial translations, fewer post-editing cycles and, ultimately, lower translation costs for global organisations.
• Improved Content Reusability for AI & Automation:
  • STE-compliant content is naturally more modular and atomised. This makes it easier for AI-powered content management systems to identify, segment, and repurpose content blocks for various outputs, from automated summaries to new content generation.
• More Accurate AI-Powered Search & Information Retrieval:
  • With consistent terminology and simpler sentence structures, AI-powered search engines, chatbots, and virtual assistants can more accurately find, interpret, and present information from your documentation. This dramatically reduces instances of “hallucinations” or incorrect responses from conversational AI.
• Streamlined Data Input for LLMs & Knowledge Graphs:
  • The structured and unambiguous nature of STE provides cleaner, more reliable input for training LLMs or populating knowledge graphs. This results in more robust AI models and more trustworthy outputs across your enterprise.

Future-Proofing Your Documentation Investment

In an era where data is the new currency and AI is the engine, the quality of your organisation’s knowledge base will dictate its competitive edge. Investing in Simplified Technical English is not just about refining existing documentation; it’s about making a strategic move that prepares your entire information architecture for seamless integration with future AI advancements. It means less rework, higher data integrity, and more reliable AI-driven insights down the line.

Ready to Master Simplified Technical English and Prepare for AI?

Understanding how to apply the principles of Simplified Technical English – including the latest updates in ASD-STE100 Issue 9 – is crucial for optimising your documentation for both human comprehension and the power of Artificial Intelligence. Our tailored STE training programmes are designed to equip your team with the practical skills needed to implement these standards effectively and future-proof your content strategy.

Learn more about our upcoming training sessions and secure your spot today!

From a rigorous specification to a global international standard: ASD-STE100’s evolution with Issue 9 marks a new era for technical communication.

On January 15, 2025, ASD-STE100 took a significant leap forward with the release of Issue 9. This latest version marks a crucial evolution, formally transitioning STE from a mere specification into a full-fledged international standard. This designation change underscores its broader applicability and reinforces its global relevance in technical communication.

While Issue 9 doesn’t introduce entirely new writing rules, its focus has been on comprehensive refinement and modernisation.

Refined Rules for Greater Clarity

One of the primary areas of update lies in the existing writing rules. 31 out of the 53 writing rules have undergone revisions in their wording. These tweaks aim to improve clarity and ease of application, directly reflecting current best practices within technical communication. The goal is to make the standard even more intuitive for authors to follow.

An Updated, Smarter Dictionary

The STE dictionary, a cornerstone of the standard, also received a substantial overhaul. A staggering 555 entries – encompassing words, definitions, and examples – were updated. These revisions ensure the dictionary aligns with the latest linguistic and technical conventions, maintaining accuracy and relevance across a wide range of industries.

Aligning Terminology with Global Standards

Issue 9 placed a significant emphasis on modernising the meta-terminology within STE itself. This review focused on streamlining legacy classifications and aligning them with international terminological frameworks. For instance, terms like “technical name” and “technical verb” from previous issues have been reclassified as “technical noun” and “technical verb (term)”, respectively. This update directly links STE to ISO 1087-1:2019, making the standard more consistent with broader linguistic principles. Additionally, subject field classifications were refined, and new categories (such as “Law and regulations” and “Animals, plants, and other life forms”) were introduced under rules like Rule 1.5 and 1.12 to cater to an expanding range of content.

A User-Centric Approach

A key driving force behind these updates was the aim to improve usability for technical authors. Recognising that most authors are not linguists, the standard’s developers prioritised balancing terminological precision with practicality. This ensures that STE remains straightforward and accessible, enabling authors to apply it effectively without unnecessary complexity.

A Collaborative Effort

Issue 9 is the culmination of extensive collaboration. Its development involved the ASD Simplified Technical English Management Group (STEMG), academic experts, and STE users from around the world. A two-month global feedback period was integral to gathering diverse insights, ensuring the final standard is robust and truly reflective of industry needs.

In essence, ASD-STE100 Issue 9 solidifies the standard’s position by clarifying and modernising its existing framework. By enhancing its global standing and practical applicability without introducing entirely new rules, it focuses instead on refinement and alignment with modern terminological practices, ensuring STE remains a powerful tool for clear and precise communication.

