The Safety Notice Nobody Read
A small food-packing company issues a one-page notice about a new hand-washing step. The notice is emailed on Monday to all 14 staff. It opens: "Pursuant to the updated hygiene protocol, personnel are reminded that adherence to revised sanitisation procedures is mandatory prior to commencing handling operations." It is written in 9-point grey text, has no heading, and the key step (wash for 20 seconds, then dry with blue roll) appears only in the fourth paragraph. On Wednesday a supervisor finds three staff members who had not changed their routine. Two say they "didn't see an email"; one says they "skimmed it and thought it was about the old rule." No one can state the 20-second requirement.
1. Identify two features of the notice that make it likely to fail as a workplace instruction, and explain the effect of each on the reader.
Read the worked answer
Two clear problems:
Jargon in the first sentence. "Pursuant to," "personnel," "adherence," and "commencing handling operations" force the reader to decode the message before acting. Busy staff skim; if the first line is hard, they stop. The instruction should open with the action: "Wash your hands for 20 seconds before handling food."
The key step is buried and unlabelled. The notice has no heading, tiny grey text, and the actual requirement sits in paragraph four. Readers scan for what to do; if it is not visible at a glance, they default to their old routine - exactly what the third staff member did.
A third factor is the delivery channel: a single email with no read-receipt or briefing assumes people open and read it, which the two "didn't see it" responses show is unsafe.
2. Rewrite the notice as a short instruction (no more than 60 words) that a new staff member could follow correctly on the first read.
Read the worked answer
New hand-washing step - read before your shift
Before you handle any food:
- Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds.
- Dry them with blue roll.
- Start work only after both steps.
This replaces the old rule from today. If you are unsure, ask your supervisor before handling food.
Why it works: it leads with the action, numbers the steps, uses plain words ("wash," "dry," "ask"), states that it replaces the old rule, and gives an escape route for uncertainty. It is short enough to read in ten seconds.
3. The company wants proof that staff understood the change, not just that they received it. Suggest one practical check and explain what it would and would not prove.
Read the worked answer
A practical check is a two-minute verbal confirmation at the start of each shift: the supervisor asks each person to state the two steps (20 seconds, blue roll) and demonstrates once. The supervisor records who confirmed and when.
What it proves: that the person can recall and state the correct steps at that moment, and that the message reached them in a form they could use.
What it does not prove: that they will follow the steps every time under pressure, or that they understood why the change matters. For that, a follow-up spot check during a busy period would be needed. The point is that "we sent the email" proves delivery only; a recall check proves comprehension.