Shumin gave an excellent introduction to the concept of ASD-STE100 as an international writing standard in documentation. The most relevant STE rules for my industry are those related to WARNINGS, CAUTIONS, AND NOTES. The STE exercises in this workshop are very helpful for letting me put those rules into actual practice. Some of the exercises I find pretty challenging as well. I would very much recommend Shumin's training workshop to any professional out there whose work scope encompasses clear, concise, and unambiguous communication.
Hawa Suria, Technical Data Consultant Brunei Shell Petroleum
Frans provided a multi-day training on STE in my company, Hansem EUG, and impressed every participant with his profound expertise in the subject matter and his kind and witty manner which had made the training much more enjoyable. I am glad to have known him and expect to have a sound, professional relationship for our mutual benefit.
Yangsook Kim CEO, Hansem EUG
I attended a two-day ASD-STE100 training workshop by Shumin. She presented the materials clearly and succinctly with sound and logical written examples. There was a good balance of worksheet exercises and individual rewriting tasks. We explored certain topics and asked critical questions related to standard technical writing practices which were well discussed during this workshop. Shumin seems like a kind and well-educated trainer who has an answer for every question. Top Qualities: Personable, Expert, Good Value
Frank Omvlee Technical Publication Engineer, B/E Aerospace
This ASD-STE100 training course helped me better appreciate the objectives of Simplified Technical English from a technical writer's perspective. I like the fact that STE promotes the use of less complex sentence structures and does away with unnecessary words like: would, should, and might. The exercises in this course are certainly helped overcome my learning curve. STE should be the standard for any technical content written. Shumin comes across as a highly experienced STE trainer. I will recommend this STE training workshop to my colleagues!
Bert Riemens, Technical Author/ Document Management Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding
I attended Frans's training course in Simplified Technical English in June 2010 and I am very glad I did. Apart from being an engaging speaker and managing to enunciate 57 and a half writing rules in three hours without boring you for a second, Frans is a brilliant technically-minded linguist - a rare find. The ease with which he can turn convoluted (or downright bad) material into crystal-clear technical writing, at first sight and without hesitation, didn't cease to amaze me throughout the training sessions. Frans is personable, flexible, an extremely knowledgeable scholar and an excellent teacher. The two days spent in training with him definitely enriched my skill set. I can wholeheartedly recommend him, as an efficient trainer, enthralling presenter, and leading documentation expert. Top qualities: Personable, Expert, Creative
Nadina Rosentuler Senior Technical Writer, IDE Technologies
Good explanation with history and background of STE to illustrate the importance of using STE in the aircraft industry. Rule 6.1: To give information gradually is my favourite. My favourite verbs are DO, PREPARE, REPLACE, REMOVE and STOP.
I am now conscious of writing in shorter sentences for better clarity and getting the point across. Before STE100, I tend to include too much information for fear that the message was misinterpreted. These verbs are commonly used and I agree that the intrinsic meaning of these are sufficient to get the message across efficiently.
There were good practice sessions to reinforce the essence of the respective rules. I would most certainly recommend Simplified Technical English as a standard to maintenance related fields since I personally do not like to read instructions in a disorganized manner.
JD Hong Maintenance Superintendent, Maersk Drilling
Rules about noun clusters (no more than 3 words, use of hypens and use of articles/demonstrative adjectives) and sentences (use of short sentences with a max. of 20 words without contractions and write only one instruction per sentence, but also use of vertical lists and connecting words) are definitely my favourite ones!
The first session with you was interesting and carried out well!
Overall, however, you did a very good job, rescheduling the assignment until we finished the TCTrainNet course, and I enjoyed attending your live meetings!
Master's student, TCLoc Programme University of Strasbourg
Introduction to Simplified Technical English (STE) was comprehensive and gave me the full picture of this technical writing standard and its related implementation processes. Rule 6.6 is something that I appreciate very much as there is a prescribed limit for the length of every paragraph. This will make the reading process much easier and user-friendly. The exercises were challenging and do take some time to get used to. Nevertheless, this part of the training session is a 9/10 for me. Shumin's delivery of the training was very clear and succinct. Her knowledge of the STE language standard spans both breadth and depth!
Mckeena Neo Technical Writing Team Leader, Thales Group (Previously, Gemalto)
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
This Simplified Technical English (STE) workshop has equipped me with the right kind of STE knowledge and skill sets to move forward confidently in my role as a technical writing team leader. I am glad that I was able to attend this course!
Team Leader Technical Writing, Hansem EUG