Ready to Master ASD-STE100 Issue 9?

Understanding the updates in Issue 9 is crucial for ensuring your documentation remains compliant, clear, and efficient. Our tailored ASD-STE100 training programmes are designed to equip your team with the practical skills needed to implement these latest standards effectively.

Learn more about our upcoming training sessions and secure your spot today!

In today’s globalised world, clear and concise technical documentation isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a necessity. That’s where Simplified Technical English (STE) comes in, providing a set of clear writing rules and a controlled vocabulary to ensure your message is understood by everyone, regardless of their native language or technical expertise.

While many training programmes adopt a broad, less individualised approach, potentially leaving participants to navigate the complexities of STE implementation in relative isolation, Shufrans TechDocs has, since 2006, championed a more refined educational experience. Our approach is rooted in the conviction that learning & mastery of the STE standard flourishes within intimate, small group settings, complemented by the assurance of comprehensive post-training support.

At Shufrans TechDocs, we believe there’s a better way. Since 2006, we’ve championed a more human-centred approach to STE training, built on the power of small group learning and unrivalled post-training support.

The Deliberate Distinction: Personalised Learning in Focused Groups

We consciously move away from the paradigm of expansive online cohorts, favouring instead online STE training limited to a carefully considered maximum of five participants. This deliberate selectivity cultivates an environment where learning becomes a more nuanced and interactive process. Within these focused groups, participants can expect:

• Direct and Personalised Attention: With fewer participants, you’ll have ample opportunity to interact directly with the instructor and get your specific questions answered in detail.
• Relevant Discussions: The smaller size fosters a more collaborative environment where we can delve into examples and scenarios that are directly relevant to your industry and needs.
• A Supportive Learning Space: Feel comfortable asking questions, sharing challenges, and learning from your peers in a more relaxed and engaging atmosphere.
• Tailored Insights: Where possible, the content and examples can be adapted to the specific backgrounds and requirements of the individuals within the group, ensuring the training is truly impactful.

We understand that the learning journey doesn’t end when the training session concludes. That’s why Shufrans TechDocs offers a unique and comprehensive 120 days of post-training support.

This isn’t just a cursory follow-up. It’s our commitment to your long-term success in applying STE. During this period, you’ll have access to:

• Direct Email Consultation: Got a question about a specific rule or how to apply STE to a particular document? Reach out directly, and you’ll receive personalised guidance.
• Feedback on Your Work: As you begin to implement STE, you can submit examples of your writing for constructive feedback to ensure you’re on the right track.
• Clarification and Reinforcement: Need a refresher on a particular concept? We’re here to provide the clarification you need to solidify your understanding.

We believe that mastering STE is a skill that develops over time, and having expert support in those crucial initial months of application can make all the difference between simply knowing the rules and confidently implementing them.

Why Personalisation and Support Matter in STE Mastery

In a world often dominated by scale and automation, we believe in the power of the human touch. Learning is a personal journey, and having dedicated support can significantly enhance your understanding and application of STE.

If you’re looking for STE training that goes beyond the generic, that prioritises your individual learning needs and provides ongoing guidance to ensure your success, then Shufrans TechDocs offers a different approach.

The Shufrans TechDocs Approach

With two decades dedicated to Simplified Technical English training, our commitment is to empower individuals and organisations to communicate clearly and effectively. Our focus is on providing not just knowledge, but the practical skills and ongoing support needed to truly master STE.

Ready to experience the difference of personalised STE training with unrivalled support?

www.shufrans.com

The Challenge: Unifying Clarity in a Complex Digital Landscape

Veeam Software stands as a global leader in data protection, backup, and disaster recovery, operating at the forefront of virtual, physical, and cloud-based workloads. In an industry where precision is paramount, and a single misinterpretation can have significant consequences for data integrity and business continuity, the clarity of technical documentation is not just beneficial—it is fundamental.

