Standards & Consultancy

At Shufrans, we work according to international technical documentation standards such as S1000D, S2000M, ATA-iSpec 2200 and Shipdex, while having the flexibility to deal with your specific requirements.

Technical Writing

An important aspect of content development is technical writing. At Shufrans TechDocs, we focus on clarity in documentation. Therefore, we ensure that language is not an obstacle for users to read and understand the information to be conveyed.

Simplified Technical English

ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English (STE) is an international writing standard that helps to make technical documentation less ambiguous, easier to understand and faster to translate.

Certified ASD-STE100 Training

We are the global leader in ASD-STE100 training and consultancy. Our certified Simplified Technical English training workshops are conducted by seasoned industry experts.

The trainer was extremely knowledgeable and personable. She worked with us to resolve concerns and find creative solutions to challenging word choice suggestions. My preferred STE rules include: Limited accepted words in the vocabulary, limited length of sentences, and only using words for the approved meaning. A lot of writing, especially descriptive writing, can be verbose and cumbersome. It seems to me that sometimes engineers use fancy words to sound smarter or to show how complex or advanced the technology is, but that is not always helpful to the average user. As a user, I appreciate simple and clear instructions and explanations. I am hopeful that STE will let me write simply and clearly for our users. Thank you, Shumin! I really enjoyed the presentation and learning more about STE and how to use it.

Mickie Newsome, Technical Communications Editor Komatsu
Both the introduction to Simplified Technical English and presentation of technical writing rules were great and received a 9 out of 10 score from me. I have very much enjoyed this face-to-face workshop session with Shumin CHEN and in terms of her training evaluation it is a 9 out of 10 again for me!

Adrienne Brieffies Technical Writer, Alfa Laval
I absolutely enjoyed participating in your course! I came away with a significantly deeper understanding of Simplified Technical English (STE). For the introduction to STE itself, I wouldn't hesitate to give it a perfect score – 10 out of 10! It truly laid a strong foundation for the concepts.

Out of all the STE rules we covered, rule 5.1 particularly resonated with me. The emphasis on keeping sentences short and concise, with a maximum of 20 words for procedures, makes perfect sense. It definitely streamlines the instructions and improves clarity.

The STE presentations and exercises we reviewed were also fantastic, and I would rate them a very strong 9 out of 10. They provided a great balance of explanation and practical application, solidifying the learning. Overall, this STE course has been an incredibly valuable experience, and I would absolutely recommend it to all my colleagues! They would undoubtedly benefit from the clear and concise communication techniques emphasized in the course.

Technical Editor Grundfos
I have found Shumin to be a very patient and knowledgeable instructor! This is a great course that offers me an in-depth look into all of the technical English writing rules. I will recommend this course to everyone!

Consultant, Technical Writer Sigma Technology Information AB
I would rate the introduction to ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English an 8 out of 10. Base on the STE presentation on rules, my favourite would be Rule 2.3 where you use an article (the, a, or an) or a demonstrative adjective (this, these) before a noun. The STE exercises provided in this workshop were of a very high standard and I would rate them 9/10. In terms of trainer evaluation, I would rate Shumin's training an 8 out of 10.

Rutger van Alphen de Veer Technical Writer, MAHLE Group
Personally, it became clearer to me that STE is a language that one can learn to pick up. This includes the standard vocabulary and customised dictionary that is built for every company or product. In other words, STE is a ‘way of life’ in the field of technical writing and documentation. The ASD-STE100 exercises covered a wide spectrum of topics from choosing between approved and non-approved words to recreating documentation in STE. Shumin expertly guided us from classroom learning mode to real-life practical application of STE rules. The materials that she presented were informative and very convincing. Top Qualities: Practical, Convincing, Informative

Martin Broekhuis Technical Editor, Webasto
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)
Frans has rare skills in global demand - indeed when I met him he was spending much of his time crossing oceans to find creative foreign language solutions for his clients' advanced technical publications challenges. Frans has a special knack for understanding the Asian markets and his brilliant decision to develop business out of Singapore should serve him well regardless of the economic climate. I wish him all the best of success.

Tim Gottschalk Consultant, Boeing
Keep doing what you’re doing - it’s a good subject and a very helpful class! I like the list of approved words. This could really help clarify and harmonize the writing in an organization. My other favourite STE rule being: Do not write noun clusters of more than 3 nouns. It helps when reading and writing texts also outside of STE.

TCLoc Master's Programme Student University of Strasbourg
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