Write_on

<BODY BACKGROUND="backgrnd.gif"> <P><IMG SRC="logo.gif" ALT="Write_on" ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="160" HEIGHT="177"> <IMG SRC="write_on.gif" ALT="Write_on" WIDTH="239" HEIGHT="80"></P> <H2> <MARQUEE BGCOLOR="#C0C0C0">Technical Writing and Engineering</MARQUEE></H2> <TABLE> <TR> <TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="600"> <H4>Mike Gascoigne, BSc, MS, CEng, <A HREF="http://www.icheme.org/" TARGET="_top">MIChemE</A>, <A HREF="http://www.istc.org.uk/" TARGET="_top">FISTC</A>.</H4></TD> <TD WIDTH="150" ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="http://www.qualityauthors.co.uk/" TARGET="_top"><IMG SRC="qabannerad2.gif" ALT="Quality Independent Authors" WIDTH="150" HEIGHT="48" BORDER="0"></A></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P></P> <HR> <P></P> <TABLE WIDTH="100%"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="624" VALIGN="TOP"> <P>I am a freelance technical author, based in Blackwater on the Surrey/Hants border in England, close to the M3 which runs from London to Southampton.</P> <P>To contact me, <A HREF="mail.htm">send a mail message</A>.</P> <P></P> <H4>Availability</H4> <P>I can get involved in your documentation projects on a full-time or part-time basis, depending on my <A HREF="availability.htm">availability</A>.</P></TD> <TD WIDTH="98" VALIGN="TOP"><IMG SRC="mike.jpg" ALT="Mike" WIDTH="119" HEIGHT="148" ALIGN="RIGHT"></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <H4>Group Support</H4> <P>Although I work mainly as an individual, assisted by my wife Fiona who does various administrative jobs, I also have the support of a wider network of qualified and experienced technical authors who are members of the <A HREF="istc.htm" TARGET="_top">ISTC Independent Authors' Special Interest Group</A>. Collectively we are able to manage large and complex projects that may require the use of additional resources at short notice.</P> <HR> <H2 ALIGN="CENTER"><A NAME="Low_Cost_Publishing"></A>Low Cost Publishing for Industrial and Retail Markets</H2> <P>In addition to my technical authoring work, I have an interest in ancient history and have written and published a book called <A HREF="annomundi.htm" TARGET="_top">Forgotten History of the Western People: From the Earliest Origins</A>. This was formatted to print-ready condition using Microsoft Word for the pages and Paint Shop Pro for the paperback cover. Copies are produced using small volume digital printing, typically 25 or 50 at a time, although there is no lower limit to a print run. The printer, Lightning Source, runs a fulfilment service so that my book is offered for wholesale distribution and is available in retail shops by special order. When a book is ordered through the fulfilment service, a single copy is printed and sent to the shop, a process known as "print on demand". I also have my own<A HREF="annomundi/Bookshop.html" TARGET="_top">eCommerce website</A>, linked to WorldPay, so that people can place orders and they are supplied from the copies that I keep in stock.</P> <P>Small volume digital printing costs slightly more than offset printing, (about £2 extra per copy) but huge savings can be made by printing exactly the number you want, and there is no need for long print runs. The benefits are as follows:</P> <UL> <LI>For commercial and industrial purposes, you can print the number you need for a specific business requirement. For example, if some of your clients or business colleagues are coming to a meeting, you might want to give each of them a manual for your latest product.</LI> <LI>If you have written a book for retail markets, you don't have to go cap in hand to a publisher saying "Will you publish my book?". The setup costs for digital printing are typically less than £100, so that it becomes easily affordable to individual authors. There are other costs associated with marketing and distribution, but we are looking at a few hundred pounds and not thousands. You can take control of the situation and publish your own book, and I would be happy to offer a consultancy service to anyone who is embarking on this process for the first time.</LI> </UL> <P>I can also assist with the preparation of eBooks, which look the same as printed books except that they are distributed electronically and are read from a computer screen or hand-held device. Files downloaded from the Internet can be linked to the user's hardware or zip disk to protect the author's copyright and prevent redistribution.</P> <P>I have written an article on <I>eBooks and Print on Demand</I>, for the Spring 2003 issue of Communicator, the journal of the <A HREF="http://www.istc.org.uk/" TARGET="_top">ISTC</A>.</P> <HR> <H1 ALIGN="CENTER"><A HREF="c15.htm" TARGET="_top">ISTC Award Winner 1999</A></H1> <HR> <H3><A NAME="Manuals"></A>Production of Manuals and User Guides </H3> <P>I have a wide experience of technical authoring in a variety of industries, including <A HREF="#Computing">computer software and engineering</A>.</P> <P>I write and publish manuals using appropriate documentation and graphics tools such as Microsoft Word, FrameMaker, Ventura Publisher and Paint Shop Pro. I can also use SGML (Standard Generalised Markup Language) to create structured documents. If necessary, I can prepare PostScript output files for printing the finished manuals.</P> <P>I can also produce documentation in the form of on-line <A HREF="#Help">help text</A>. </P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="Computing"></A>Computing and Engineering Documentation</H3> <P>I have experience of producing manuals and help text for the engineering industries, where the products and systems are usually computer-based to some extent. My work has included the following:</P> <UL> <LI><A HREF="cadcam.htm" TARGET="main">Computer Aided Design (CAD)</A> with links to Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and Finite Element Analysis (FE).