Veeam faced the challenge of ensuring its comprehensive suite of solutions, from Veeam Backup & Replication to Veeam ONE, was explained with absolute consistency and unambiguous language across all documentation. This complexity was amplified by a rapidly evolving technological landscape and a diverse global customer base. Without a unified standard, there was a risk of:

• Ambiguity in complex technical explanations, leading to user errors or support queries.
• Inconsistency in terminology and style across different product manuals and guides.
• Inefficiencies in the documentation workflow, impacting authoring and review cycles.
• Potential for misinterpretation of critical recovery procedures, jeopardising data resilience.

Veeam sought a solution that could standardise its technical language, ensuring every instruction and explanation was understood unequivocally, regardless of the reader’s technical background or native language.

The Solution: Tailored STE Training for Enhanced Precision

Shufrans TechDocs partnered with Veeam to deliver a focused ASD-STE100 (Issue 8) training programme. Recognising the varied expertise within Veeam’s content creation ecosystem, the training was specifically tailored for nine key individuals, comprising mostly technical writers, senior technical writers, a crucial data scientist, a handful of Knowledge Managers, and a technical writing lead.

The programme focused on equipping these professionals with the practical rules and vocabulary of STE, enabling them to:

• Apply STE Principles: Learn and consistently implement the core rules of ASD-STE100 for all their documentation.
• Simplify Complex Concepts: Translate intricate data protection methodologies and software functionalities into clear, concise, and unambiguous language.
• Leverage Personal Pronouns: Understand and effectively utilise “You” and “We” to create direct, actionable instructions, particularly vital for user guides and procedural documentation.
• Standardise Terminology: Adopt a controlled vocabulary to ensure consistent use of terms across all documents, reducing confusion.

The inclusion of a data scientist and a Knowledge Manager in the training was particularly strategic, highlighting Veeam’s commitment to clarity even at the intersection of advanced analytics, information organisation, and practical application.

The Results: Elevated Documentation Quality and Operational Efficiency

By investing in ASD-STE100 training with Shufrans TechDocs, Veeam achieved significant, measurable improvements in its technical communication:

• Enhanced Documentation Clarity and Precision: The application of STE principles led to documentation that was easier for Veeam’s global customers to understand, reducing the potential for misinterpretation of critical backup and recovery procedures. This directly contributes to higher operational reliability for their clients.
• Streamlined Authoring Efficiency: Technical writers benefited from the structured approach of STE, leading to more efficient content creation, reduced rework, and greater consistency across their document portfolio.
• Improved Comprehension of Complex Solutions: For the data scientist, STE provided a framework to articulate complex data models and analytical insights with greater clarity, ensuring that even highly specialised information was accessible and actionable for its intended audience.
• Unified Documentation Standard: The technical writing lead gained a powerful tool for enforcing a consistent, high-quality standard across the team, facilitating better internal collaboration and a more cohesive documentation suite.

Veeam’s proactive investment in STE training with Shufrans TechDocs has transformed its technical documentation into a strategic asset, reinforcing its commitment to delivering clear, reliable, and high-quality data protection solutions worldwide. This success story underscores the power of targeted communication training in ensuring operational excellence and customer satisfaction in the rapidly evolving technology sector.

If your organisation faces similar challenges in achieving uncompromising clarity and operational excellence through precise communication, discover how Shufrans TechDocs can help. Learn more about our ASD-STE100 training and consulting services:

🗓️ View our training calendar.

*Course fee includes exercises, learning aids, certificate of completion, and 120-day post-training support.

⁺⁺A group discount of up to €500 is applicable when two or more participants sign up for the same event. Send us your questions: enquiry@shufrans-techdocs.com.

🏷️ A €210 fee discount is applicable when you also sign up for 🆕 Certified STE Masterclass | Europe Online.

Summary of Simplified Technical English (STE)

Simplified Technical English (STE) or ASD-STE100 is a controlled technical English language that is used to write technical manuals in a way that they can be more easily understood by an international audience. STE helps to make translations cheaper and more accurate. Often a formal requirement for aircraft and defence maintenance documentation, STE can easily be adapted to all technical industries and beyond. Ms. Shumin Chen will teach participants how to correctly and effectively use STE in practice. She will also address some of the mistakes commonly found in technical writing and the frequent incorrect use of common STE writing rules.

Why select a Simplified Technical English training with Shufrans?

