ISO 21600:2019

Technical product documentation (TPD) - General requirements of mechanical product digital manuals

ISO 21600:2019 specifies the composition, basic principles, preparation process, general requirements, detailed requirements, publication and application requirements, and management requirements of mechanical product digital manuals. ISO 21600:2019 is intended to be used for guidance in the preparation of digital manuals, which provide guidance in the use, repair and maintenance of products. It is also intended to be used for reference in production and manufacturing. ISO 21600:2019 does not specify function or data structure of any specific software. ISO 21600:2019 applies to the preparation of mechanical product digital manuals based on service bills of material and modularized technical information.

Documentation technique de produits (TPD) — Exigences générales pour manuels numériques des produits mécaniques

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 21-Feb-2019
• ICS: 01.110 - Technical product documentation
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 10/SC 6 - Mechanical engineering documentation
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 10/SC 6 - Mechanical engineering documentation
• Current Stage: 9093 - International Standard confirmed
• Start Date: 17-Jun-2024
• Completion Date: 13-Dec-2025

Relations

• Consolidated By: ISO 20048-2:2023 - Solid biofuels - Determination of off-gassing and oxygen depletion characteristics - Part 2: Operational method for screening of carbon monoxide off-gassing
• Effective Date: 06-Jun-2022

Overview

ISO 21600:2019 - Technical product documentation (TPD): General requirements of mechanical product digital manuals - defines how to prepare, publish and manage digital manuals for mechanical products. The standard covers composition, basic principles, preparation processes, general and detailed requirements, publication/application rules and lifecycle management for digital manuals. ISO 21600:2019 applies to manuals based on service bills of material (SBOM) and modularized technical information and explicitly does not prescribe software functions or data structures.

Key topics and requirements

• Composition of digital manuals
  • Parts manuals (models/pictures, parts lists, material/tool lists)
  • Operation, repair and maintenance manuals
  • Safety manuals (warnings, labels, levels)
• Basic principles
  • Consistency with actual product state
  • Clear, maintainable expression and presentation
  • Security and ease of maintenance
• Preparation process
  • Relationship and transformation of data (EBOM → SBOM)
  • Preparation of SBOM, data elements (DE), data modules (DM), and templates
  • Guidelines for models, text, images, audio and video within modules
• General and detailed requirements
  • Compiling, data, content and presentation rules
  • Specific SBOM, DE, DE model/text/picture/audio/video rules
  • Template requirements for online and printed outputs
• Release, application and lifecycle management
  • Release and versioning practices
  • Application requirements covering sales, training, service and browsing
  • Data management, maintenance and lifecycle controls

Practical applications and users

ISO 21600:2019 is practical for organizations creating structured digital manuals used in product use, repair and maintenance, and in production support. Typical users include:

• Technical writers and documentation engineers preparing modularized digital content
• After-sales/service teams using SBOM-based manuals for maintenance and parts replacement
• Manufacturing, PDM, ERP and MES teams integrating service information with production and service workflows
• Product designers and configuration managers ensuring documentation aligns with product configuration
• Training and support teams delivering online or printable manuals, multimedia instructions and safety information

Benefits include improved consistency between documentation and product, streamlined maintenance of manuals, and standardized modular content for reuse.

Related standards

ISO 21600:2019 references and complements:

• ISO 16792:2015 (digital product definition data practices)
• ISO 17599:2015 (digital mock-up requirements for mechanical products)
• IEC 82079-1:2012 (instructions for use - structuring, content and presentation)