</LI> <LI><A HREF="utilities.htm" TARGET="main">Gas and electricity supply and monitoring systems</A>.</LI> <LI><A HREF="gas_cylinder_filling.htm" TARGET="main">Gas cylinder filling systems.</A></LI> <LI><A HREF="instruments.htm" TARGET="main">Instrumentation</A>.</LI> <LI><A HREF="maintenance.htm" TARGET="main">Maintenance management systems</A>.</LI> <LI><A HREF="motors.htm">Motor vehicles and forklift trucks</A>.</LI> <LI><A HREF="industrial_sites.htm" TARGET="main">Industrial Sites</A>.</LI> </UL> <P>Starting from either finished or development versions of a client's product, I evaluate and test it, and write about it from my observations and results. Since I initially approach a product as a new user, the documentation reflects the user's point of view. During the testing period, extensive consultation takes place with engineers, programmers and designers to make sure the documentation is correct. Sometimes I might recommend changes to the product if I think it might be helpful to the user.</P> <H4><A NAME="ChemEng"></A>Chemical Engineering Documentation</H4> <P>During my days as a permanent employee, I worked as a Chemical Engineer for British Petroleum on the following projects which were all safety-critical:</P> <UL> <LI>Separation of gas, oil and water, and in particular the use of porous materials which have a coalescing effect on oil/water emulsions, causing them to separate. I worked on a small-scale pilot plant in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, to remove water from the oil coming out of a "nodding donkey" type oil well. Then I went to Qatar and worked on a full-scale test plant which separated water from oil which came out of the ground under pressure.</LI> <LI>Evaporation and dispersion of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the event of spillage. I carried out practical field tests at the BP Kent Refinery, involving an open barrel of LPG mounted on a stand with a pivot bearing. The barrel was tipped over by pulling a rope and the LPG evaporated on contact with the ground. The gas cloud was measured by thermal conductivity meters mounted downwind. I also carried out tests in which an open vessel containing different substrates, such as sand, clay and gravel, was placed on a weighing machine and a measured quantity of LPG was poured onto the substrate. The evaporation rate was measured from the change in weight. Then I worked on mathematical models, written in Fortran, to predict the evaporation and dispersion of liquefied gases under a variety of conditions. The model calculations were compared with the field test results to make adjustments and obtain greater accuracy.</LI> </UL> <P>I am a member of both the <A HREF="http://www.icheme.org/" TARGET="_top">Institution of Chemical Engineers</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.istc.org.uk" TARGET="_top">Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators</A>. I will be pleased to hear about any documentation requirements within the chemical engineering industry, whether they are related to the above projects or otherwise.</P> <P>The computer industry has spawned a growing number of technical authors, to fulfil the need for clear documentation of complex products. Many technical authors are doing it as a second career, having already become qualified and experienced in something else. Is there now a need for technical authors to go back to where they came from, taking their new skills with them? See the <A HREF="chemeng.htm" TARGET="_top">Discussion Article</A>.</P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="Renewable_Energy">Renewable Energy</A></H3> <P>While other sectors of the economy have suffered a downturn since September 11th, renewable energy has continued growing. First there was a drop in the price of oil, because of the recession, then the price began to rise again because of instability in the Middle East and uncertainties in the oil supply. There are concerns that the Western World has to become self-sustaining in its energy supply, giving a boost to the renewable energy industry which has been steadily growing for some years. The major sources of renewable energy are:</P> <UL> <LI>Solar energy</LI> <LI>Wind turbines</LI> <LI>Wave power</LI> <LI>Photovoltaic cells</LI> <LI>Biomass fuels</LI> <LI>Hydrogen</LI> </UL> <P>The fastest growing area is the use of wind turbines, although it has to be used in combination with other systems, otherwise we get no power when the wind drops. A solution to this problem is the use of wind power to electroyse water into hydrogen and oxygen which can be recombined in a fuel cell to produce electricity according to demand. Hydrogen will also become important as a motor vehicle fuel, with some companies expecting to bring fuel cell vehicles into service from about 2004 onwards.</P> <P>I will be interested in working on any projects associated with renewable energy.</P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="Security"></A>Security System Documentation</H3> <P>I am interested in the documentation of domestic, commercial and vehicle security systems. I have no specific expertise in this area, but because of my experience in other related fields I believe I can soon pick it up. Besides, the best user-friendly documents are produced by someone who is new to it. I am always ready to try something new. See my article on <A HREF="security.htm" TARGET="main">security systems</A>.</P> <P>I am the Beat Coordinator of the local Neighbourhood Watch and I regularly distribute police information to Group Coordinators.