Examples in STE:

The examples are in uppercase letters, but STE does not give rules for formatting. Refer to the applicable specifications for technical publications, style guides, and other official directives.

WARNING: BEFORE YOU FILL THE LIQUID OXYGEN SYSTEM, PUT ON PROTECTIVE CLOTHING. LIQUID OXYGEN IS DANGEROUS.

WARNING: ALWAYS KEEP YOUR HANDS AND FEET AWAY FROM THE BLADE. WHEN THE MOTOR OPERATES, THE BLADE TURNS AND CAN CAUSE INJURY.

CAUTION: BEFORE YOU OPERATE THE GROUND TEST UNIT, MAKE SURE THAT THE PRESSURE REGULATOR IS SET TO ZERO. THIS WILL PREVENT DAMAGE TO THE UNIT.

CAUTION: DO NOT USE BLEACH OR CLEANSERS THAT CONTAIN CHLORINE TO CLEAN THE UNIT. THESE CLEANING AGENTS CAN CAUSE CORROSION.

Do an accurate risk analysis to decide if there is a risk of injury or death to persons (warning), or if there is a risk of damage to machines, tools or equipment (caution), or both.

Examples:

Non-STE: CAUTION: EXTREME CLEANLINESS OF OXYGEN TUBES IS IMPERATIVE.

STE: WARNING: MAKE SURE THAT THE OXYGEN TUBES ARE FULLY CLEAN. OXYGEN AND OIL OR GREASE MAKE AN EXPLOSIVE MIXTURE. AN EXPLOSION CAN CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH TO PERSONNEL.

In the non-STE example, this safety instruction is given as a caution, but if you know about oxygen systems, you also know that oxygen can cause explosions. Because there is a risk of injury or death here, this safety instruction must be identified as a warning.

Compare the wording in the safety instructions. The non-STE safety instruction is abstract and only makes a general statement. The warning written in STE gives much more specific information about how to lower the risk of explosion. In fact, it uses the words “explosion”, “injury” and “death” to make the reader clearly understand how important this instruction is.