For implementation, consult the full ISO 21600:2019 text and your national standards body for licensing and guidance.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 21600
First edition
2019-02
Technical product documentation
(TPD) — General requirements of
mechanical product digital manuals
Documentation technique de produits (TPD) — Exigences générales
pour manuels numériques des produits mécaniques
Reference number
©
ISO 2019
© ISO 2019
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting
on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address
below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviations. 2
5 Composition of digital manuals . 3
6 Basic principles . 3
7 Preparation process . 3
7.1 Relationship of data . 3
7.2 Information preparation . 4
7.3 Preparation of digital manuals . 4
7.3.1 Preparation of SBOM . 4
7.3.2 Preparation of DE . 4
7.3.3 Preparation of DM . 5
7.3.4 Preparation of templates . 5
7.4 Release of digital manuals . 5
8 General requirements . 6
8.1 Compiling requirements . 6
8.2 Data requirements . 6
8.3 Content and presentation requirements . 6
9 Detailed requirements . 6
9.1 SBOM requirements . 6
9.1.1 Preparation principles . 6
9.1.2 Structure transformation requirements. 7
9.1.3 Preparation requirements . 7
9.2 DE requirements . 8
9.2.1 Model requirements . 8
9.2.2 Text requirements. 9
9.2.3 Picture requirements . 9
9.2.4 Audio requirements . 9
9.2.5 Video requirements .10
9.3 DM requirements .10
9.4 Template requirements .10
9.4.1 Basic requirements .10
9.4.2 Requirements of the online template .10
9.4.3 Requirements of the printed template.11
10 Releasing and application requirements .11
10.1 Releasing requirements .11
10.2 Application requirements.11
10.2.1 Advertisement requirements .11
10.2.2 Sales requirements .12
10.2.3 Training requirements .12
10.2.4 Service requirements .12
10.2.5 Browsing requirements .12
11 Management requirements .12
11.1 General requirements .12
11.2 Life cycle management requirements .12
11.2.1 General requirements .12
11.2.2 Preparation stage management requirements .13
11.2.3 Releasing stage management requirements .13
11.2.4 Maintenance stage management requirements .13
11.3 Data management requirements .13
Annex A (informative) Relationship of data at each preparation stage of a digital manual .15
Annex B (informative) Preparation process of SBOM .16
Annex C (informative) Preparation process of a model .17
Annex D (informative) Preparation process of DE .18
Annex E (informative) Preparation process of DM .19
Annex F (informative) Preparation process of a template .20
Annex G (informative) Transformation rules from EBOM to PT-SBOM .21
Annex H (informative) Example of an online template .23
Bibliography .25
iv © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www .iso
.org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 10, Technical product documentation,
Subcommittee SC 6, Mechanical engineering documentation.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/members .html.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 21600:2019(E)
Technical product documentation (TPD) — General
requirements of mechanical product digital manuals
1 Scope
This document specifies the composition, basic principles, preparation process, general requirements,
detailed requirements, publication and application requirements, and management requirements of
mechanical product digital manuals.
This document is intended to be used for guidance in the preparation of digital manuals, which provide
guidance in the use, repair and maintenance of products. It is also intended to be used for reference in
production and manufacturing.
This document does not specify function or data structure of any specific software.
This document applies to the preparation of mechanical product digital manuals based on service bills
of material and modularized technical information.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 16792:2015, Technical product documentation — Digital product definition data practices
ISO 17599:2015, Technical product documentation (TPD) — General requirements of digital mock-up for
mechanical products
IEC 82079-1:2012, Preparation of instructions for use — Structuring, content and presentation — Part 1:
General principles and detailed requirements
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https: //www .iso .org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http: //www .electropedia .org/
3.1
digital manual
document that describes product information, whose contents are organized in a structured way,
mainly expressed by three-dimensional models, published in either electronic or paper form and used
to guide the use, repair and maintenance of products
3.2
engineering bill of materials
list of part numbers and assemblies that make up the design engineering configuration that contains
the raw stock size and the material specification
[SOURCE: ISO 10303-240:2005, 3.4.3, modified — the article “the” is deleted.]
3.3
service bill of materials
bill about the items and quantities of the complete machine, components, parts and their service
attributes, which is listed based on demands of after-sale service
3.4
data element
basic unit of data, of which the definition, identification, expression or allowable value may be stipulated
by a set of properties known as metadata
3.5
data module
independent and complete data unit that describes the structure, performance and operational steps of
mechanical products using models, text, pictures, audio and video
3.6
template
electronic document with a fixed format for preparing digital manuals
3.7
service bill of materials for product type
bill for product type about the items and quantities of the complete machine, components, parts and
their service attributes, which is listed based on demands of after-sale service
3.8
configuration information
requirements for product or service design, realization, verification, operation and support
[SOURCE: ISO 10007:2017, 3.5]
3.9
service bill of materials for product instance
bill for product instance about the items and quantities of the complete machine, components, parts
and their service attributes, which is listed based on demands of after-sale service
4 Abbreviations
BOM bill of materials
DE data element
DM data module
EBOM engineering bill of materials
ERP enterprise resource planning
MES manufacturing execution system
PDM product data management
PT-SBOM service bill of materials for product type
PI-SBOM service bill of materials for product instance
SBOM service bill of materials
2 © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