Shumin is a very knowledgeable STE instructor. She kept the course interesting and was always open to our questions/feedback. The introduction to Simplified Technical English has been greatly beneficial for my understanding of what the specification entails. In terms of preferred rules, I cannot pinpoint a specific set of STE writing rules as they are all valuable. This was my favorite part of the course as I enjoyed analyzing how other writers went about using STE to best apply it to their line of work.

The rewriting workshop was my favorite part of the course as I enjoyed analyzing how other writers went about using STE to best apply it to their line of work. I would highly recommend this course to all technical writers. Shumin Chen takes the time to clearly explain the rules of STE. A very attentive instructor, indeed. If given the chance, I would really enjoy working along side her. Michael Palmieri, Documentation Specialist, AON3D | The Advanced Additive Manufacturing Platform

STE Course Outline*

We’re committed to providing the highest quality learning experience in all our online workshops. Therefore, we’ve made the decision to cap all our online workshop session sizes at just five participants, starting 5 May 2025.

This intimate virtual environment fosters richer discussions, more personalised feedback, and a greater overall impact on your understanding and application of key technical communication standards like Simplified Technical English. Learn better, communicate better, across all our courses. This two-day Online STE Workshop includes interactive training, exercises, and a 120-day post-training consultation.

• Day 1: Classroom Training
  1. Practical overview of Simplified Technical English
  2. How STE helps both native & non-native speakers of English
  3. Benefits of adopting the STE international writing standard
  4. Writing rules and how to apply them in practice
  5. How to use the general vocabulary.
  6. Approved and non-approved words discussion and the rationale behind.

• Day 2: Application, Review, & Exercises
  1. How to deal with industry-specific terminology
  2. How to use STE for various documentation types
  3. How to implement STE with minimal disruption to on-going production and existing documentation
  4. Practical workshop session for applying STE rules to your own documents
  5. Review, edit, and discuss participants’ own documents to reinforce learning.
  6. Classroom presentation of own documents.

* Shufrans also offers customised ASD-STE100 training solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements. These courses are normally provided at the customer’s premises.

Who should attend this Simplified Technical English training?

• Compliance managers
• CIO, COO, CTO
• Customer support managers
• Documentation managers
• Editors
• Engineering managers
• Engineers and SMEs who create documentation
• Graphics specialists
• ILS managers
• Maintenance managers
• Operation managers
• Product managers
• Project managers
• Quality managers
• Software research engineers
• Technical illustrators
• Technical writers
• Translation managers
• Translators.

What technical writing outcomes to expect?

Our interactive training, exercises and workshop, will teach participants to standardise content to:

• Enhanced Communication & Efficiency: Authors will gain the skills to create clear, consistent, and easily translatable technical documentation, facilitating effective communication with a global audience and streamlining the writing process.
• Improved Operational Safety & Reduced Downtime: By mastering STE principles, teams will produce unambiguous documentation that minimises misunderstandings, directly contributing to improved operational safety and a reduction in costly AOG/downtime.
• Optimised Lifecycle Support & Cost Reduction: Training will enable modular writing and content reuse, leading to maximised consistency, optimised product lifecycle support, and a significant reduction in the overall cost of creating and maintaining technical publications.

What customers are saying..

The introduction was a good and concise way to familiarize yourself with STE basics. I’ve a background in plain language, so for example the rule on noun clusters makes perfect sense. I’m all about simplification, so substituting verbs like “eliminate” for verbs like “remove” or “stop” will be my new quest. The STE exercises were helpful in getting to grasp with STE during the training workshop. I’d very likely recommend this course to anyone planning to introduce STE as it’s got a great practical angle. Jenni Virtaluoto, PhD, Senior Lecturer, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

ASD-STE100 Trainer’s qualifications

Ms. Shumin Chen, principal trainer & consultant at Shufrans TechDocs received her professional on-the-job training in the field of STE under the tutelage of Dr Frans Wijma, a linguist and documentation expert. Together as an experienced global team, they provided their combined knowledge and dedication to benefit customers worldwide. To date, they have provided training and consultancy services to over 200 companies. Shufrans TechDocs is the only company with such vast experience in providing certified STE training.

