Digitalisation of documentation: findable, usable information 

Yes. A PDF is a digital form of technical docum­ent­ation and can be a useful first step. It can be provided centrally, accessed via a link or QR code and distributed without printing and shipping.

However, the way information is used remains largely document-based. Users open a complete manual and search inside for the relevant section. Especially for extensive documents or specific service queries, this can be time-consuming.

More advanced digital solutions therefore not only make documents available, but deliver precisely the information that matches a product, a task or a usage situation. Content delivery portals, for example, work with modular content and metadata. Users can search for information in a targeted way, filter it and access it on different end devices.

That depends on the product, the target group and the applicable regulations. A general switch to exclusively digital operating manuals is therefore not possible for every product.

The new EU Machinery Regulation explicitly permits the digital provision of operating manuals from the start of its validity on 20 January 2027. Manuf­act­urers must, among other things, clearly indicate how the manual can be accessed. The manual must be capable of being downloaded, stored and printed, and must remain available online for the expected service life of the machine, but at least ten years.

If, at the time of purchase, the buyer requests a printed operating manual, the manuf­act­urer must provide it free of charge within one month. For machines for private end users, the safety information essential for safe comm­iss­ioning and use must still be supplied in paper form.

You should therefore assess for your products, markets and user groups whether you can completely dispense with the standard paper version. Digital provision via link or QR code is comp­ar­at­ively simple from a technical point of view. However, what is crucial is that access and avail­ab­ility are maintained at all times and that all legal requir­em­ents are met.

That depends on the type of problem you want to solve and how your technical docum­ent­ation is structured today.

Central PDF provision is suitable if you want to make existing documents quickly accessible in digital form and reduce printing, storage and shipping costs. Users reach the appropriate manual directly via a link or QR code. However, searching inside the document remains largely unchanged.

A content delivery portal is useful if users need to find targeted information about a product, a task or a specific situation. To this end, content is structured in modules and enriched with metadata. This is part­ic­ul­arly worthwhile when dealing with many products, variants, target groups or languages.

A customised AI solution is an option if users are to ask questions in natural language and receive suitable answers based on approved information. It can also provide rapid access where document collections already exist. For this, the data basis, the quality of the answers and the handling of conf­id­ential information must be carefully planned.

Which solution is suitable should therefore not depend solely on the technology. The right approach depends on the specific use case, the needs of the users, the existing content and the economic benefit.

Digit­al­is­ation is worthwhile when the current way of handling technical docum­ent­ation regularly takes a lot of time and generates costs. Typical signs are high printing and shipping costs, time-consuming updates of PDF documents, long search times or frequent service requests because users cannot find the information they need themselves.

Economic benefits can arise in various areas. Instruct­ions provided digitally reduce the costs for printing, storage and shipping. Content delivery portals make it easier to update individual content and guide users more quickly to the right information. As a result, the processing of service cases can be shortened, queries reduced and information made available more quickly for new products, variants or markets.

However, digit­al­is­ation is not autom­at­ic­ally cost-effective. What matters is whether a specific problem is solved and whether the scale is sufficient in terms of users, products or recurring use cases. For a small, stable docum­ent­ation stock, central PDF provision may be sufficient. With many products, variants, target groups or frequent changes, a content delivery portal may be worthwhile. Individual AI solutions are part­ic­ul­arly interesting when existing information is to be made accessible in new ways or new digital services are to be developed.

Before implem­ent­ation, the current effort and the expected improv­em­ents should therefore be compared. Suitable key indicators are printing and shipping costs, search times, number of service requests, processing times and the frequency of use of the digital offering.

The costs depend very much on how the information is to be made available. A central provision of existing PDF documents is the simplest way to get started. Here, the main effort is for the technical platform, assigning the documents and, if necessary, linking them via QR codes.

With a content delivery portal, licence and operating costs are added. Initial cloud-based systems start at around 800 euros per month. Larger platforms can cost 5,000 to 10,000 euros per month or more, depending on the number of users, amount of data, languages, functions and interfaces.

In addition, effort for the concept, system implem­ent­ation, integration and content migration must be taken into account. The preparation of existing documents in particular is often under­est­im­ated. Depending on the objective, content must be modularised, classified and enriched with metadata. Training and ongoing operations also generate costs.

For individual AI solutions, the costs depend on the use case, the data basis, the required interfaces and the requir­em­ents regarding quality, data protection and operation. Therefore, a clearly defined use case should be considered first.

A reliable calculation will only be possible once the objectives, user groups, content and system requir­em­ents have been clarified. The cheapest way to get started is not autom­at­ic­ally the most economical solution. What matters is which ongoing efforts are reduced and which additional digital services are made possible.

Process optim­is­ation in technical writing starts with the right system landscape. Modular content management systems enable reuse, centralised data storage shortens update times, and automated publication processes reduce manual effort.

Optimising processes in technical writing through digit­al­is­ation of docum­ent­ation ensures teams work more efficiently, deliver content faster and maintain quality standards.