5 Composition of digital manuals
Digital manuals usually include:
a) parts manual, which includes:
— chapters and directories;
— models or pictures;
— material lists;
— tool lists;
— parts lists.
b) operation, repair and maintenance manual, which includes:
— chapters and directories;
— operation information;
— repair and maintenance information.
c) safety manual, which includes:
— chapters and directories;
— warning levels;
— warning labels;
— warning text.
d) others, for example, an accompanying list.
6 Basic principles
Preparation of digital manuals shall meet the following basic principles:
a) Descriptions of products in digital manuals shall be consistent with the actual states of the
corresponding products.
b) Expression and style of information in digital manuals shall be suitable for displaying, viewing,
understanding and expanding.
c) The digital manual shall be easily maintained.
d) Information in digital manuals shall be kept safe by using access authority right limits.
e) Digital manuals shall be able to be installed and run in a network environment.
7 Preparation process
7.1 Relationship of data
Use the engineering bill of materials (EBOM), models and other data (e.g. production date) to create a
service bill of materials (SBOM), data elements (DEs), data modules (DMs) and a template; from these
a digital manual can be generated and released. This usually includes a parts manual, an operation,
repair and maintenance manual, a safety manual and an accompanying list. See Annex A, Figure A.1 for
the relationship between data at each preparation stage of a digital manual.
7.2 Information preparation
Information needed before preparation of digital manuals shall include but not be limited to:
— early-stage summaries of maintenance;
— EBOM and models;
— maintenance requirements.
7.3 Preparation of digital manuals
7.3.1 Preparation of SBOM
SBOM shall include but not be limited to:
a) structure, which shall include but not be limited to:
— layer of structure, which indicates the layered state of components and parts;
— node, which indicates all components and parts;
— quantity, which indicates the quantity of components and parts.
b) content, which shall include but not be limited to:
— material number, which indicates the serial number of components and parts;
— version, which indicates the version of components and parts;
— name, which indicates the name of components and parts;
— archived information, which includes product ID, production order information;
— service attributes, which indicates the defined service attributes of components and parts.
NOTE Service attributes not only extract some attributes from EBOM, but can also add other attributes
according to actual needs, such as replacement cycles.
See Annex B, Figure B.1 for the preparation process of SBOM.
7.3.2 Preparation of DE
As the basic element in a digital manual, DE mainly includes:
— models, which shall be able to be linked to corresponding nodes of SBOM and vice versa;
— text;
— pictures, which shall support link functionality;
— audio, which includes non-verbal sounds, warning sounds and an interpreter’s voice;
— video, which shall support link functionality.
See Annex C, Figure C.1 for the preparation process of models. See Annex D, Figure D.1 for the
preparation process of DE.
4 © ISO 2019 – All rights reserved

7.3.3 Preparation of DM
DM is the smallest presentation unit of digital manuals. It shall contain a complete set of technical
information, may be composed of one or more (kinds of) DEs and may be managed by codes. It mainly
includes:
— DM of description, which shall describe the product information such as structures, functions,
principles and purposes;
— DM of operation, which shall describe the necessary information for product installation and
operation;
— DM of mainten
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