Shumin has supported various companies with their STE and other documentation needs, based on standards where possible. Although STE was developed for the aerospace industry, more specifically for aircraft maintenance documentation, she found that it made a lot of sense to apply the same principles to other industries and types of documents as well. Few -if any- changes to the specification are necessary to adapt STE to industrial sectors ranging from machinery to IT, automotive to medical equipment.

*Course fee includes exercises, learning aids, certificate of completion, and 120-day post-training support.

⁺⁺A group discount of up to €500 is applicable when two or more participants sign up for the same event. Send us your questions: enquiry@shufrans-techdocs.com.

🏷️ A €210 fee discount is applicable when you also sign up for 🆕 Certified STE Masterclass | US Canada Online.

Summary

Simplified Technical English (STE) is a controlled language that is used to write technical manuals in a way that they can be more easily understood by an international audience. STE helps to make translations cheaper and more accurate. Often a formal requirement for aircraft and defence maintenance documentation, STE can easily be adapted to all technical industries and beyond. Ms. Shumin Chen will show participants how to correctly and effectively use STE in practice. She will also address some of the mistakes commonly found in technical writing and the frequent incorrect use of common STE writing rules.

Course outline*

We’re committed to providing the highest quality learning experience in all our online workshops. Therefore, we’ve made the decision to cap all our online workshop session sizes at just five participants, starting 5 May 2025.

This intimate virtual environment fosters richer discussions, more personalised feedback, and a greater overall impact on your understanding and application of key technical communication standards like Simplified Technical English. Learn better, communicate better, across all our courses. This three-day Online STE Workshop includes interactive training, exercises, and a 120-day post-training consultation.

• Day 1: Classroom Training
  1. Practical overview of Simplified Technical English
  2. How STE helps both native & non-native speakers of English
  3. Benefits of adopting the STE international writing standard
  4. Writing rules and how to apply them in practice.

• Day 2: Application & Exercises
  1. How to use the general vocabulary.
  2. Approved and non-approved words discussion and the rationale behind.
  3. How to deal with industry-specific terminology
  4. How to use STE for various documentation types.

• Day 3: Review, & Exercises
  1. Practical workshop session for applying STE rules to your own documents
  2. Review, edit, and discuss participants’ own documents to reinforce learning
  3. How to implement STE with minimal disruption to on-going production and existing documentation.
  4. Classroom presentation of own documents.

* Shufrans also offers customised ASD-STE100 training solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements. These courses are normally provided at the customer’s premises.

What customers are saying..

I was looking forward to the training and was not disappointed. I think that the training was valuable and would recommend that my colleagues take the training either on line or in person. Being able to send a sample document and then working on it together using my new STE skills was very helpful and valuable. Shumin was extremely knowledgeable and gave many practical examples. I hope to be able to make use of the support period post-training. Deborah Tonkin, Technical Information Engineer, Komatsu

Why select a Simplified Technical English training with Shufrans?

The introduction to ASD-STE100 was good and informative for someone like me with zero knowledge of the STE standard before. Rule 6.3 in STE writing summarizes the best of what I can take with me. There was quite a lot from the STE exercises to consume regarding grammar. Nevertheless, the worksheets were very good and helpful. I gained quite a lot of knowledge from them and they were the best part of this training workshop. Shumin was very professional and sharp as a razor. The best takeaway for me from her workshop is to give more thought to how I build my sentences rather than focussing on specific ‘allowed’ or ‘approved’ words. Jeppe Friis, Technical Inspector, Maersk Drilling Maintenance Support

Who should attend this ASD-STE100 workshop?

• Compliance managers
• CIO, COO, CTO
• Customer support managers
• Documentation managers
• Editors
• Engineering managers
• Engineers and SMEs who create documentation
• Graphics specialists
• ILS managers
• Maintenance managers
• Operation managers
• Product managers
• Project managers
• Quality managers
• Software research engineers
• Technical illustrators
• Technical writers
• Translation managers
• Translators.

What ASD-STE100 workshop training outcomes to expect?

