October 2018

We're all pumped from our recent AGM and we've got some cool stuff to talk about! First of all, welcome to our new board member Earnsy, welcome back to Peter and Abhay, and farewell Grant! Meredith lays out all that we've achieved as a group this past year in From the President, while Kaye talks Conferences and branding in her Vice President's report. Well done to all of our volunteers and members for your time and support – we should be proud!

Then Safety is the name of the game: Emma discusses Fire Evacuation schemes and Jane brings you the run-down on Peter's Safety Signs.

Finally, Katie asks you "trick or treat?" with this month's Halloween-themed LTC...

From the President

I’ve had a blast taking on the role as President of TechCommNZ this year. I’ve learnt a lot, probably made a few mistakes, and I’ve gained some new friends. Our Board have worked hard together this year and had a lot of fun too. Next year will be another exciting year, with a key focus being our conference in October. I’m also really excited to see what events the Branch Coordinators will come up with around the regions. My thanks to all the Board members for their ongoing commitment and support. And now, without further ado, I am thrilled to report on everything TechCommNZ have achieved this year!

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From the Vice President

This is the year we felt the fear but did it anyway.

I’m of course talking about ITx – New Zealand’s largest IT focused conference where more than 600 delegates spend 3 days expecting to be wow’ed. This year we were there in our own right, with our own speaker stream, our own full conference keynote speaker and our first ITx Excellence Award. We made our mark.

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Fire Evacuation Schemes for Everyone

Recently my company, which specialises in writing policies and procedures, moved premises. We engaged a professional fire safety service to advise us on how to make our building comply with fire safety regulations and prepare our Fire Evacuation Scheme. When we received the scheme, I printed and read it, mainly with a view to updating our online knowledge base. As a result, I’m confident in our scheme, but concerned at the document’s accessibility.

So how can fire evacuation schemes be more user-friendly for all audiences? I relay my experience navigating the document and explore blind users’ experiences of fire evacuation schemes before ending with some tips.

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Wellington Branch Report: Signs say what?

Peter Russell is a senior technical communicator working with a team of mechanical engineers at KiwiRail in Wellington.

He shared his knowledge and insights into developing readable signs – synthesising technical language and graphics for the needs of a wide range of audiences. Not sign school, just one journey starting with a particular request and ending with, a sign!

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Let's Tech Communicate

It’s October. We’re all cheerfully pretending the stores aren’t really stocking Advent Calendars already and that 10 weeks ‘til Christmas sounds like plenty of time to get stuff done. Did that scare you? Good. It wouldn’t be Halloween without a few Horror stories, and boy have we got some treats for you!

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