Controlled readability of Seveso II company safety documents,the design of a new KPI

Companies often use a substantial quantity of safety-related documents such as the front gate safety flyer, emergency evacuation instructions, work permits, safety procedures, work instructions and policy statements. In many cases the personnel magazines and message board notes also contain safety information. The authors and readers may not be in the same department, premises or cultural group. Both authors and readers are diverse groups when it comes to reading, writing and language skills. Previous research has found that Seveso II companies produce documents that are difficult for their workforce and visitors to understand. Authors do not write systematically to match the reader’s skill level. This may be due in part to the quality and effectiveness of layout guidance, expert linguistic advice and document appraisal systems. These do not in general provide the immediate support needed. Layout suggestions are of limited effectiveness, and availability and usability limits the value of expert advice and appraisal systems. So, without useful feedback, many authors cannot write sufficiently readable documents; to overcome this threshold, they need a quick document readability assessment tool. With such a tool, readability can become a controlled property of safety documents. Large companies may use hundreds or thousands of documents containing safety information. This paper presents a practical approach for the transition to, and monitoring of, controlled readability for all documents related to safety. A new Key Performance Indicator design on readability is proposed.