</P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="Help"></A>Help Text Authoring</H3> <P>Have you noticed that during the last few years, printed manuals have been getting thinner? That's because the increased sophistication of Windows hypertext has encouraged people more and more to use on-line documentation. </P> <P>Various types of Help system have been available since the earliest versions of Windows. They all have various features in common, including text and graphic hotspots so you can jump between topics, display popups and execute commands. There are also keyword searches, bookmarks, user-defined annotations and browse sequences. All of this makes is possible for you to find information very quickly.</P> <P>Windows Help (hlp) files are created by using Microsoft Word to produce the source documents, and then running a Help compiler.</P> <P>HTML Help (chm) files are created by using an HTML editor to produce a set of Web pages, then running an HTML Help compiler. This type of help filecan interact more easily with the internet.</P> <P>I can produce Help text to suit all your authoring and publishing needs.</P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="HTML"></A>HTML Web Page Authoring</H3> <P>HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the standard format for documents that are intended for uploading to the World Wide Web. Send me your text and graphics, together with your instructions about links to other pages, mailbox fields and other special features, and I will make up your pages for you. If necessary, I can also upload your pages to the Web, depending on where they are being hosted.</P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="JavaScript"></A>HTML/JavaScript Web Page Authoring</H3> <P>The addition of JavaScript to HTML enables web pages to become more animated and dynamic, and gives them the ability to process data and perform calculations. The <B>Search</B> button at the top of the navigation pane at the left of this screen displays a form which activates a search engine written in JavaScript. If the navigation pane is not on display, you need to go to the <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top">home page</A>. When you display the form and specify a valid search string, the program will search this site and display a matching list of topics.</P> <P>This search engine is entirely client-sided and has been placed on the server by uploading web pages in the usual way. No server-sided programming has been required. <B><I>Note:</I></B> I could have used a number of proprietary search engines, but I chose to do it myself as a programming exercise.</P> <P>Please contact me if you require any web page authoring that uses client-sided JavaScript.</P> <P>See also the <A HREF="javascript.htm" TARGET="_self">JavaScript</A> topic.</P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="Multimedia"></A>Multimedia Authoring</H3> <P>Multimedia is the combination of different types of media in a computer program, including text, graphics, sound, video and animation. I can produce multimedia programs using the following tools:</P> <UL> <LI>Macromedia Director.</LI> <LI>Microsoft Multimedia Viewer Publishing Toolkit. This is basically an extension of the Windows Help system which includes multimedia features.</LI> <LI>ProStar MiniCat. A purpose-made tool for catalogue programs with self-calculating order forms.</LI> </UL> <P>The formats used are:</P> <UL> <LI>CD-ROM for high-volume programs that require up to 600Mb of data. I can write your program and produce a finished and fully tested master on recordable gold disk, then send it out to a pressing plant for replication, together with artwork for labelling and packaging. I have a demonstration program featuring a collection of guitars that I photographed at a local shop.</LI> <LI>Internet for low volume programs and demos, using Java.</LI> <LI>Video tape for short animated demos, useful for exhibitions.</LI> </UL> <HR> <H3><A NAME="OtherTech"></A>Other Technical Authors</H3> <H5>In the UK:</H5> <P><A HREF="istc.htm" TARGET="_top">ISTC Independent Authors' Special Interest Group</A> </P> <H5>International:</H5> <P><A HREF="http://www.stc.org/" TARGET="_top">Society for Technical Communication</A> - USA, with Chapters in <A HREF="http://www.stc.org/region2/bel/" TARGET="_top">Belgium</A>, <A HREF="http://www.stc.org/region1/sfc/indexen.htm" TARGET="_top">France</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.stc.org/region2/isc/" TARGET="_top">Israel</A>.</P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="LocalLinks"></A>Local Links</H3> <P><A HREF="http://www.bvsbc.org.uk" TARGET="_top">Blackwater Valley Small Business Club</A></P> <P><A HREF="http://www.nehef.co.uk" TARGET="_top">North East Hampshire Economic Forum (NEHEF)</A></P> <HR> <H3><A NAME="OtherInterests"></A>Other Interests</H3> <P><A HREF="bible.htm" TARGET="_top">Bible Discussion</A>. A discussion of Bible topics with links to other Christian and Messianic pages. </P> <P><A HREF="history/index.htm" TARGET="_top">History</A>. Tracing our origins from very ancient times. </P> <P><A HREF="http://www.democracy-movement.org.uk/" TARGET="_top">Democracy Movement</A>. Keep the pound and save democracy. </P> <P><A HREF="http://www.ukip.org/" TARGET="_top">UK Independence Party</A>. Leave the EU and save Britain.</P> <HR> <H4 ALIGN="CENTER"><A HREF="search_engines/search.htm" TARGET="_top">Search Engines Accessing This Site</A></H4> <HR> <TABLE WIDTH="100%"> <TR> <TD WIDTH="124"><A HREF="copyrt.htm"><IMG SRC="c_1996.gif" ALT="Copyright 1996" ALIGN="BOTTOM" WIDTH="120" HEIGHT="21"></A></TD> <TD WIDTH="626" ALIGN="LEFT"><I>Updated February 2003</I></TD> </TR> </TABLE> <P><I>Mike Gascoigne</I> </P>  <script type='text/javascript' src='https://count.carrierzone.com/app/count_server/count.js'></script> <script type='text/javascript'> </script>  </BODY>