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The Emperor Has No Hard Hat:
Achieving REAL Workplace Safety Results

Client: Alan D. Quilley CRSP, President of Safety Results Ltd.
408 pages, incl. index
WINNER, Honourable Mention, Globe and Mail's Best Business Books of 2006 (see PDF of article text)

"The Emperor Has No Hard Hat" is aimed at managers who want to reap the huge potential returns on investment of setting up a safety system that actually works. Author Alan D. Quilley is a 30-year veteran of Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta. The book combines his experience with cutting-edge research to deliver engaging, plain-English information on how to make a workplace safe.
Bennaco's challenge in editing and manuscript layout was to preserve the unique flavour of Quilley's approach. Above all, he wanted the book to be entertaining and fun. Quilley takes safety seriously, but as he puts it, "We can have fun while we're learning to be safe, can't we?"
To preserve the lighthearted approach that Quilley takes in his training seminars, the book's solid safety information is salted with original safety cartoons and running anecdotes about the Imperial Chariot & Lyre Company, operating somewhere in ancient Rome. During the course of the book, the company's owner, one Emperor Thump, progresses from wanting to fire everyone in sight to understanding how to partner with his employees in safety. Aided by his new Safety Officer Hans Preventicus and his line manager Greta Doitfastica, Thump succeeds in bringing safety to IC&L.
Here's what author Alan D. Quilley has to say about Bennaco's services:
Dec 3, 2005
"Benna Michaels was the "editor" of my book... although she was much more involved in every aspect of the book than that title implies. Benna actually acted as project coordinator and arranged for the graphics and printing negotiations and arrangements. I basically "talked" the book (Benna attended a number of my training sessions and we met on numerous occasions to do an "interview" style meeting). Benna did most of the crafting and I adjusted as we went. Benna got the final manuscript "print ready".
Obviously I'd highly recommend Benna for any such project. She's extremely creative and has a wonderful sense of humour."
Alan D. Quilley

SEE EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK
(this link takes you to the Safety Results Ltd. book page, where you can view four excerpts in PDF format.)
SEE FEEDBACK AND TESTIMONIALS FROM SAFETY EXPERTS AND OTHER READERS
(this link takes you to the Safety Results Ltd. book reviews page.)

The Plain English Guide to Getting an Effective Website:
Clear Advice for Businesspeople
Who Want a Website That Works

Author: Bennaco: The Technical Writers
248 pages incl. index

If a 248-page book on web design sounds intimidating, it's not. The book contains 120 simple statements about what makes a website effective, and why. Written for businesspeople who have no techno-background, but who want an effective website, the book uses over 300 screen shots to make the principles clear. Find out exactly what to ask your web designer for!
Excerpt #1: Introduction (PDF format)
Excerpt #2: Site-Wide Guidelines for Effective Pages (this is a very graphics-intensive PDF; it may take a while to download.)

The Best of The Plain English Guide
to Getting an Effective Website

Author: Bennaco: The Technical Writers
56 pages

A mere 56 pages, this "best-of" version presents 36 high-payoff tips taken from the full manual (see above). For businesspeople who want to be sure that their website pays for itself, but who have extremely limited time and/or money to put into supervising their website development.
Each principle is illustrated with full-color screen-shots. Digest the information in about half an hour, and have a more effective business website as a result!

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