Our interactive training, exercises and workshop, will teach participants to standardise content to:

• Enhanced Communication & Efficiency: Authors will gain the skills to create clear, consistent, and easily translatable technical documentation, facilitating effective communication with a global audience and streamlining the writing process.
• Improved Operational Safety & Reduced Downtime: By mastering STE principles, teams will produce unambiguous documentation that minimises misunderstandings, directly contributing to improved operational safety and a reduction in costly AOG/downtime.
• Optimised Lifecycle Support & Cost Reduction: Training will enable modular writing and content reuse, leading to maximised consistency, optimised product lifecycle support, and a significant reduction in the overall cost of creating and maintaining technical publications.

ASD-STE100 Trainer’s qualifications

Ms. Shumin Chen, principal trainer & consultant at Shufrans TechDocs received her professional on-the-job training in the field of STE under the tutelage of Dr Frans Wijma, a linguist and documentation expert. Together as an experienced global team, they provided their combined knowledge and dedication to benefit customers worldwide. To date, they have provided training and consultancy services to over 180 companies. Shufrans TechDocs is the only company with such vast experience in providing certified STE training.

Shumin has supported various companies with their STE and other documentation needs, based on standards where possible. Although STE was developed for the aerospace industry, more specifically for aircraft maintenance documentation, Shumin found that it made a lot of sense to apply the same principles to other industries and types of documents as well. Few -if any- changes to the specification are necessary to adapt STE to industries ranging from machinery to IT, automotive to medical equipment.

*Course fee includes exercises, learning aids, certificate of completion, and 120-day post-training support.

⁺⁺A group discount of up to €500 is applicable when two or more participants sign up for the same event. is applicable when two or more participants sign up for the same event. Send us your questions: enquiry@shufrans-techdocs.com.

🏷️ A €210 fee discount is applicable when you also sign up for 🆕 Certified STE Masterclass | Asia Pacific (APAC) Online.

Rediscover clarity in documentation with STE

Simplified Technical English (STE) or ASD-STE100 is a controlled technical English language that is used to write technical manuals in a way that they can be more easily understood by an international audience. STE helps to make translations cheaper and more accurate.

ASD-STE100 is mandated by several commercial and military specifications (MIL-SPEC) that control the style and content of maintenance documentation. Military defence standards (MIL-SPEC / MIL-STD) such as MIL-STD-3048, as well as technical documentation standards like S1000D and ATA iSpec 2200 recommend the use of ASD-STE100. In ASD-STE100, technical authors are encouraged to keep sentences brief and paragraphs short, while ensuring the completeness of information.

Often a formal requirement for aircraft and defence maintenance documentation, STE can easily be adapted to all technical industries and beyond. Ms. Shumin Chen will show participants how to correctly and effectively use STE in practice. She will also address some of the mistakes commonly found in technical writing and the frequently incorrect use of common STE writing rules.

The ASD-STE100 workshop conducted by Shufrans TechDocs made for a very good introduction to STE for new as well as intermediate users of the STE writing standard. The presentation on rules was very clear and I liked the emphasis on the fact that the rules are weighted and how one can use them flexibly. The exercises completed during this training were good and provided real world examples in technical writing in a practical way. I’d very likely recommend this course to someone else. This course is a must for any new technical writers or technical publication employees. Neil Winson, Technical Writer, Airbus Helicopters

MEA Online STE Workshop Course Outline*

We’re committed to providing the highest quality learning experience in all our online workshops. Therefore, we’ve made the decision to cap all our online workshop session sizes at just five participants, starting 5 May 2025.

This intimate virtual environment fosters richer discussions, more personalised feedback, and a greater overall impact on your understanding and application of key technical communication standards like Simplified Technical English. Learn better, communicate better, across all our courses. This two-day Online STE Workshop includes interactive training, exercises, and a 120-day post-training consultation.

• Day 1: Classroom Training
  1. Practical overview of Simplified Technical English
  2. How STE helps both native & non-native speakers of English
  3. Benefits of adopting the STE international writing standard
  4. Writing rules and how to apply them in practice
  5. How to use the general vocabulary.
  6. Approved and non-approved words discussion and the rationale behind.

• Day 2: Application, Review, & Exercises
  1. How to deal with industry-specific terminology
  2. How to use STE for various documentation types
  3. How to implement STE with minimal disruption to on-going production and existing documentation
  4. Practical workshop session for applying STE rules to your own documents
  5. Review, edit, and discuss participants’ own documents to reinforce learning
  6. Classroom presentation of own documents.

