A strategic approach to organise your content
Before creating your manual or set of manuals, it is always a good idea to decide on a so-called content strategy. A content strategy basically is your answer to a simple question. That question is: which output channels would you like to use? Would you like to be online or would a printed edition of your manual do? Would offline presence on your smartphone be the solution? Manualise can help you answering these questions.
Read moreWriting terms of warranty
A manufacturer or reseller has to repair or replace a product that is faulty. Also, a buyer could ask for a (partial) refund if it is clear that he used the product correctly right from the start. In Europe, the warranty for a product should be valid for at least two years. Your terms of warranty could extend that period for any given tim
Read moreLanguage manual
It is one of the most popular questions for any worldwide operating technical writer: does the English language suffice for our manuals in our international world? After all, English is the lingua franca wherever you are on our globe. Why, then, should one publish a manual in the language of the local user? The answer to this question can be straightforward: the English language does not fit the bill in other than English speaking countries. The reason? Your own mother tongue is easier to understand.
Read moreProduct safety and instructions in the EU and US
In the European Union a manufacturer can use European Harmonized Standards to comply with the relevant essential health and safety requirements of the CE marking directives and accordingly affix CE marking. Many of these CE marking directives also set requirements for user’s instructions. Although there are many similarities, the process of product compliance in the US is slightly different from the process of EU compliance.
Read moreNEN 5509
As part of Manualise, over the past few years I have participated in the standards committee for revision of NEN5509 – User Manuals. The new draft of the standard was recently published. For more info see this press release.You can view the draft via this link. You can comment on it until 15 October via this link. After this time the committee will schedule a meeting to discuss all the comments.
Read moreAmerican standards regarding instructions for use
To provide CE marking, a manufacturer can use European (harmonised) standards to comply with the CE-directives. When exporting to the US, certification companies like UL apply their own standards. How do you deal with the American market when it comes to your instructions for use?
Read moreThe intended use
You can read it in almost every manual: a description of the intended use of the product or the machine. It is a description that every technical writer must treat very carefully, because it sets the liability of a manufacturer and affects the further contents of the manual. We will elaborate this in this blog.
Read moreMachinery Directive 2006/42/EC
Every machine that is marketed or used within the European Union must comply with the health and safety requirements from the Machinery Directive. Only if your machine meets these requirements, the machine may be traded within the entire EU. By affixing the CE mark, you declare that your machine complies with the Machinery Directive and possibly other CE guidelines. Next to requirements regarding the design, the Machinery Directive also states demands regarding the documentation. This blog lists the requirements from the Machinery Directive on the manual.
Read moreNew radio equipment directive
The new directive for radio equipment ( 2014/53/EC) repeals R&TTE directive (1999/5/EC). The new directive applies to: “electrical or electronic product, which intentionally emits and/or receives radio waves for the purpose of radio communication and/or radiodetermination, or an electrical or electronic product which must be completed with an accessory, such as antenna, so as to intentionally emit and/or receive radio waves for the purpose of radio communication and/or radiodetermination;”
Read moreCE-marking medical software
Medical devices, such as infusion pumps and MRI scanners, need to be certified according to European CE rules. For a manufacturer, however, it is not always clear whether his product needs a ‘medical’ CE certification. This is especially true for any embedded software.
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Creating professional manuals
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