* Shufrans also offers customised ASD-STE100 training solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements. These courses are normally provided at the customer’s premises.

Who should attend this Simplified Technical English training?

• Compliance managers
• CIO, COO, CTO
• Customer support managers
• Documentation managers
• Editors
• Engineering managers
• Engineers and SMEs who create documentation
• Graphics specialists
• ILS managers
• Maintenance managers
• Operation managers
• Product managers
• Project managers
• Quality managers
• Software research engineers
• Technical illustrators
• Technical writers
• Translation managers
• Translators.

What training outcomes to expect?

Our interactive training, exercises and workshop, will teach participants to standardise content to:

• Enhanced Communication & Efficiency: Authors will gain the skills to create clear, consistent, and easily translatable technical documentation, facilitating effective communication with a global audience and streamlining the writing process.
• Improved Operational Safety & Reduced Downtime: By mastering STE principles, teams will produce unambiguous documentation that minimises misunderstandings, directly contributing to improved operational safety and a reduction in costly AOG/downtime.
• Optimised Lifecycle Support & Cost Reduction: Training will enable modular writing and content reuse, leading to maximised consistency, optimised product lifecycle support, and a significant reduction in the overall cost of creating and maintaining technical publications.

ASD-STE100 Trainer’s qualifications

Ms. Shumin Chen, principal trainer & consultant at Shufrans TechDocs received her professional on-the-job training in the field of STE under the tutelage of Dr Frans Wijma, a linguist and documentation expert. Together as an experienced global team, they provided their combined knowledge and dedication to benefit customers worldwide. To date, they have provided training and consultancy services to over 200 companies. Shufrans TechDocs is the only company with such vast experience in providing certified STE training.

Shumin has supported various companies with their ASD-STE100 technical writing and other documentation needs, based on standards where possible. Although STE was developed for the aerospace industry, more specifically for aircraft maintenance documentation, Shumin found that it made a lot of sense to apply the same principles to other industries and types of documents as well. Few -if any- changes to the specification are necessary to adapt STE to industries ranging from machinery to IT, automotive to medical equipment.

Introduction

Clear, unambiguous, and consistent technical documentation is paramount in the complex and safety-critical world of urban mobility. This case study highlights a successful engagement with Schindler Group, a global leader in elevators, escalators, and related services, focused on achieving their technical communication through comprehensive Simplified Technical English (STE) implementation.

Client Background

Schindler Group, headquartered in Ebikon, Switzerland, is renowned for its innovative and sustainable mobility solutions. With a vast international presence and a diverse workforce, ensuring that technical manuals, maintenance procedures, and product documentation are universally understood is a strategic imperative, particularly for safety and operational efficiency.

The Challenge

Prior to the engagement, Schindler, like many multinational corporations, faced the inherent challenges of technical documentation:

• Ambiguity: Standard English, with its rich vocabulary and complex grammatical structures, can lead to misinterpretations, especially among non-native English speakers.
• Inconsistency: Multiple authors and external vendors, potentially across different regions, could result in varied writing styles and terminology, hindering clarity and increasing translation costs.
• Translation Efficiency: Complex source texts often led to higher translation costs and potential errors in localised versions, impacting global operations.
• Safety Criticality: In the elevator and escalator industry, any misunderstanding in technical instructions can have severe safety implications.

Schindler recognised the need for a standardised approach to technical English to mitigate these risks and improve the overall quality and efficiency of their documentation.

Phase 2: Document Rewriting and Refinement Following the initial training, a direct engagement commenced with key personnel to apply STE principles to existing documentation. This involved close collaboration with:

• Principal Corporate Technical Author: To ensure the practical application of STE rules and to establish internal champions for the standard.
• Head of Corporate Technical Documentation: To oversee the strategic implementation and integration of STE into Schindler’s documentation workflows.

This hands-on rewriting process ensured that the theoretical knowledge gained during training was immediately put into practice, demonstrating tangible improvements in clarity and consistency.

Phase 3: Global Expansion of Training Recognising the success and the need for global consistency, the training was extended to other critical regions. A dedicated online training session was conducted for:

• Corporate Technical Documentation colleagues in Shanghai, China: This expanded the reach of STE adoption, ensuring that documentation produced in a key international hub also conformed to the new global standard.

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Key Stakeholders and Organisational Impact

The success of this initiative was a testament to the collaborative effort across various departments and external partners, demonstrating how STE benefits different parts of the organisation:

• Leadership and Management: Gained strategic alignment and understanding of STE’s business value in achieving safety, efficiency, and global reach.
• Engineering and Product Development Teams (including Subject Matter Experts): Benefited from improved clarity in technical specifications, design documents, and maintenance requirements, ensuring precise input and reduced ambiguity from the source.
• Technical Documentation Teams (in-house and external partners): Acquired practical skills in applying STE rules, leading to more consistent, unambiguous, and efficient content creation for manuals, procedures, and other technical assets.
• Terminology and Language Specialists: Enhanced their ability to manage and control technical vocabulary, ensuring consistency across all documentation and facilitating improved translation quality.
• Translation Teams: Experienced streamlined translation processes due to the reduced ambiguity and increased consistency of STE-compliant source texts.

Results and Impact

The implementation of STE at Schindler Group yielded significant benefits:

• Achieved Clarity and Readability: Documents became easier to understand for a global audience, including non-native English speakers, reducing the risk of misinterpretation.
• Improved Consistency: A unified writing style and controlled vocabulary ensured consistency across all technical documentation, regardless of the author or origin.
• Increased Efficiency: Streamlined writing processes and clearer source texts led to more efficient documentation creation and review cycles.
• Reduced Translation Costs: The unambiguous nature of STE significantly lowered translation costs and improved the quality of translated materials.
• Strengthened Safety: By eliminating ambiguity in critical instructions, the overall safety of operations and maintenance procedures was achieved.

Testimonials

This impact was echoed by participants:

Roland Kiser, Terminology Coordinator at Schindler, noted: “This course shares a good overview of structure, purpose, history, and contextual information about STE. The limited vocabulary and restricted list of words, short sentence constructions, active voice, and imperative verb usage are valuable takeaways messages to act upon in Simplified English. The examples used in this training are quite realistic and it is very likely that I will recommend this STE training to someone else.”

Cécile Roos, Corporate Translation Manager, added: “Entertaining, short, and clear presentation of the STE specification and rule sets. Overall, a good mix of rules, examples, and exercises. The course was very much on point and encouraged me to write in a more structured way. This will help the readers to properly understand my message even in business writing. Shumin had a very calm way of leading all of us through the training. Her style of teaching is rather empathetic and she keeps the group working effectively with timely breaks in between. Thanks Shumin for an enjoyable course with the perfect score of 10/10 in terms of trainer evaluation.”

Marco Valtangoli, Senior Corporate Technical Author at Schindler, also provided valuable feedback: “A very important and highlighted point during the introduction is that STE is an English language specification that is not only applicable for companies in the aerospace & defence industry. Rule 5.2 where you only have one instruction per sentence is important to us. Not being able to use the verb “CHECK’ that is only used as an approved STE noun poses a challenge to me all the time. I really appreciate the STE writing rules that give us the possibility to improve the consistency of our documents. The workshop exercises were of high interest value and drive home the point that it is important to learn by doing. Although a time-consuming process, the writing workshop impressed on me that the need to prioritise the analysis of our internal documents. Shumin is a competent trainer who does not only focus on explaining and enforcing the “writing rules”, but is always available to understand and empathise with the training needs of the class.”

Conclusion

The comprehensive STE training and document rewriting initiative with Schindler Group stands as a strong example of how strategic investment in technical communication can drive operational excellence, improve safety, and foster global consistency within a leading industrial enterprise. By empowering their diverse teams with the tools and knowledge of Simplified Technical English, Schindler reinforced its commitment to delivering clear, reliable, and high-quality documentation worldwide.

If your organisation faces similar challenges in achieving uncompromising clarity and operational readiness through precise communication, discover how Shufrans TechDocs can help. Learn more about our ASD-STE100 training and consulting services:

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